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Showing posts from 2022

Light the Fires of Progress- Donate to the Cause of Children’s Education

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Prakash, a child from Udayan Care, recently flew to Scotland to do an M.Sc. in Finance at the University of St. Andrews with a full scholarship. Shraddha, a recipient of the Udayan Shalini Fellowship, took a step closer to her dream of pursuing a career in robotics by securing a place in Mechanical Engineering at VIT Pune. Rayees, a LIFT (Learning In Fellowship Together) fellow, is working to improve the mental health of Care Leavers in J&K by forming an association of Care Leavers. Prakash, Shraddha, and Rayees received the greatest gift of education and now they are productive members of society enlightening others after them. Many children like them grow up in disadvantaged backgrounds and education is the only way to make their lives shine. It opens multiple paths of opportunities for them following which they can lead a stable life. However, not everyone gets the gift of education, which is why supporting the cause of children’s education is crucial to our society. Why should

Govt of Bihar and UNICEF join forces with Delhi Govt and Udayan Care to expedite child protection mechanisms

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The Govt. of Bihar is totally committed to strengthening its child protection mechanisms and towards this, it is open to learning the good practices in other states. A delegation of nine child protection functionaries that include members of the Child Welfare Committee, District Child Protection Unit, State Child Protection Society, Social Welfare Department and Child Protection Officer from UNICEF Bihar visited Delhi over a period of 3 days (18-21 May 2022). Udayan Care had facilitated this learning visit and delegates were given exposure to the UdayanGhar unique model of child andyouth care with aftercare being totally integrated into its design and implementation. Delegates also visited the aftercare homes for boys and girls, being managed by the Govt of Delhi and had an interaction with the officers of the Delhi Govt’s state Child Protection Society. The delegates also met with institutes such as Aurobindo Ashram and GMR institutes which provide skilling and employability opportuni

To be Useful, Child Rights Must Be Known, Understood and Advocated

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  The society must be aware of the child rights and it must be able to put them into practice. The inclusion of child rights in government policies and decision-making is ensured by advocacy. According to UNICEF’s National Human Rights Institutions Series (NHRIS) tool “Advocacy might seek to influence changes to legislation, policies, levels of resourcing and budgets, service design, innovative practices or institutional functions. The activities involved can take many forms, including media campaigns, parliamentary lobbying, petitions, letter-writing, research and policy or drafting legal reforms.” Children are subject to their own rights. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child describes the rights that must be realized for children to develop their full potential. It recognizes that the basic human rights and a quality of life are important for every child. The civil society can be informed about child rights through education and awareness. It can be done by capacity buildi

Still I Rise - Conquering the Skies through Higher Education

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A Chartered Accountant from Delhi, an Amazon employee from Hyderabad, an Air Asia Cabin Crew from Jaipur, and a Nurse from Kolkata- What do they have in common? They are examples of how higher education can transform lives. Each person has an inspiring story of overcoming barriers and achieving their dreams through the power of education. They were not born with a financial luxury, but that did not restrain them from soaring high in their careers and uplifting the other students from similar backgrounds.   “A dream does not become a reality through magic; it takes determination and hard work.” These thought-provoking words from Komal are a testament to her journey of becoming a Chartered Accountant. She lost her father in 2012 after which her brother stepped up for the family and started working as an auto driver. Her mother and brother pushed her to study and join a CA course. While her goal was set in front of her, the means came through Udayan Shalini Fellowship (USF). She f

End Child Labour: Guiding Children in the Right Direction

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When my mother died I was very young, And my father sold me while yet my tongue Could scarcely cry "'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.                                                                                                                    ---William Blake, The Chimney Sweeper The figure of Chimney Sweeper in Blake’s poem is the emblem of the exploitation of children in the Industrial Age. According to a report submitted to a parliamentary committee on the employment of child sweeps in 1817, ‘the climbing boys’ as young as four were sold by their parents to master-sweeps, or recruited from workhouses. Inhumane practices like forcing pins into the sweeps’ feet to encourage them to climb more quickly were prevalent. One would expect this to be a historical practice. Alas! Child labour is still very much prevalent in different forms around the world. According to the 2011 Census, the number of child la