Milestones
Sakthi – Vidiyal has several mile stones in its journey down the years. The following are the significant milestones in our operation.
- 1996 – First drop in centre was established
- 1997- Child Rights frame work is adapted to Vidiyal’s interventions and Child Participation becomes a cross cutting theme in every sphere of the organization.
- 1998 – First children’s base group – Vaanavil- was founded by working children
- 1999 – Vaanavil became the founding member of NMWC - India
- 1999 - Breaking all odds 5 children entered college. This brought great hope in children from excluded communities.
- 2000 – Vidiyal Child Rights Movement began its journey with federated child forums.
- 2003 – Sakthi – Vidiyal was given the ‘fit institution’ status for the protection of children in need of care and protection under the Juvenile Justice Act 2000.
The National Movement of Working Children – India organised a children’s consultation in 2003. Madurai Veeran, representing Vidiyal Vaanavil Working Children Sanga participated in this consultation, which prepared an alternate report to the Government of India report. At the consultation, the children elected Madurai Veeran as one of two delegates to go to Geneva to represent the movement at the UN Committee and to present the report.
The Concern For Working Children, Bangalore, facilitated the whole process and UNICEF supported their travel and other expenses. During the main session, Madurai Veeran spoke on the issues facing child labourers. The UN Committee on CRC allotted special time to the two children Madurai Veeran and Manjula from Bhima Sanga. Madurai Veeran was very vocal and raised his voice for his fellow working children of India.
Vidiyal children were members of CR4WSF, a coalition of organizations which believe in children’s right to participation and working towards a just society in the context of globalisation. Vidiyal has been taking active part in the process since its inception in the year 2004 at Mumbai. Children were enabled to participate in the children’s process held in Mumbai and Bangalore.
M. Ranjithkumar from Vidiyal Child Rights Movement was elected by the children present at the Bangalore consultation in November 2004 as the South India representative. Ranjith went to Brazil in January 2005 with three other children from other regions in India and participated in the 5th World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He spoke on behalf of all Indian children and challenged the present mode of economical development.
2005. Participation in the South Asia – South East Asia Convergence of Working Children
In 2005, Ranjith Kumar was elected as a representative of the National Movement of Working Children - India and participated in the convergence of working children at Kathmandu, Nepal with his counterpart Ms. Aymma from Bhima Sanga.
2006. South Asia Field Exchange Program for Promoting Good Practices in Child Domestic Workers Interventions
G. Karthiga represented Vidiyal Child Rights Movement in the South Asia Field Exchange program at September 2006. She spoke on behalf her fellow child domestic workers and raised her voice against all forms of exploitation of child domestic workers. Arunodhaya, Chennai facilitated this process.
Vidiyal has played an active role in the India Social Forum 2006. The Tamil Nadu Children’s process was co-facilitated by Vidiyal.
Ranjitha, a representative of Vidiyal Child Rights Movement, was elected as a delegate among the 16 representatives from Tamil Nadu. At New Delhi she was selected as a representative from South India and spoke at the panel ‘Voices and Faces of Children – Vision’ organized by WSF. She was much appreciated for her command and call for action.
We got the opportunity of facilitating the CACL – CACT led children’s process of preparing an children’s alternate on the status of children’s rights in Tamilnadu. The designing of the questionnaire was done by Vidiyal Child Rights Movement and Balsena. One of our children Master.Bharath Kumar served in the child researchers’ team.
