In an attempt to enable Devadasi communities to gain information on Indian child protection laws, a training programme for para-legal volunteers was organised by Children of India’s GOOD project at Vijayapura and Belagavi district in Karnataka. The training was held on the 10th, 17th and 24th December of 2021 for a total of 164 volunteers. The...

Maintaining an open channel of communication between the people and the government is essential. Kishori Leaders belonging to the Devadasi community, who advocate for change and 31 duty bearers from Kugidi, Karnataka, including Taluk Legal Service Authority members, Anganwadi supervisors, ASHA workers, the Child Development Project Officer, and others, participated in a dialogue hosted by...

Though the Devadasi practice was outlawed nearly one hundred years ago, in 1924, it continues to exist in certain parts of the country due to continuous underreporting and its underground nature. The Devadasi system is the “offering” of girl children, after which they become sex workers.  The Devadasi Security Act of 1934 makes this practice...

Prostitution in temples, such as the Devadasis cult, has occurred in India since the country’s inception.  This occupation degraded into temple prostitution in the present times. This practice is illegal in India under the Devadasi Security Act of 1934. This prohibition was reinforced in the 1980s, although the law is still violated on a daily basis....

Outcome Harvesting is a project assessment and mapping approach that brings real and tangible change between children, the community, government officials, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).  On October 21st and 22nd, one such process was carried out for our project, IMAGE which focuses on the empowerment of child marriage victims across 15 districts of Karnataka. ...

During the pandemic, reaching out to the poor and affected people has been difficult, especially owing to COVID 19 restrictions.  Children of India Foundation’s Children GOOD project planned an awareness programme in the Vijayapura district on August 27, 2021, to help with this process. The programme’s major goal was to increase awareness about all anti-social...

During the last few months, the state of Karnataka has been enforcing curfews and lockdowns due to the surge of COVID cases in the country. Schools and colleges have been shut down, the unemployment rate has increased, and the number of COVID cases has been rapidly rising. People are experiencing isolation, loneliness and frustration created...

With an average of 50,000 new cases daily in the month of May, Karnataka witnessed a new peak in the COVID pandemic. The second wave did not spare children, teenagers, and youth in their 20s, who accounted for a large number of infections and fatalities. According to the official data, 7,06,449 people got infected between...

The Balmanch (Children’s club) in mica dependent districts, emphasises on promoting education, self development, managing and operating facilities provided to children. The Balmanch was formed by our project and the children in the club work towards addressing child exploitation as a result of child labour in the region.  Balmanch meetings are conducted once in every...