Plan India Annual Progress Report 2009

A YEAR IN

INDIA SUMMARY REPORT

KYRGYZSTAN

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GOOD REASONS why Plan works in India

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KMENISTAN

KAZAKHSTAN

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UZBEKISTAN

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TAJIKISTAN

The boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by Plan International.

AFGHANISTAN

The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not been agreed upon by the parties.

Uttarkashi Gairsain

Lunkaransar us IndBajju New Delhi

Delhi

NEPAL

Varanasi

PAKISTAN

Udaipur

CHINA

Brahmaputra

• Despite India’s economic growth, over a third of its population live in absolute poverty

Maharajganj Muzzafarpur Patna Ganges

• 43% of children under five are moderately or severely underweight

Kolkata BANGLADESH

Bhubaneshwar

• 12% of children aged from five to 14 years old have to work

MYANMAR

Chilika Koraput

Nizamabad

Mumbai Pune

Hyderabad Vijayawada Krishna Krishna

Deodurg

Bangalore

Our priorities in India • Making sure children, their families and communities have access to good quality healthcare

Chennai

INDIA

Dharmapuri SRI LANKA

• Giving children, particularly girls, the chance of a decent education

Country Office Programme Unit

• Ensuring children and their families live in safe and healthy environments • Helping families to increase their financial security INDIA

Children participate in a child support forum.

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Grande

cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish. Major industries include textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transport equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery and software.

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Economy: With an average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% for the past two

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Climate: India’s climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the monsoons. The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowing

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Language: Hindi (official).

Urdu and English are widely spoken

decades, the economy is among the fastest growing in the world. It has the world’s second largest labour force, with 516.3 million people. In terms of output, the agricultural sector accounts for 28% of GDP; the service and industrial sectors make up 54% and 18% respectively. Major agricultural products include rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes;

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Population: One billion

in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes. The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden southwest summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India’s rainfall.

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Capital: New Delhi

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INDIA FACTS

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A youth workshop on vocational skills.

“Plan is encouraging participation of children and adults in their communities to help them take responsibility for their development.”

– Roland Angerer, Plan’s Country Director

A YEAR IN

INDIA SUMMARY REPORT

09

FOCUS ON: INCREASING FINANCIAL SECURITY Plan is working to increase families’ household incomes and ensure they enjoy greater financial security. Our work includes job training for young people to equip them with skills for employment.

We promote better agricultural and crop production techniques to help farmers increase their yields. We support credit and savings groups and help with setting up small businesses.

We also promote teaching for families on activities such as honey harvesting and growing cash crops, to boost food supply and incomes.

A CHANCE FOR VIKAS

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A disability school project in the Koppal district.

The Bigger Picture

Plan is working with children, families and whole communities to address the problems that Indiai faces. This report can only tell a small part of that story. As a further insight, last year we also: • Enabled families get clean, safe water by working with them to build or upgrade 161 water points or systems • Raised standards in education by supporting professional training for 2,709 teachers • Gave 1,226 people the opportunity to increase their incomes with vocational and business training • Promoted birth registration campaigns to make sure the most vulnerable children have a birth certificate and a recognised identity in law.

Your support as a sponsor is crucial to achieving these positive results. So on behalf of the communities, partner organisations, and most of all the children we work with – thank you!

“He took the job at the granite works. Before long, however, his health was so poor that he had to return home.”

To learn more about Plan’s work in India visit www.plan.org.au/ourwork/asia/india

Produced for India by the Australian National Office.

t was a job, but it felt more like a punishment.

Every day, Vikas would risk his health in the dust and the baking heat to earn what little he could at the granite factory. The wages were low and frequently late.

If Vikas could have found another way to make an income, he would. But he had no other option.

His family live in a remote village in Denkanikottai Taluk, southern India. Life here is hard, and there are few opportunities for employment.

Vikas’s father is too old to work, so his mother sells vegetables and his brother works as an agricultural labourer to bring in a meagre wage. Once they have paid for basic necessities like food there’s little money left over.

Although Vikas’s family tried hard to keep him in school, eventually the cost of books and uniforms became too great and he had to drop out. He too was needed to boost the family finances.

So, he took the job at the granite works. Before long, however, his health was so poor from inhaling granite dust all day that he had to return home. Like his brother, he became a casual labourer.

Vocational programme It seemed as if this would be Vikas’s lot in life. But then he heard about the vocational training courses that Plan and our local partner organisation Myrada offer to young people who have dropped out of school or who have little formal education.

At Myrada’s training centre, students follow a sixmonth programme covering trades like tailoring, welding or electronics. The centre also aims to give young people the confidence and skills to find a job, live away from home and take their place in wider society. Students are encouraged not just to

“It has given a new twist in my life, has built my confidence and skills. Now I need not work under hot sun but am able to earn a better salary to support my family.”

study, but also to use the centre’s library, computers and sports facilities. It is also a time for mixing with other young people and making friends.

Once Vikas had visited the centre he was keen to apply for a place on one of the courses. He chose welding and machine fitting.

New beginning Vikas’s studies combined learning in the classroom with practical training on how to use the specialist tools and equipment. He also spent several weeks on a placement with a local company, gaining valuable hands-on experience and learning about life at work.

Even better news was to come. With the centre’s support, he passed an interview at an engineering works to work as a machine operator. The company, like many others where students are helped to find employment offered Vikas a regular wage, extra guidance, free accommodation and food.

Happy in his work, he says: “It has given a new twist in my life, has built my confidence and skills. Now I need not work under the hot sun but am able to earn a better salary to support my family.”

He continues: “The opportunity to acquire vocational skills at the centre is really a boon, especially for the school drop-outs or the ones having minimum education.”

Together, Plan and Myrada are helping to give Vikas and others like him a new direction and a more prosperous future.

Some names have been changed for child protection and privacy purposes.

plan.org.au