Support our COVID – 19 crisis response
About the Concerned for Working Children (CWC): (www.concernedforworkingchildren.org)
The Concerned for Working Children (CWC) is a not-for-profit, secular, democratic development agency, working for over three decades as a pioneering organisation in the field of children’s rights and civil society participation in Asia. CWC has been thrice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012, 2013 and 2014 for its pioneering work in the field of children’s participation globally. CWC works in partnership with children and their communities; local governments; and national and international agencies to implement viable, comprehensive and appropriate solutions to address the various problems that children and their communities face. We are committed to empowering children and ensuring their democratic participation in all matters that affect them. Our field programmes in Karnataka cover rural and urban areas in Bangalore Urban, Udupi, Bellary and Vijayanagar districts, Karnataka, India. Through our advocacy and research programmes, we have contributed extensively to policy debates around child labour and children’s rights at national and international level.
If you are a resident of the United States of America, please use the following link to support us:
In principle, CWC always works towards ensuring that State fulfils its responsibilities. Due to COVID – 19 our children and communities need immediate responses as they do not have any reserves or security nets to tide them over the delays. CWC requests you to contribute and to share our appeal with your family and friend’s circles. Contributions will be set aside for COVID -19 responses exclusively if that is stipulated. Our donations will have tax deduction provisions under 80G. The CAF link can be found here:
Impact of COVID – 19 on our children and communities:
The COVID-19 pandemic led to severe, unprecedented crisis situations and triggered severe challenges for the children and communities in terms of lack of basic amenities, facilities and support mechanisms. It has disrupted livelihoods, education, physical and mental health and uprooted communities. The COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdowns resulted in lack of access to adequate healthcare services – including geriatric care, care of chronic ailments, emergency response, maternal health care and infant care.
CWC has worked closely with the following children and communities in relation to COVID-19:
- Children below the poverty line not enrolled in Anganwadi Centres or Government schools
- Children of migrant communities in transit
- Children enrolled in Anganwadi Centres
- Children enrolled in government schools
- Working children and working adolescents
- Children in Child Care Institutions
- Migrant workers (children, women and men) in their place of work & Urban poor
- Migrant workers in transit (children, women and men) to their places of origin
- Workers enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
- Rural Communities, with a special focus on the most vulnerable such as Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, persons with disabilities, women-headed households, persons with ailments and elderly above the age of 60
- Gram Panchayats across the state of Karnataka
CWC’s response to COVID-19 crisis:
As emergency response we have mobilised and provided affected communities with groceries, medical aid, transportation support, counselling and heath care. Our emphasis has been on preventive care, awareness-raising; production and distribution of masks, the creation of quarantine facilities, and the ensuring hygienic practices in all project areas.
A COVID-19 response protocol has been implemented in CWC State Resource residential facility and applied in all our field interaction. The organisation, in collaboration with the District Administration has set up a well equipped COVID – 19 care centre at CWC’s State Resource Center to provide care and protection of children whose parents are infected and NNVP for home quarantine center to care for children whose parents are in quarantine.
CWC has helped children and communities to access and use relevant information related to COVID – 19 care, schemes to support affected communities, economic care packages etc. It has helped to them create and access safety systems, physical and emotional care systems. We have consistently mobilised community support, activated local governments, negotiated with state-level officials, and collaborated with civil society organisations to be responsive to children, elderly and all community members.
We have also addressed failure of public food distribution systems, mid-day meal programmes of the education department of the state, lack of responsiveness of the food and civil supplies dept, lack of food security for migrant workers. These have been done with sustained state advocacy, helping children and community members to directly communicate with State Level and District Level officials and also using media as a platform for advocacy.
CWC has advocated for and secured long due salaries of MGNREGA Workers and that of Community Health Workers. Both these have State Wide implications. We have also been part of a State COVID response team set up Chief Ministers’ office and led by the Principal Secretary of Decentralisation. We have also helped State design and implement an MIC system to locate and support children affected by COVID in all of Karnataka.
All of these points are elaborated below:
Here are the links to our response to COVID-19 in Karnataka:
You can find us online here:
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