PROJECTS | India | Empowerment and Livelihoods of
Street and Working Children

Vilpatti is a remote village located in the Palani Hills, a mountain range that lies within Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu. The majority of residents face a daily struggle to earn a living and place little practical importance on their children’s education and development. Due to domestic abuse and neglect, many children leave Vilpatti and the surrounding areas in search of jobs in the nearby towns of Palani and Dindigul. There are an estimated 400,000 child workers in Tamil Nadu, and Dindigul District is particularly affected by this. Children forgo their education in order to earn meagre wages as informal workers within the tourist and manufacturing industries of Dindigul and Palani, while others resort to begging or petty theft. Children experience physical harassment and abuse within the work place and often end up sleeping in temples, bus shelters and on the streets where they face further harassment, violence and exploitation.

This project aims to protect and promote the rights of 700 street and working children in Dindigul and Palani, and prevent young children in Vilpatti and the surrounding areas leaving home to find exploitative work in these and other towns in Dindigul District. Arunodhaya runs a community centre in Vilpatti, including a crèche, an after school club and a health clinic, which provides essential childcare support for residents of Vilpatti and the surrounding areas. The crèche provides nutritious meals, healthcare and early childhood education for young children. The after school club, located in the same building, provides supplementary tuition for children who need additional help with any subjects at school and remedial classes for children in preparation for (re)introduction into formal education. The centre’s health clinic provides essential healthcare to children and mothers including regular health checks, immunisation, family planning and post-natal healthcare.

Street and working children in Dindigul and Palani who require immediate care and support are relocated to Arunodhaya’s 24-hour Rescue Centres in Palani and Dindigul. Here, their basic needs are met through provision of nutritious food, washing facilities, healthcare, clean clothing, shelter and psychosocial support. Arunodhaya’s outreach team also works with children and their families within the community on a daily basis. The services provided by Arunodhaya are unique to the situation of children in Dindigul and Palani. Arunodhaya does not try to prevent children from working but aims to protect them from the worst forms of child labour. Having sacrificed their education to help support their families, many working children are left with minimal literacy and numeracy skills. Informal education classes and after-school tuition at the Rescue Centres and community shelters located in the slums suit the daily routine and diverse standards and abilities of street and working children. Any children wishing to attend school are provided with support such as provision of uniforms and school materials. Arunodhaya also runs vocational training courses for street and working children aged 14+ at its Skills Training Centre in Dindigul, which are linked to viable income generating activities.