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Additional Presentations by Manju(Guriya) and AID Chennai Full-timers |
Guriya, represented by Manju in the conference, is an NGO working with the aim of restoring prostitutes in the mainstream society. It is a Varanasi based organization having full time volunteers working for the cause. Manju talked about various activities that Guriya is directly involved in, like working towards providing food, education and medical aid (through a dispensary) to the children. So far the number of children, picked up from red-light areas, has reached thirty-five. She said that the group is also working with women, organizing them to advance for their human rights.
The above session was followed by presentations from various AID full-timers. They talked about the initiatives at Kuvathur and Vembakkam. The group in Kuvathur started when primary and secondary education was initiated post-Tsunami. An assessment was done for the basic requirements of the community after the disaster and currently the group is involved in several activities in the fields of education, adolescent health and child nutrition. It has two full time volunteers, visiting eighteen schools regularly. Their future plan includes starting some creative forum, like painting and karate classes, and working towards involving local government in their development programs.
Vijaylakshmi, Vembakkam coordinator with more than a decade of experience, presented some facts about the initiative at Vembakkam. There are 13 full-timers and 126 volunteers working here. Sustained counselling and regular meetings with parents have helped in reducing malnutrition and getting the students inducted into first and second grade.
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