Dear partner, Having chronicled several powerful stories of change over the last 39 issues spanning 13 years since we first started this magazine in 2005, this 40th issue certainly calls for a celebration. And there is no better time than now to look back and celebrate what we’ve together achieved over these years. While there are several NGOs across the length and breadth of the country, the World Vision India difference stems from our special way of addressing the complex web of poverty, through a unique approach called Child Sponsorship. Our 65+ years of experience has reinstated this one truth - Child Sponsorship works! As complex and improbable as some may think it is, Child Sponsorship is making a profound impact in the lives of thousands of boys and girls across the country, one community at a time. There are many things that make Child Sponsorship so significant. The personal bond that is developed between a child and a caring sponsor is at the heart of child sponsorship. Visiting your sponsored child, exchanging cards, giving gifts and writing letters are some things that make child sponsorship so meaningful, for both the child and the sponsor. But what’s even more exciting is the fact that the benefits of sponsorship extend beyond the child you sponsor.
Understanding that there’s no quick fix to poverty, we partner with communities for a period of 10 to 15 years, working with families and finding lasting solutions to the specific and pressing challenges they face. Through support from sponsors like you, families receive the help they need to lift themselves out of poverty and build a better future for their children. However, that is not all! There is another factor that makes sponsorship special and sacred. It is the commitment of our staff in the field. It amazes me how they never tire of checking on a child’s education, health or general well-being, though it means they need to travel hours together on dangerous and unpleasant roads, almost every day. They make sure children receive the letters and gifts that you, as a sponsor, lovingly send them. They are always there – always, for every child we serve. Luna sums it up well, “From my first village till the last, I’m familiar with most of the people. That is part of my role as a Community Development Facilitator.” Our model of sustainable development and our high level of stewardship coupled with your ongoing commitment will continue to impact children and communities, building a nation fit for children.
Regards and blessings,
Cherian Thomas CEO and National Director
World Vision India Child Sponsorship connects vulnerable children with caring sponsors, creating life-enriching experiences for both.
Globally, we have impacted the lives of 200 million vulnerable children in the past five years.
Jeevan Sparsh | TOUCHING LIVES
It takes me. It takes you. It takes every Indian. Misha* is more mature than children of her age. She is responsible, takes care of household work and also looks after her two little sisters, Kiran* and Kyra*. Her maturity at such a young age comes from an incident that no child or woman should ever face. Three years back, on a summer afternoon, Misha went to buy a block of ice from her neighbours. No one was at their home except for their 17-year-old son. The family ran a business of selling ice in the community. When she went there, the boy was watching television. In a soft voice, she asked him for the ice. He gave her 10 rupees and asked her to buy him something and come back. She silently obeyed, bought him what he wanted and returned to his place. When she went back to his house to give him what she bought, he locked the door and sexually abused and assaulted the eight-year-old child. Then, he gave her another 10-rupee note asking her not to tell anyone what happened.
Her maturity at such a young age comes from an incident that no child or woman should ever face.
After he told her to go home, the little girl ran back crying, weeping and yelling out the boy’s name. She was even bleeding as she ran home. When she got home, her mother asked her what happened and then she told everything that the boy did to her. Because she yelled and cried out loud on the streets while running home, people came out of their homes and gathered around the girl’s house. Meanwhile, the boy tried to escape. But people from the community ran behind him, caught him and handed him over to the police.
“Police wrote down the case but no action was taken beyond the boy’s arrest for a few days” said Anju, Misha’s mother. Misha was frightened and traumatised by the incident. She refused to step out of her house and even when she would go for a bath, she would scream and yell out of the fear that was gripping her. When World Vision India’s volunteers who are part of the Child Protection Unit (CPU) got to know about the incident, they rushed to the girl’s house and spoke to her mother. “We went to Misha’s mother, informed her about Childline and assisted her to call to seek their help. Childline immediately came and investigated the incident. The boy is now under arrest in the juvenile jail in Jaipur” says Mobina, World Vision India’s CPU member from the community.
Myths & Facts ~ myth ~ Only beautiful or sexually precocious children are abused.
~ fact ~ All children, irrespective of their age, colour, family background or sexual knowledge, are vulnerable to abuse.
~ myth ~ We can tell if a child is sexually abused.
~ fact ~ It is difficult to say from external appearance if the child is sexually abused. However, adults need to be alert to any changes in the child’s behaviour, performance at school, emotionality, fear of certain places or people, resistance to go or meet some people and sleeping and eating patterns. A traumatic experience in a child’s life is often expressed through indirect means. Also many children may not show any change in their behaviours or other patterns until much later.
Childline got the child’s tests and treatment done. They ensured she received counselling from a child counsellor in the hospital. The Child Protection Unit not only helped Misha get assistance from Childline, they also empowered her mother to meet a lawyer and a counsellor to get compensation from the government that Misha is entitled to. “I used to go to the lawyer’s office and the juvenile jail almost every day for one entire year to get this compensation of 5 lakh rupees” narrates Anju. “This CPU assisted me and helped my family get the justice that we deserved.” The CPU also took it upon themselves to restore Misha’s childhood back to her. “Our volunteer Mobina constantly spoke to her during the initial days and explained to her that this wasn’t her mistake and that she wasn’t at fault. After that, we advised her family and we ourselves stopped talking to her about the incident to help her overcome her fears and the distasteful memories” shares Harun, the Community Development Facilitator from World Vision India Mobina says, “We kept visiting her home and motivating her to come to World Vision India’s Remedial Education Centre (REC). In time, she opened up and began coming to the REC. Here, we encouraged her to study, play and mingle with her fellow children at the centre. Now, we’ve also enrolled Misha in the 2nd standard.” “In 2015, when we were just about to help her get admission in a school nearby, this incident took place. Even her mother thought she would never go to school. But over these two years, she has shown utmost courage and is now succeeding in life” shared Shabana, another CPU member who helped Misha and her family during their tough time. One in every two children in India has been subjected to some form of sexual abuse. World Vision India is striving to help end sexual violence against children, but it will take each of us to end child sexual abuse.
*Names changed to protect identity Find out more at www.ittakes.me
~ myth ~ Sexual abuse generally occurs in surroundings unfamiliar to the child.
~ fact ~ Most children are sexually abused inside their own homes. In a predominant number of cases, abusers have the trust of children and their families and access to their homes.
~ myth ~ Only girls are the victims of child sexual abuse.
~ fact ~ Contrary to common belief, both boys and girls are victims of child sexual abuse.
~ myth ~
~ fact ~
Children are usually abused by strangers
The majority of abusers are known to the child and are often in positions of trust and power vis-à-vis the child. Example: family, relatives, neighbours, teachers, etc.
Jeevan Sparsh | TOUCHING LIVES
A step to address Severe Acute Malnutrition Three-year-old Rupa was identified with severe acute malnutrition. Rupa hails from the state of Jharkhand, which has the second highest number of malnourished children (56.5%) in India. To address the issue of severe acute malnutrition, World Vision India recently piloted the Community-based Management for Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programme in two blocks of the district of Bokaro, in Jharkhand. This was done in partnership with the Jharkhand State Nutrition Mission and other stakeholders. CMAM is a life-saving model that targets children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) by administering Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). CMAM has been endorsed globally by WHO (World Health Organisation) in 2007 and was implemented in over 70 countries.
Globally, over the last five years, 89% of the severely malnourished children we treated made a full recovery.
The results of our pilot project are quite encouraging. Till date 20,525 children were screened, out of which 217 children were identified with severe acute malnutrition and 158 children were enrolled into the programme. Meneka, an anganwadi worker in Rupa’s village, shares her thoughts about how CMAM helps people in the village. “Through this programme, we learnt how to identify children who were malnourished and we feel good that we can feed and treat them close to their house. When Rupa’s progress was monitored again recently, she showed improvement with her Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC), moving from red to yellow on the MUAC tape, a sign of improvement” says Meneka. *Source: Jharkhand Social Welfare Department
Life of a Community Development Facilitator Thanglunpaua Guite, fondly known as ‘Luna’, works as a Community Development Facilitator (CDF) in Chhimtuipui, Mizoram. Youngest of six siblings, Luna chose a path very different from the rest of his siblings who are running businesses, working with the armed forces of Assam and driving taxis. “I was always fond of social work” says Luna sharing how he jumped from a teaching job to joining World Vision India back in 2011.
Why I love being a child sponsor Dr. Jyothsna Yadav C.
I came to know about World Vision India in 2011. The same year, we had a boy child and I wanted to be associated with this organisation for supporting a girl child. We are happy to be a part of this organisation. We are constantly updated about the child we sponsor. You guys at World Vision India are doing a great job. Keep it up.
Rita Singh
I am involved with World Vision India for the last nine years. I have observed the child being brought up well with the help of World Vision India’s Child Sponsorship. Visiting and meeting the child is a very emotional and satisfying moment for me and my family. I felt very happy and satisfied after meeting Bhargavi; may God bless her with all the happiness and success in life. I feel very happy with the experience of sponsoring a girl child and would like to keep continuing in future as well. I am happy to know that I can make a difference in a child’s life and would do my best to help as much as I can. I would recommend everyone to help needy children in fulfilling their dreams.
Dr. Rajesh Nair
I believe the greatest satisfaction and sense of achievement a person can get comes not from the numbers in his bank account, but from helping another fellow human being; to help them get good education so that they can earn their livelihood and become independent. And what better age to start this than in childhood. Child Sponsorship has helped me achieve this. In our country where many children face malnutrition and are often forced to stop schooling and start working at a young age, helping a child get these gives me a satisfaction nothing else in this world can. I feel if each family sponsors one child, it will help many children get quality education and, in the long run, make our country prosperous. I thank the entire team at World Vision India for giving me such an opportunity. The small things like the greeting cards and paintings, child’s report card, etc. help me keep in touch with my child though she is far away and bring happiness in my heart. I wish them all the best in their noble cause.
Jocelyn Winwood
I have sponsored Kuldeep for the past four years and in that time have visited him and his family twice. World Vision India staff accompanied us to the child’s home, the World Vision India community centre and the children’s school in that area. I have first-hand knowledge of the wonderful work done by World Vision India for the people under their care. These caring people ensure that I am sent letters, photos, cards and school reports throughout the year. I love Kuldeep and it gives me so much pleasure to know that I am playing a small part in helping him blossom into such a fine young man.
Life of a Community Development Facilitator Luna’s work involves visiting communities and families, helping them deal with development barriers and struggles in life. Luna looks after a cluster of five villages in Chhimtuipui district. All these villages are spread across 100-120 kms. He travels on his motorbike for 2–4 hours from one village to another because of the hilly terrain and damaged roads. “The roads get so bad during rainy season that I’ve to travel the same distance in 5-6 hours or even more. Those are the days I’m out working for almost 18 hours”.
Reducing Malnutrition & Childhood Illness 5,59,905
39,500
3,65,567
16,009
1,51,568
20,525 children
people participated in hygiene & behavioural change programmes
592
communities declared ODF (Open Defecation Free)
2,53,592 children aged
12 to 17 yrs
have access to health programmes
toilets constructed in
2,485
villages/slums
1,16,651
pregnant women were registered at AWCs (Anganwadi Centres)
children who were underweight graduated to mild and normal
adolescent girls consumed IFA (Iron and Folic Acid) tablets
mothers were oriented on WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and diarrhoea management
under 5 were screened through CMAM Project
217 children with SAM (Severe Acute Malnutrition) treated; 61% cured
1,31,771
households have access to safe drinking water
Enhance Quality Education 40,156 children
149
406
123
538
5,423
655 teachers
13,383
received remedial coaching
reading camps conducted to promote reading and comprehension skills
parents/caregivers were trained on providing learning support
School Management Committees (SMCs) are functional ensuring the well-being of school children
trained on child-centered learning methodologies
schools have minimum quality standards like classrooms, TLM (Teaching Learning Material) and toilets for children
SMC/PTA (Parents Teacher Association) members trained
children have successfully completed Board exams (Classes 10 & 12)
898 RECs (Remedial Education Centres) for improved learning outcomes
Building Resilient Communities 5,223
saving groups are active, with
98% women
44,315
men underwent Men Care model training
34,022
members constitute
288
83 functional
producer collectives/ service centres
Men Care groups
16,818
clients accessed loans from IMPACT
Child Well-being Report
2018
12,717
329
5,40,000
26,287
farmers adopted soil/water conservation practices
communities practice DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction)
children completed people received comprehensive school disaster relief during floods, droughts and fires. safety programme
This Child Well-Being Report, 2018, is a summary report of the contribution towards Child Well-Being during the period 2015–2017. This report is structured around World Vision India’s strategic objectives.
Strengthening Child Participation and Protection Systems 990 functional
Child Protection Units in place
58,374
families trained in parenting skills
17,814
men sensitised on gender/domestic violence
1,92,561
children completed the LSET (Life Skills Education for Transformation) Modules
3,83,100
Over children and
62,000 adults
reached through our campaign to end child sexual abuse
6,67,479
children participated in Life School for Transformational Development (LSTD)
8,284
first responders (teachers, police and health workers) were trained
Moving ahead with hope and happiness “Sometimes we used to have only one meal a day. The children and I would have dinner and then starve the entire following day,” says Rimilata from Udalguri, Assam.
Rimi lives with her brother’s children “After my younger brother died, I stayed unmarried and looked after his children,” says Rimi. His children Sanjay (14), Enosh (12), Susmita (11) and Sanjeev (9) study in a local school. Her life changed when Rimilata and the children were enrolled in the Graduation Model initiative implemented by World Vision India. Graduation Model, as the name suggests, is specifically designed to help families and children move up and out of extreme poverty to a better and self-sustaining life. This model combines support for immediate needs along with long-term investments in building their capacity, financial and livelihood assistance. On the ground, World Vision India partners with other NGOs, communitybased organisations (CBOs) and volunteers to identify families living in extreme poverty. “Once World Vision India meets these families and evaluates their present living condition, we make arrangements to provide for their immediate needs like daily ration, renovating their hut and others,” says Bhushan, representing Bandhan, a partner NGO which implements this programme in the communities. After securing food and shelter for them, World Vision India introduces them to government schemes and benefits. The volunteers meet these families regularly, counsel them and equip them with critical skills like basic accounts, rationing food, habit of savings, etc.
Life of a Community Development Facilitator At every village, he identifies volunteers to help them gather information and updates about sponsored children. Luna is visiting the first village in his cluster; a volunteer here is updating him about the upcoming Children’s Club programme preparation. The programme has to be organised shortly at their village.
Globally, every 60 seconds, a family receives the tools to overcome poverty.
World Vision India also enrols them into an SHG (self-help group), opens a bank account for them and encourages a habit of saving. This ensures that the families and children do not fall back into extreme poverty, and the SHGs serve as a safety net for the families. “They taught me many things I did not know. I could not even write my name. Now I am able to write. I also have developed the courage to speak boldly,” says Rimi. In addition to these trainings, World Vision India provides livelihood assistance to set up petty shops, rear milch animals or run handlooms. As Rimi chose to rear pigs, she received training in pig rearing and was given three piglets. “After I started the business, I saw a new path open up for me and my children,” says Rimilata. “Now my children are happy, they eat well and attend school regularly.“ Rimi and her children have ‘graduated’ to an improved living standard with better health and hygiene practices and quality education for the children. She has a bank account with savings. “I am now able to stand on my own and I am able to look after my children well,” says Rimi happily. “Earlier, when the children were sick, we stayed home. Now I can get them treated at a local hospital” says Rimi.
Watch the video: bit.ly/graduationmodel
World Vision India believes that this approach is not just a short-term solution but one that seeks to empower families with long-term investments, dignity and self-confidence to help them move out of extreme poverty.
Life of a Community Development Facilitator When the volunteer informed Luna that one of the sponsored child’s mother wanted to discuss about the financial crisis they face because of having to take their child to a private hospital nearby, he immediately visited the family. He began informing the mother about government availed schemes that she can make use of to get her child treated for free at the government hospital closest to their village.
Children’s column
Here’s what our children have to say about their experience of being a World Vision India sponsored child.
~ Mamatha Rangappa ~
I am very happy to know that many parents in my community are now aware of the harmful effects of child marriage. I am continuously motivated to study well and I feel very special as a sponsored child. I thank World Vision India for creating awareness on child rights which inspired me to become a doctor in future.
~ Mallamma Rayappa ~
~ Sumitra Parida ~
~ Rashmita Mallick ~
Before I was not aware of the importance of hand washing and personal hygiene. But, now I know the benefit of hand washing and I keep sharing to all my friends to wash their hands properly to maintain good health. I thank World Vision India for providing me an opportunity to participate in various programmes.
Sponsorship is an effective way of building relationship between me and my sponsor. I learnt caring and sharing values through sponsorship.
I get educational assistance through sponsorship and this has improved the quality of my learning. I am appreciated by my school teachers.
~ Priya Mala ~
~ Yasika Selvaraj ~
~ Sharmila Krishnan ~
I have learnt to keep myself clean and maintain hygiene. And now I teach my friends about cleanliness and hygiene.
I am aware of how to protect myself from abuse and I know how to approach Childline for help.
I never celebrated my birthday in my life. After becoming a sponsored child, I am celebrating every year, thanks to the generous contribution of my sponsor.
Because of our community-focused solutions, for every child you help, four more children benefit, too.
Life of a Community Development Facilitator “As a CDF, it is really important for me to listen to their problems and successes. It gets hard sometimes, because they come to me with very high expectations for immediate help. But I’ve learnt not only to help them but also inform them about what is good for sustainable development and what’s not” shares Luna about his relationship with these families from the village.
Alfy’s desk With my numerous interactions with sponsors, I have found there are million reasons why people sponsor children, but they all share the same vision – helping vulnerable children have a better future.
sponsored child(ren) and their families, build a healthy relationship with them and gift them hope of a better future.
One among the millions reasons is sponsor visits.
When can you visit?
So, what is a sponsor visit? A sponsor visit is a wonderful opportunity to meet your sponsored child and his/her family in person. It also helps you learn about the change and developments happening in the child’s life and community.
Why does World Vision India encourage its child sponsors to visit their sponsored child(ren)? It is our responsibility to present to you the real picture of how your gifts and resources, which you have entrusted to us, are making a difference in these precious lives. We can always write to you about the transformation your gifts bring but it cannot be compared to you being there at the heart of where the change happens.
We encourage visits on all weekdays, except national holidays and during festivals.
Who else can visit my sponsored child(ren)? A child sponsor can meet his/her sponsored child. The sponsor is most welcome to bring his/her family along.
How do I initiate this process? Sponsors can get in touch with the respective Relationship Officers (ROs) to arrange a visit. All travel expenses will be borne by the sponsors. The visit will take place in the project office. If you wish to visit your child please write to us at indiasponsors@wvi.org or call us at 044 - 2480 7070/ 1800 425 4550 (Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 6 pm)
Most importantly, your visit will be an encouragement for your sponsored child(ren) and their families. A visit will also help you understand the needs of your
Life of a Community Development Facilitator At the next village, Luna is meeting with one of the sponsored child’s family that received help to run a petty shop. The father is a farmer and a daily wage labourer. His wages depend on the seasonal yields of his farm and the small income he tries to earn otherwise. Through Economic Development Assistance programme, the family received a petty shop. Now the mother looks after the shop at their home and the family has a steady income.
Beaming with Confidence “Lesson plan preparation time has reduced. Before the introduction of digital class, we used to collect teaching aids to explain it to the children. Through digital sources, now we can explain it through videos; it makes the children active and helps them to participate in the learning process”. Mrs. Ananthi, Teacher in Villivakkam School - Chennai
Akshaya hails from Hyderabad and is in the 2nd standard. Due to her parents’ low income and her lack of interest in studies, she was never regular to school. Things changed with the introduction of a digital classroom. She started attending school regularly. She learned stories from the digital sources and was able to tell those stories loudly. She was selected by a reputed company during their talent hunt programme TOLL HUNT recently for her brilliant performance in storytelling. Akshaya wants to become a news reader after completing her studies.
The capacities and skills of teachers both in terms of curriculum and pedagogy have enhanced through an effective training programme provided to them.
WORLD VISION INDIA - LIONS CLUB PARTNERSHIP
As a result of this, there is a steady progress in attendance and learning outcomes among children. Children have improved in their reading, writing, arithmetic and comprehensive skills. School teachers were trained to measure their progress using PRATHAM tool. The learning outcome has increased from 51% in 2016-2017 to 70% in 2017-2018.
World Vision India partners with Lions Club in the Lions Education Project, to ensure quality education across government schools. The School Management Committees (SMC) and Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) are strengthened in all schools. Digital classes use interactive and visually attractive methods like videos and presentations to teach children. 23 digital classrooms were provided in 11 schools in Chennai, Coimbatore and Hyderabad. A total of 2,151 children (1,041 boys and 1,110 girls) benefitted from our interventions in their schools.
Moreover, a detailed assessment was done on the availability of water and sanitation facilities in all the schools. Based on the results, bore wells were dug and submersible motor pump sets were installed in 3 schools; overhead water tanks and water supply pipelines were provided in 12 schools; toilets and urinal facilities were built or renovated in 5 schools and hand wash stations were installed in 14 schools.
Globally, World Vision is reaching one new person with clean water every ten seconds and reaches three new schools every day with clean water.
Life of a Community Development Facilitator
Luna loves children. He often plays with children from his community and the game they all love is football. He is trying to teach little Lalzarmawia to play with the ball. “He can’t play football, so I’m teaching him to throw and catch the ball” says Luna, laughing.
CHILDREN’S CLUB
A Peace Keeping Tool “I learnt a lot in the ECAP training. Apart from building our peace keeping skills we also developed our personality. I do feel that I am more confident now than before and that I can speak in front of even a big crowd,” says Alok. Alok is a young 14-year-old boy who studies in the 10th standard. He is a representative at the Patna District Level Children’s Group as well as a leader of a cluster of three children’s groups in his community. He also represented his group by participating in the training programme— Empowering Children as Peace Builders (ECAP) conducted by World Vision India. The main purpose of the children’s group in a community is to have a space where children can come together to play games, study, discuss issues or problems by supporting one another and also to create awareness among community members about different social issues. This particular group in Patna has already tackled issues like enrolment of children who drop out of school, the problem of garbage and
waste in the community, concern for the environment and has also raised their voice on the problem of alcohol consumption and its effect on children. “There have been several changes that we’ve observed in our community. Earlier only some children studied but now mostly all go to school. There was a big problem of garbage and waste being thrown outside the house. After conducting several rallies and cleanliness drives in the community, people have significantly reduced this behaviour. The discrimination between girls and boys was also very high. Girls were not allowed to go to the temple and were limited in their movements. Things have changed now with more awareness on equality of rights for both girls and boys. The greatest change I have observed in the men in my community has come after the ban on alcohol. Now the same men who would spend their savings on buying alcohol and would lie in a drunken state beside the road are buying milk packets for their homes,” says Alok. “We are very grateful for all the support that World Vision India provides us and for that we would like to say thank you,” he continues.
A Rough Start Saloni’s future turned bleak. Will she be able to continue her education?
Life gave Saloni a rough start. Her father walked away when she was still in her mother’s womb. A few months after she was born, her mother took her own life, leaving Saloni and her brothers orphaned. She and her brothers are under the care of her uncle, Ninnva, who does all he can to provide for the children. Ninnva works as a security guard in a shoe factory near his house. Despite all his efforts, Ninnva could not afford to provide for the education of all four children because of which two of Saloni’s elder brothers dropped out of a government school in the 8th standard. Saloni’s future turned bleak. Will she be able to continue her education?
When life is hard and dreams begin to fade away, only a miracle can help. This time, it was the miracle of CHILD SPONSORSHIP. Fortunately, someone came forward and sponsored Saloni. Saloni’s dream, wish and desire came true through Child Sponsorship. Saloni now studies in a school in Agra, and dreams of becoming a police officer. There are several children like Saloni who are still looking for someone to step into their life and give them a future. You can gift a child, like Saloni, a fighting chance at life through Child Sponsorship.
If you are already sponsoring a child, you can choose to sponsor another child in need. Alternatively, you can influence your friends or acquaintances to sponsor. And we’ve made this easier for you. Just hand over the Child Sponsorship card [insert inside] to those you think would be willing to help a child in need.