Scholarship for federation members

Arogya Agam is supporting six (four are seen in the photo) young people from the children federation in pursuing higher education by granting them a scholarship for a technical diploma. They will for example be studying to become a nurse and lab technician. The course takes one year to complete. These young people will be the first graduates in their family and without this support they would not have been able to pursue higher education.

Family support programme

Arogya Agam runs a family support programme for HIV+ children. Many of these children are also part of Thanambikkai Children Federation. This includes providing a monthly grant to the child’s family of Rs. 600, which is the equivalent of £6. The grant is to help the family afford HIV treatment for the child. Even though the treatment itself is free, the hidden costs such as travel, food, taking leave from work (many of the parents rely on daily wages) can mean parents/guardians cannot afford to go for check ups and treatment. 182 children benefit from this programme, which take place in three different locations to accommodate beneficiaries living in different parts of the district. This monthly interaction with the children also give Arogya Agam's staff a chance to guide and help with any health issues or discrimination, which they may be dealing with. This month and the next three months the families are also provided with pulses, such as chickpeas and lentils, as an extra helping hand.

Drawings related to child abuse and violence

Last year Arogya Agam organised a Children's Happiness Day. During this day the children were invited to draw abuse and violence from their own lives or community. This was used as an ice breaker to discuss how we can best support them through their difficulties. Below are some of the drawings from that day which include examples of domestic and physical violence, child labour, early marriage, caste and HIV+ discrimination and not being given access to education.

Climate change awareness meeting

64 children braved the heavy morning rain and attended this meeting on climate change. At the meeting we discussed climate change and the effect on our own lives and what we can do. In one village there is a tree plantation where trees are grown and preserved. In other villages they try to keep the streets free of waste and practise proper waste disposal.

It was decided that the children would choose 15 villages as models for other villages. In these villages the children groups will collect rainwater, promote kitchen gardens and planting of medical plants, reduce littering and encourage recycling.
The meeting ended with a dance prepared and performed by some of the younger children which was a great way to finish off the day.

Federation flag

Sathiyavani, on the left, has designed Thanambikkai Children Federation flag. She presented the flag on Children's Rights day where she also explained the meaning and symbolism of the colours and the design. The blue colour symbolises self-confidence, which is also part of the federation's name. Thanambikkai means self-confidence in Tamil. This is an important part of the federation's work, when a society treats you as a second class citizen, discriminates and marginalises you because of your caste, self-confidence is an important asset! The white colour symbolises purity of their hearts because they want to work for all children's rights and fight any injustice they meet. The green colour stands for growth of the federation and the children. They want to blossom and grow like nature. Lastly, in the middle of the flag you see two joined hands and that is because they want to unite and stand up for children's rights together.

Convention of Early Marriage and Children's Rights Day 2014

The convention on early marriage prevention and children’s rights day took place last week and was a great success. It was a day filled with debate, dance, skits, drama, speeches and fun. The children who had prepared the cultural programme really managed to discuss the quite serious issue of early marriage while still producing enjoyable performances. One boy made short speeches against early marriage by mimicking famous actors. Another group performed a drama with this theme, yet another sang songs about child rights. Here are some pictures from the day: