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| Tuesday, 13 January 2004 |
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Moratuwa special correspondent Hope for Children, the British charity currently in Sri Lanka has agreed to support a pilot project to protect the rights of child workers. The project is being implemented on the ground by the Social Development Foundation (SDF) based at Pulmoddai. Hope's Sri Lanka Representative Tyrell Cooray told the Daily News that the SDF had selected 10 children, five boys and five girls between the ages of seven and eleven for the pilot project. The project outputs include schooling for the children, promotion of child rights and provision of alternative assistance to eliminate these children being engaged in employment. The parents, most of whom are widows will have awareness sessions and will also be financially assisted to ensure uninterrupted schooling of their children. The charity which has now stepped into the tenth year is also sponsoring an orphan support scheme as an alternative to long-term institutional care. The scheme is implemented on the ground by the People's Welfare Organisation in Kopay. Currently 30 children, boys and girls between the ages of six and seventeen, who have lost their parents and are living with a member of the extended family are being supported to continue schooling. They are also provided nutritional supplements. Additionally, monies are deposited in a savings account in favour of each child. Cooray added that the charity had also agreed to renew its contributions for the second year in succession to the child focussed community development project titled Praja Pragathi in Katukeliyawa, a village in Medawachchiya. The project which is implemented by the Rajarata Participatory Development Foundation envisages the enhancement of the socio-economic, health standards of the community, especially the children, mainly through the improvements of the quality of care and standards in the pre-school. Provision of micro enterprises on a revolving credit scheme, employment of women and children, help with good parenting and the improvement of health and sanitation. Among the outputs during the year under review are the construction of toilets and wells for drinking water, homestead dairies, home gardens and the formation of women's groups and a children's club. |
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