VCRM History

Vidiyal, a Programme for Street and Working Children, was founded in the year 1996 by Sakthi, a voluntary organization in Madurai. In 1997, a group of working children formed their own sanga, Vidiyal Vaanavil, asserting their identity as a working children's organization involved in the decision-making process at Vidiyal.

In 1999, the National Movement of Working Children - India (NMWC) was founded, with Vidiyal Vaanavil one of the founding members. Since then, Vidiyal Vaanavil has actively organized groups of children into clubs, forums and sangas.

In 2000, the various groups of children collectively formed the Vidiyal Children's Council, electing representatives annually. One member of the council travelled to Geneva, as a representative of the NMWC, to present an alternate report to the committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In 2004, the executive body of the Children's Council voted to rename the collective the Vidiyal Child Rights Movement. Members can be identified by their blue headbands, bearing the movement's logo. The movement also has its own flag, designed by the children.

The Vidiyal Child Rights Movement holds consultative status within Sakthi-Vidiyal, and influences its policy and decision-making process. The children use the movement as a vehicle to campaign for recognition and rights for themselves and for other marginalized groups within Madurai as well as at the state level.