Climate change drawings

Drawings by members of the children's federation on collection of rainwater. This is a practice the children are trying to enforce in their villages. Made by Malika, 12 years old and Sitalakshmi, 10 years old.

Successful petition by children's club

The children's club in Balacombia has successfully petitioned their local panchayat for proper toilet facilities. Members of the children's club are here seen outside the new building. Congratulations!

Support for children

Six children between 9-14 years old received bedsheets, a school bag, a new set of clothes, notebooks and school stationery. This was provided by the local Rotary club and Arogya Agam helped select the children most in need.

Scholarships for higher education

Two young people have been provided with a scholarship for higher educations. They had both dropped out of 10th standard but will now be starting a six months computer course. When they have completed the course they will be able to get jobs in an office.

They come from families that do not have the financial means to pay for higher education and without this support they would not have had this opportunity. Congratulations to both!

Inauguration of children's club board

So far two children's clubs have put up a board in their village and in the following weeks more boards are to follow in other villages. The board is meant to show awareness about the children's club at village level. The children have successfully done all the fundraising. They have gained support from Panchayat leaders and local Arunthathiyar people who have covered the cost of the initiative.

On the board there is a pledge saying: We want to stop early marriages and child labour. We want to prevent school dropout and sexual abuse. We want to plant trees and reduce plastic waste.

The phone number for the child help line is also included, as well as the name of the village and children's club.

These pictures are from the village Balacombai where the name of children's club is Thamarai which means lotus.

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.