vidiyal

   a programme for street and working children    *    striving to promote child rights   

Our Strategy

AT THE CENTRES. In order to best serve our children, our programme must constantly expand and change. As the need arises, we add new activities, opportunities, speakers, excursions, workshops and other programmes. Our aim is to enable the children to have both a childhood and an education, as well as to understand and exercise their rights.

In addition to our main centre, five drop-in study centres serving seven slums within Madurai provide a safe and central location for the children to congregate daily. We provide counseling as well as some medical services.

Children Go To School: Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which India ratified in 1993, all children are entitled to free and compulsory education. Unfortunately, this is far from the reality in India, where only 61% of school going children reach the fifth standard and many children drop out of school, often to work. At Vidiyal we are working to strengthen local schools, prevent children from dropping out and bring street and working children back to the classroom.

We encourage all of our children to attend school, at least up until the tenth standard. Children leave school for a variety of reasons, including economic need, cost of materials, poor instruction and discrimination. Our children come from communities which are often excluded; such discrimination can continue even in the classroom. Vidiyal has established relationships with local schools to reintegrate the children into mainstream education. Frequent workshops with school administrators and teachers help foster equal treatment in the classroom. We hope to improve the overall educational system, so that it adequately meets the needs of the children. With our support, children feel more comfortable at school and attend classes regularly.

All of our children are sponsored throughout their education, which covers the cost of uniforms, school supplies, and enrollment fees up through university, if they choose to attend. For more information on sponsoring children, please contact us.  

Educational Support: After school, we offer tutoring as well as a quiet and structured study environment, often absent in homes. Daily tutorial sessions in English, Tamil, Mathematics, Sciences and Social Studies enable children to keep up with their classmates. Our tutors are local volunteers who encourage good study habits and enjoyment of learning. Study centres located in seven slums provide a safe, central location for the children to gather.

Vocational Training: Vidiyal offers training in computers, mechanics, tailoring, book binding, typewriting and cooking. We encourage the children to learn useful skills, especially if they do not continue their education past the 10th standard.

 Arts and Leisure: Children take classes to develop self-esteem and discover their own voices. They learn Martial arts, gymnastics, art, folk dance, music and songs and attend workshops with local, national and international artists and teachers. The children perform at cultural events and competitions throughout Madurai.

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Finding A Home: Many of our children have left their families to come to Madurai to work; others are abandoned or runaways. When new children come to Vidiyal, our staff assesses each child's background in an attempt to reunite the child with his/her family. We provide counseling to the children and the family. If the family environment is not appropriate, Vidiyal becomes home for the child.

So far 985 runaway children have been reunited with their families. 

Vidiyal always follows up with all of these children to make sure that they are safe and secure in their families.

Vidiyal Shelters: We operate two homes for boys and girls in Mutthupatti, a Government Reception home and a special care home for disabled children. Together, our shelters house 50 children. At our shelters, we provide the children with a clean, safe place to sleep, food, and clothing. All of our shelters are staffed by trained staffed by trained caretakers. We provide transportation to and from school and our main Vidiyal Centre daily.

Camps and Excursions: Every three months, we take the children for a picnic/excursion in the Madurai area. Through these visits, children learn about their culture and national history. Such excursions also expose the children to new ideas and professions, with the intention of broadening their worldview. Once a year, we take the older children outside of Madurai to camp, hike and appreciate nature. Our camps focus on personality development, teamwork and responsibility.

The smallest children visit local parks within Madurai, such as Rajaji Park and the Eco Park. The rest of the children take day trips to different local sites, including historical sites, local industries and places of natural beauty.

In the past, Vidiyal children have visited the following sites:

Industries: Biscuit factories, chocolate factories, soda factories (Pepsi)

Natural places: Vaigai Dam, Alagar Kovil, Coutrallam, Sathiyar Dam, Annaipatti Dam

Historical sites: Thirumalai Naiker Mahal, Dindigul Fort, Thirupperam Kumdrom, Meenakshi Temple

Jolly Camp: Every May, we offer a 10 day Jolly Camp, held at a local Madurai school for nearly 300 children from six neighborhood slums. In the past, the management of TVS schools has sponsored the camp, which has been held at TVS Lakshmi Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

There are three overarching aims guiding the camp:

To develop a holistic personality in children coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.

To develop the children's physical, mental, spiritual, social and cultural dimensions.

To give the children a meaningful holiday

Each day the children gather to participate in different art, athletic and cultural activities. Vidiyal staff members work with volunteers and TVS teachers to design appropriate activities and lessons for each age group. The children learn songs with social themes. Role-playing, story-telling, puppetry and theatrical activities ensure a participatory environment.

Children participate in the following activities:

Arts and crafts
Art from waste
Clay modeling
Pot painting
Gymnastics
Skating
Silambam
Dancing
Theatre arts
Yoga
Thappattam
Karate
Kalialattam
Thevarattam

Click here to see photos from the 2007 Vidiyal Jolly Camp!

To volunteer at our annual Jolly Camp, click here

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Click here to volunteer or donate!