Child Welfare Programs In India

India is one of the most diverse countries with its ever growing population. Being the second most populous country and one of the fastest growing economies, India is becoming home to more and more cheap labour and thus, greater exploitation of the rights of these people, their families and their children who are often denied a healthy childhood and a nurturing environment. As a developing country, India has about 440 million children whose lives are endangered because of being exposed to various atrocities and exploitative activities that resist their years of growing and their days of childhood. To help these disadvantaged children , Lakshyam has tried to reach as many of them possible in the past years in 11 states in India and some countries abroad. To uplift the lives of these children, Lakshyam aims at providing them with standard education and opportunities to hone their skills and personalities. The Child Welfare Programs in India works to uplifts children and women of at-risk communities through education & employment. There are 2 major child welfare programs conducted by Lakshyam :

Lakshyam’s 'Butterfly: Child Welfare & Education' program	To create awareness about various important issues and rights and offer holistic education to children.
Lakshyam Toy Library	A need-based approach for a healthy childhood.

Beyond this, Lakshyam is actively involved in activities such as skill-training workshops, health-camps, awareness camps about sanitation and various extra-curricular events and activities that are designed to provide a practical platform to the children that will help them push their boundaries and become more efficient. Lakshyam has also opened two computer centres in the Mahilong village, Jharkhand and aims at completely changing how education is facilitated in rural India.

Keeping in mind the famous quote by Herbert Hoover- “Children are our most valuable natural resource” the ‘Butterfly: Child Welfare & Education Program’ was started by Lakshyam with the thought that the children of today would lead the legacy of the country who would lead the world and be the future of mankind. When the founders of Lakshyam Ms. Poonam Anand and Ms. Rashi Anand saw how children were living in deplorable conditions, and were subjected to exploitation and harsh environments with no awareness of their rights, they took a resolve and launched these child-welfare programs to uplift these children by providing them standard education and an engaging and nurturing environment to hone their skills and build their confidence and capabilities to face the future. This logo of the wings of butterfly symbolises freedom, expression and vitality and how children bring colour to the world of black and white and grow up in turn to improve the conditions and bring about a change in the society and help those in need.

This effort is to drive down and completely abolish the term “underprivileged”. With this objective, children at Lakshyam are taught Hindi, English, Math and Computer Sciences, in an attempt to methodically fill in the gaps in formal education. When a child who is not very well-versed with English or compute and struggles in private or government schools, the remedial centers of Lakshyam provide free of cost tutorials. Twice a week, volunteers from IIT- Delhi work on formulating strategies to bring back the lost interest of children in studies. Focusing on holistic or overall development, recreational activities such as dance competitions, painting, magic shows, puppet shows and other such activities and events play a crucial role in child welfare at Lakshyam. Not only this, children and mothers at the communities are being educated about healthcare and sanitation, ranging from menstrual sanitation to child healthcare etc.

Lakshyam came up with a brilliant idea of setting ‘Toy Libraries’ across various states including Delhi. Toys are the most important materialistic goods in a child’s life. Children express themselves through toys and build a deep connection with them. These toy libraries have an assemblage of toys and story books which were collected in toy boxes, set up in various schools. Till now about 2,00,000 toys have been distributed all over the country and Lakshyam seeks to expand it even further. As of today, Laksyam has managed to spread itself to over 3 countries and 17 states and has positively influenced the lives of more than 30100 children.

Lakshyam has succeeded in empowering countless children in India. In a period of just a few years, Lakshyam has expanded and buttressed its innovative programs to change the society. The various camps, workshops and programs are designed to cater to the need-based approach. Lakshyam has recently started its work with Scotland. Two stores in Aberdeen, Scotland, showcase the handcrafted products. Lakshyam aims at making the children of today, the success of tomorrow. The child welfare programs in India aims at voicing the needs and rights of these children and empower them with the power of education and an understanding of their rights and requirements. Lakshyam strives to live by the following quote by Nelson Mandela - “There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.”