The occasional glitch with the sound system could neither keep the stars from shining nor prevent the audience from roaring at the Arunodhaya Youth Day carnival held recently. The carnival, which took place at a jam-packed hall in Royapuram, was organised by the Youth Forum of Arunodhaya, a NGO working among Chennai and Thiruvallur slum communities to uproot child labour and promote children’s rights. Read More...

There’s a glimmer of hope for these kids. They now get a chance to go to school and have a place to chill. School, play and homework should have been their main focus but for Ragini, Gayathri and Nandini, life was just endless drudgery. Read More...

After the case of 10-year-old Rameshwari Jadhav being beaten and scalded by her employer came to light, the labour ministry is making efforts to curb the practice of employing children as domestic workers. But not many people are interested in children like 15-year-old R Ragini, an orphan living with her brother and sister, who has been working as a maid in a house in Rajapillai Thottam in T Nagar for 12 years. Read More...

Asmae, a French NGO working with city schools, on Wednesday released the report on the impact of the ‘Reading class programme’(RCP) it has been implementing in partnership with Arunodhaya, Mary Anne Charity Trust and Bro-sign animation. The programme, aimed at improving reading skills of students and encouraging them to read more, was implemented through story cards, games and interactive exercises. Read More...

Every time 12-year old R. Premkumar jumped into the middle of the road, to stop a passing vehicle, it invited angry stares. But as soon as the youngster took out a sticker depicting a small child washing utensils and pasted it in front of the vehicle, the drivers mellowed. This student of Corporation High School in Rangarajapuram was one of the many children who participated in the sticker campaign against child domestic work here on Friday. Read More...

The Confederation of Arunodhaya Children Sangams (CACS) has urged the State government to allow children to take part in grama and nagara sabha meeting to air their views. The one-day annual convention of the confederation, held here on Saturday, said the panchayat and nagar sabhas should hear the views of children on local issues, and they should be incorporated into the programmes and policies of the government and local bodies. Read More...

The National Coastal Women’s Movement (NCWM), a network of women from the coastal villages of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, was formed here on Monday, at a meeting held to observe Rural Women’s Day. The forum will function as a pressure group at the grassroots level in establishing the rights and educating communities about these rights. It will also supervise and participate in the implementation of development projects in villages. Read More...

The self-help group movement, largely confined to women until now, is being extended to men in the city. A non-governmental organisation, Arunodhaya, has established around 20 SHGs for men at various locations since last month. Members of the groups get trained in income generating activities such as servicing of mobile phones, air-conditioners and computers according to their educational qualification. Read More...

A comprehensive law should be enacted immediately for Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to ensure free, quality, compulsory and equitable education for all children up to either Standard XII or till 18 years of age, said a manifesto on child rights, passed by the Coalition of Child Rights Networks, here on Sunday. Read More...