vidiyal

   A Programme for Street and Working Children

Why Vidiyal?

Madurai's streets, like most large cities in India, shelter runaways, orphans and children looking for employment. In Madurai's poorest communities, many children must leave their homes each day to work to support themselves and their families.

Street and working children in India are often from disadvantaged sectors of society, especially Dalit communities. Primarily unskilled, they work as ragpickers, restaurant cleaners, shoe-shiners and assistants in mechanic shops. These children are paid low wages, work in unsanitary and unsafe conditions and are often abused by their employers.

In order to survive, many street and working children resort to begging, engage in petty crime or drift into gangs.

At Vidiyal, we believe every child has the right to a safe, secure childhood, and a bright future. Read on, to learn more about our programmes.

According to UNICEF'S 2006 State of the World's Children Report:

India has a population of 1,065 million

Of those, 420 million are children under 18 years of age

India has 118 million children under 5 years of age

360 million Indians live on less than $1 per day, 140 million of whom are children

5.7 million children and adults were living with AIDS as of 2005.

India has 35 million orphans

190 million females in India are non-literate

In India:

31% of infants are born with low birth-weight

7% of infants die before their first birthday

Vaccine preventable diseases, like measles, are one of the biggest killers of young children.

46% of children under five are malnourished

31% of children have adequate sanitation facilities

61% of children reach the fifth standard in school

20% of children aged 5-14 are not in school.

According to the 2001 census, there are an estimated 12.6 million children engaged in hazardous labour. India has the largest number of labourers under 14 in the world.

14% of children are child labourers, though this figure does not include children who work at home. Official statistics also do not include children sex workers, although studies show that 40% of women sex workers in India begin working before the age of 18.

Sources: An Alternative Report on the Status of Child Labour in India, published by the Campaign Against Child Labour, India (1998); UNAIDS; UNICEF.

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