How does CRY plan to improve the lot of the girl child?

At present, Child Relief and You is funding 314 child development initiatives across the country. We do not work directly with children but support those working for them. Of late we are focussing more towards child rights and the areas we are currently working on are the juvenile justice system, child adoption and the National Alliance for Education. In each of these and other programmes we will focus more on the girlchild, which does not mean that the male child will be ignored. The girl needs more attention because discrimination against her exists in all strata of our society.

For instance, Kerala is witnessing a drop in the ratio of the girl child even though it is the most literate state in the country. Research is on to find out the reasons behind this. Since funds are a constraint for full-fledged television spots on this subject, we are asking the entertainment media to weave in the message about the girl child into serials and soap operas.

What exactly is being done to change the juvenile justice and adoption procedures?

The laws regarding these are antiquated and need to be changed. Even where the law exists, they are not implemented. In India, there is no comprehensive law for children or even a proper definition of the word `child'. We are working very close with the government to make remand homes child-friendly. The National Law College in Bangalore will constantly review laws for children. Inthe area of adoption, we are mobilising the agencies concerned and drafting a Bill that will make the adoption process easier and a clear option for those interested.

Another initiative, the National Alliance for Education, is trying to influence the government to bring in the 83rd amendment, that is, making education a fundamental right in the country. India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and we must see to it that laws are framed and implemented in accordance with the convention.

How can an average person help the underprivileged child?

Fifty per cent of our funds come from individuals and the balance from corporates and sale of card and other products. We have almost 60,000 donors at present, most of whom belong to the middle class. It does not take much to help improve a child's life if you really want to. A contribution of Rs 700 a year can educate a child and Rs 1,000 a year can cover the expenses for her education as well as health. This money isour life-blood and this year itself we are disbursing Rs 15 crore that we have collected for different initiatives.