ERADICATION OF FEMALE INFANTICIDE PROGRAMMES: Female children are considered as expensive because of the rituals followed from birth to death and the marriage expenses related to women. Irrespective of their threefold burden in the family which could be valued more than the earning of men, they are denied of the right to born and the rights to live in some particular parts of Tamilnadu hence the female children has been undergoing the evil practice of female infanticide and feticide. It
had been found out through a systematic research that for every 1000 male
children there are 846 female children were prevailing in a particular
community. After realizing the stark reality and seeing the big variation
between male and female ratio ARD has been addressing this crucial issue for
the past 22 years with the support of Andheri Hilfe Germany. We took lot of efforts to sensitize the target community by highlighting the potentials of female children through cultural performances, preschool education, evening tuition centers, children’ parliament and technical education and proved that female children are more potential than male children in education, extracurricular and co curricular activities, sharing of family responsibilities, supplementing family income and give respect and affection to their parents.The new born female babies and
their parents are being monitored closely by the health committees in each
village and counseled to accept any children born and nurture the girl child. Now
the birth of a female child in a family is being celebrated by the entire
villagers. As an encouragement mode the families, those who have given birth to
two female children, were provided with two coconut saplings and three goats
for income generation purpose. We have been concentrating on 240 villages for the purpose of female infanticide eradication, out of which we are able to completely eradicate the practice in 150 villages and now we are striving hard our better to eradicate the practice in the remaining 90 villages. During this financial year, we are able to save more than 866 female children from the practice of feticide and infanticide with community participation.
PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION: In order to promote female education and highlight the potentials of female children, improve the children education and their learning, 27 pre-schools centers have been run in remote villages and needy places, of which 662 children were enrolled. The children were taught education through games, learning by doing things and paid attention on physical and psychological well being of the children. The pre-school paved a significant support for the improvement of health and knowledge of poor children in general and particularly for the girl children. The parents and teachers meetings are conducted regularly for the betterment of pre-school function. The parents were motivated to nurture their daughters with love and affection and to tender and care for them the same way they do for their sons. During this academic year 402 children are promoted to primary education.
EVENING TUITION PROGRAMME: With the sole aim of proving female children’s potentials and to avoid school dropout ratio found among female children, we have been providing supplementary education through evening tuition centers where we concentrate equal on education, building moral values discipline and social consciousness, highlight the hidden potentials of children and also to shine on education as well as sports, games and co- curricular activities for the past 27 years. We create opportunities to enhance their skills through sports meets, public meetings, organizing competitions etc., The program was started initially at 20 villages as an entry point to reach the community to eradicate female infanticide eradication. At present, the program has been extended to 240 female infanticide prone villages and another 120 villages. Now, we use this as a strategy to convince the parents and community by highlighting the positive changes, which helped to control school dropout ratio among girl children and promote their higher education. SAI PREMADHARA HOME FOR ORPHANED CHILDREN: The home has been functioning at Kaandai with 58 children those who are orphaned and neglected at various life situations and family situations from Madurai and Ramanathapuram Districts. Mostly we admitted children those who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The children are provided with schooling, food and accommodation, life skill education; moral values to stand on own leg and face any kind of situation. We have been witnessing considerable changes in the attitude and behavior of the home children than before. They are more disciplined than before and scoring good marks in the examinations.