Goodwill Social Work Centre




	Micro Enterprise Development programme for Poor Urban Women (1997 - present). To empower dysfunctional families, in particular female headed (widow, separated, divorced) through income generation activities for gainful employment of women.

	Environmental Education and Communication program : The program named 'Environmental education and communication program for children' (1996-1998) was undertaken with help of a foreign sponsor. The objectives of the program included 1.To educate children about environmental issues and provide opportunity for them to participate in environmental communication programs 2. To sensitizing children to environment related child rights and the need to protect and promote their rights. 3.To prepare them to share environmental information with others on a child-to-child and child-to-community basis. The program components comprise a. environmental education b. media intervention c. child health promotion d. Play and play environment e. Participatory training and f. Field study and exposure visits.

		Educational sponsorship The centre has been organizing educational sponsorship for children in dysfunctional families in and around Madurai city. Since 1991 more than 550 school aged children (Girls and Boys) have been provided with financial and material assistance. While a majority of children have received direct financial aid from the centre, some children have been referred to local service organizations and nonprofit organizations for financial sponsorship towards their schooling.
		Home and School placement for children As part of the family support services, the centre has been providing home and school placement services to children in dysfunctional families. During the period 1991-2002, nearly 350 children (Girls and Boys) have been provided with the above services. A sizeable number of children from female headed families and offending families indulging in 'fights', arguments, drunkenness and aggressiveness, and children of the mentally ill parents are referred to local Homes for children and orphans, where they are given institutional and semi-institutional care. School placement services are provided for children and the Centre offers assistance in securing admission for them in schools and vocational training centres.
		.Vocational Training for working children (Boys and Girls) The Centre has set up a two-wheeler mechanism Unit for Boys and a Tailoring Unit for girls. During 2000-2001, forty children have successfully completed their training. Forty more children have been admitted to the above vocational training courses during the year 2001-2002.

		Advocacy An equally important activity that the Centre is performing is Case advocacy, which is part of the family support services being offered by the Centre. This is being used to plead and fight for services and resources for women (widow, separated and divorced) in dysfunctional families and children belonging to the socially oppressed communities (Dalits), who the local service systems would otherwise reject. Free legal aid is being rendered to female-headed families to enable them to obtain resources and services. Advocacy on the protection of children from abuse and neglect and the need to promote children's rights is being offered to parents.
	Children's Rights Centre (CRC) Goodwill Social Work Centre has set up a Children's Rights Centre (CRC) with a prime objective of proclaiming, protecting and defending Children's rights as affirmed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Like in many other countries, the rights of children are still generally low on the agendas in India. It is evident from a study Report (Maheshwar Madan Lal, 1994) that the percentage of children in India who asserted their rights was negligible and a high majority of children were not even aware of their fundamental rights of children due to lack of education. Similarly, amongst adults, 10 percent were aware of the rights of the child while 15 percent gave this subject a thought. Only 7 percent were engaged in facilitating these rights to them. To create awareness and dissemination on the UN Convention, the following strategies have been adopted: I Children's Rights education (CRE): School and non school-going children II Children's Rights Training (CRT): Parents, teachers, child care workers III Children's Rights Communications: Designing and developing CRC communications Materials in local language

	IV Children's Rights Research (CRR): Research on child rights Issues and concerning the Un Convention V Children's Rights Information Network: Exchanging information through electronic and non-electronic networking with Agencies involved in Child Rights promotion and protection at the national, regional and international level. This very ambitious long-term project depends on potential partners who might be interested in supporting this centre.

Member of The Malian Foundation Consulting Services Program