India
300 million people in India are struggling to survive on less than US$1 a day. The country is frequently hit by natural disasters. An estimated 3.1 million people are living with HIV.
- We’re improving the quality of education for 14,800 primary school children
- We’re helping 5,600 school drop-outs get a basic education
- We’re saving lives with health and nutrition programmes in Rajasthan and West Bengal
- We’re providing aid to 10,000 families affected by floods in Bihar
We’re helping families in emergencies
Heavy floods on 29 September 2009 in southern India, described by officials as the worst in decades, have left more than 2.5 million people homeless. We're distributing hygiene kits with oral rehydration salts and water purification tablets to reduce the risk of diarrhoea. Read more about how we're responding to help children and their families.
We’re educating children
Most children in India (90%) enrol in primary school, but four in ten drop out before they’ve completed their five years. Much teaching is still done by traditional rote learning methods, corporal punishment is common, and children are often taught in a language they don’t understand.
We’re working to improve the quality of education at preschool and primary levels in ten districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Together with the government, we’re training teachers in 50 primary schools and 47 Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres in how to get their pupils really involved in what they’re learning. Some 14,800 children benefited from this over the past year.
In Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, we’re supporting bridging courses and alternative education centres for working children, girls, children from certain castes and tribal groups and children working in hazardous industries. In the past year, 5,600 children gained a basic education, and 2,700 subsequently moved into mainstream schools.
We’re highlighting the plight of child domestic workers
We spearheaded the review of the implementation of the law banning child labour, together with other agencies such as UNICEF and the International Labour Organization.
About one-third of the India’s one billion population live below the poverty line. Millions of children work to support their families.
A recent study carried out by Save the Children found that more than 50,000 children are employed as domestic helper’s in other people’s homes in Calcutta.
These children are subjected to many different forms of abuse - some are as young as five and most of them are girls. Nirubala, 13, was beaten with an iron.
Save the Children - through their partner Right Track - provide child-workers an education along with recreational resources at a number of drop-in centres.
Kanika, left, shares a joke with other rescued child domestic workers in a drop-in centre.
We’re raising awareness of HIV and AIDS
Working through schools, children’s groups and local partners, we’ve been raising children’s awareness of HIV and AIDS. In the past year we’ve reached more than 25,000 children and 55,000 adults. As a result, 701 people volunteered to get tested for HIV, with follow-up and support provided by our partners.
Bal Raksha, Bharat
Save the Children, Bal Raksha, Bharat is an independent member of the International Save the Children Alliance. Save the Children has existed in India since pre-independence days and is currently working in 11 states and union territories of India.
Find out more
- Read more about what we're doing in India. Download the country brief (PDF 112KB).
- Go to the Save the Children India website
- Find out how we're saving children's lives in rural India
- Read about the difficulties of being a mother in parts of rural India.
India-related news stories
- Friday 29 May 2009 Low death toll masks true extent of Indian cyclone
- The true death toll and damage caused by Cyclone Aila in the Indian state of West Bengal could be a lot higher than reported. We fear that this could cause a drop in public support for appeals to help those affected by the cyclone, which struck on May 25.
- Thursday 28 May 2009 Save the Children races to help survivors of Cyclone Aila in Bangladesh and India
- Cyclone Aila has killed hundreds of people and caused widespread flooding and destruction to low-lying coastal areas in India and Bangladesh. We are preparing to provide clean water and daily essentials to affected children and their families.
- Wednesday 18 February 2009 More than 20,000 children unable to return to school six months on from Bihar floods
- Six months after India experienced its worst flooding in more than half a century, more than 20,000 children in the northern state of Bihar have still not returned to regular schooling.
