1.5 million (15 lakh) children are born with birth defects in India every year.
2.5 million (25 lakh) children are affected with development delays in India every year.
Children in India is committed to transform lives of these children by ensuring Healthcare and Education.
To see every child with birth defects and every child affected with development delays has access to healthcare & rehabilitation and is integrated into education system so that their full potential is attained and they all have the best possible quality, productive and independent life.
Vision of Children
What we do
‘Children in India Trust’ (Children) is a national network of inspired social development specialists, healthcare professionals, counsellors and family members of children with birth defects and development delays. ‘Children’ as an organisation is committed to ensure timely access to healthcare intervention & appropriate rehabilitation so that children irrespective of their social, financial and physical conditions have quality life, education opportunity, independent and productive future.
Children work in close partnership with its sister organisation, CURE International India Trust (CIIT), which has over 11 years of experience working with every state government in jointly implementing one of the birth deformities (clubfoot) program. The national network of very committed staff of CIIT will work with the team of Children in implementing, monitoring and serving children with birth deformity and development delay.
Children as an organisation is in the process of creating private – public partnership with each of the State governments in initiating a comprehensive program to collaborate with Dept. of Health &Family welfare, Dept. of Social Justice and Empowerment and Women & Child Dept. for early detection, timely treatment, community based rehabilitation and aftercare to integrate these children into the mainstream education system in India. Pilot clinics are established in Delhi and Uttarakhad and a pilot state level program is initiated in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Mission of Children
To partner with Government of India’s initiative (RBSK) for children with birth defects and children affected with development delays in association with all the state governments and work closely with all the Government medical colleges and hospitals including District Early Intervention Centres (DEIC) to serve children and their parents with the right information and facilitate early medical care, community based rehabilitation and compulsory education for all.
Whom we work with
In India over 25 million children are born every year. Among them 6% of the children are born with some birth defects. This translates to around 15 lakh children. In addition around 10% o fchildren (25 lakh children) are affected with development delays Children in India is an organisation that is committed to work with parents of these children with birth defects and development delays so that timely early intervention is ensured and these children get education opportunities in the regular schools including Anganwadis.
Children with birth defects and children affected with development delays are often admitted in ‘special schools’. This practice of special school system is excluding majority of children with disabilities from the education opportunity. For example, when around 200,000 children suffer visual impairment every year in India, only 15,000 children have opportunity to join ‘blind’ school for the visually challenged. However it’s is important that every child irrespective of the birth defects or development delay, should have equal opportunity to acquire education as well as experience peer pressure and have opportunities in life.
Birth Defects & Development Delays
Birth Defects
1. Clubfoot
2. Visual Challenge
3. Hearing Impaired
Developmental Delays
1. Cerebral Palsy
2. Down Syndrome
3. Autism
Objective & Goal of Children
Children’s objective is ultimately to transform the perception of the society that children with disabilities can improve their quality of life with timely intervention. Inclusive society can be achieved only when the attitude of the general mass is changed and transformed. Only when millions of children’s lives are transformed the nation will be transformed into an inclusive and accessible nation with accessible public spaces, public transport and public education system. So Children’s goal is to serve every child with birth defects and every child affected with development delays and ensures equal opportunity for timely medical care, community based holistic rehabilitation and inclusive education irrespective of their physical, social and economic conditions.
Staff team and network of Children will work with
1. Healthcare professionals – to ensure for timely healthcare and assistive devices for all children.
2. Parents – to enable them to participate in the completion of healthcare and social rehabilitation of their child and facilitate community based rehabilitation
3. Anganwadi/ pre-primary / play school teachers to encourage them to include children with birth defects and development delays and create an inclusive pre-primary, primary and higher education system in India.
4. Government officials to receive details of children with birth defects and children affected with development delay and also report back to them on how Children has successfully facilitated care, rehabilitation, education and mainstream integration.
5. Well-wishers and partners to receive resources to sustain this initiative and ensure more children are holistically transformed.
6. Children who are transformed in this program who will further inspire and motivate other children under medical care, rehabilitation and education.
Benefit of this noble inclusive initiative
1. All children irrespective of their physical and economic status attend daily classes and improve their communication and mobility skills. No child is excluded from the education system that is their constitutional right.
2. All children to get access to nutritious food in the nearest Anganwadi.
3. All children in the Anganwadi get experience of living and growing with children with physical disabilities and development delays.
4. All children living with disability and development delays get the same atmosphere like other children to learn, grow, socialise, play, eat and spend quality time in Anganwadi centres or other schools.
5. All parents get emotional and physical support of society at large and counselling support from Children.
6. Parents of children with birth defects and development delays get time to farm, work and take care of the household responsibilities live like any other parents.
7. Elderly members in the family get proper attention and care, when children with birth defects and development delays are in Anganwadi centres during day time and not at home.
8. In New India our nation will have no disabled child left without healthcare, rehabilitation and education opportunity.
9. In near future more and more persons with disabilities will have better opportunities, productive and independent life.
10. The world will be more inclusive and accessible at all levels.
Program Status
Pilot program: A pilot program has been initiated in 11 districts in Tamil Nadu where 110 anganwadi’s will be upgraded into inclusive anganwadis. The workers and teachers in these centres are scheduled to be trained to include children with birth defects and development delays to the regular classes. Mothers of these children will be permitted to spend the forenoon in the anganwadis so that they are available to assist the workers if required.
Counsellors of Children are closely working with the DEIC team to facilitate documentation and the availability of assistive devices to all children. This includes, foot abduction braces to children under treatment for clubfoot, rollator, CP chair, customised wheelchair etc. More importantly these counsellors work with the parents and the local Anganwadi workers to make sure that, children with birth defects and development delays attend classes and training to manage peer pressure and social behaviour.
To ensure timely medical care and rehabilitation, designated CP clinics are functional in Govt. medical colleges in Delhi, Dehradun and Rishikesh and soon these children registered for treatment and rehabilitation will also attend Anganwadi/ pre-primary education in their own respective villages. Many of these children received wheelchair from the Wheelchair clinic established by Children and CURE India.
Currently there are 4 CP clinics functioning
| Sr. No | Clinic Name | No. of Children Enrolled till Aug 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Kalavathi Hospital Delhi | 5 |
| 3 | AIIMS Rishikesh | 10 |
| 4 | Coronation Hospital Dehradun | 50 |
| 1 | St. Stephen Hospital Delhi | 23 |
For successfully achieving this comprehensive program including the inclusive Anganwadis, the following activities and training will be carried out
1. Anganwadi teachers and workers across the nation to be trained to understand the fact that 6% of children are born with birth defects and 10% of children get affected by development delays.
2. A study module has been developed that will be included in the training manual and every teacher/worker will undergo a refresher basic training periodically to identify and train children with development delays and integrate them to the mainstream education system.
3. Anganwadi teachers will be taught the basics of caring and rehabilitation of children with birth defects and development delays.
4. All children living with disabilities and development delay are to be encouraged to attend the nearest Anganwadi/ play school and continue their education.
5. All children irrespective of their disability get access to mid-day meal/ nutritious food every day in the Anganwadi.
6. Awareness on the growing number of development delay has to be spread among the general public.
7. Documentation to facilitate and promote research to be carried out in this unique model.
8. Pioneer medical institution to use the data and work towards prevention and find ways to identify causes that lead to growing number of birth defects and development delays among children.
9. The society at large will be educated to understand the fact that children with birth defects and development delays has the right to attend regular education systems both at the primary and secondary and higher level including professional training.
Motivation India – Wheelchair clinic
Children in India in partnership with CURE International India has initiated designated CP clinic in two hospitals in Delhi. St Stephens Hospital, where Dr Mathew Varghese treat children with cerebral palsy and in Lady Hardinge Medical College, where Dr Alok Sud treat children with CP.
Apart from designated CP clinic in hospitals, Children in India and CURE India partnered with Motivation India and has established a wheelchair clinic in Delhi, where customised wheelchair is given to children. This has enabled around .
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