CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
The Children Development
Programme (CDP) was jointly designed to meet the needs of the slum
children of Trichy town by The Rotary Club of Trichirappalli Fort
and People’s Action for Transformation, the implementing partner.
When we saw them facing the dangers of poverty, hunger, environmental
hazards, parental negligence, illiteracy, forced child labour, ill
health etc., we decided to intervene and do creatively to address
their distress. Of all these dangers, we felt hunger and child labour
should be taken up first.
Accordingly we framed a project
and sent it for Children’s Opportunities Grant of the Rotary
Foundation in 1998. In mid 1999, this project got sanctioned and
it was inaugurated on 17.07.1999 at Sangiliyandapuram, Trichy in
the presence of eminent persons.
In the implementation of
the CDP, we enrolled 125 children in the age group of 2 to 5 years
belonging to 5 slums namely MGR Nagr, Ramamoorthi Nagar (Sangiliyandapuram
slums), Khajapettai, Khaja Nagar and Kempstown. These children a
group of 25 each were admitted in 5 Day Care centres. Here they
were given nutritious noon meal and nutritious drink in the evening,
physical protection and play-way method of education. More stress
was being given to develop in them a number of concepts such as
shape, colour, pre-number & number, myself, transport, fruits,
birds, animals, sky, festivals etc., Besides we had involved them
in numerous games that were indoor and outdoor, active and quiet
play. Above all they were guided to artwork. They were also trained
in the fine arts of singing and dancing.
To present them neat
and clean unlike their soiled clothes, we distributed each 2 pairs
of uniform annually, which they happily wore on all school days.
Through this project, we gradually witnessed a real transformation
in the lives of these young kids especially in their behaviour,
abstaining from using vulgar, words to a large extent. Our immediate
medical attendance on then to treat their frequent illness like
diarrhea, skin infection, cold, cough and scabies ensured good health.
ARUMBUGAL
To help the buds to bloom,
the economically disadvantaged children from the quarry village
of Nedumalai ‘Arumbugal’ came into being in 2004. Miss
Deborah Lindholm, the Chair Person of Women’s Foundation and
her mates from Rotary Club of La Jolla, California, USA were made
to visit our CDP centers by Rtn Rajadurai Micheael, DGN 2007-08.
Impressed tremendously by our work, they offered our club US$5000
and thus ‘Arumbugal’ was born. It has 35 tiny tots from
this backward quarry village under its tatched canopy getting basic
nourishment and education. This the small light lit to these kids
who are in the dark, to take tiny steps towards greater light of
wisdom and better life. This humanitarian act and munificence of
Miss Deborah Lindholm and her team will ever be etched in the history
of our club. They also promised continued support to this cause
in the years to come.
Arumbugal is blossoming into
a beautiful flower. Sewing machines were given to the parents of
economically backward students, Annual / Sports Day and cultural
programs were done every year. Bringing out the latent talents of
the children. Prizes were also lavished on the children.
CHEERS SCHOOLS
As an addition to our efforts
towards promoting education for the economically desadvantaged children,
the Tiruchirapalli Collectorate offered us to take care of some
of their CHEERS schools, run on the basic principle of Child Labor
Eradication and Rehabilation. Year after year we manage at least
one school run in remote rural areas by the Collectorate. A Rotarian
is particularly assigned to take the entire responsibility for the
past for years.
CLUB BULLETIN
A regular feature of
our club is to release a club Bulletin every month like clockwork.
This carries the entire gamut of events, happenings, birthdays and
wedding days and important assignment etc of the members of the
club. Many Rotarians helped in bringing this news bulletin successfully
for the last 3 decades by giving advertisements.
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