Secretary’s Desk
Greetings from CLPOA !
As of today CLPOA has been successful in establishing relationships with 300 organizations throughout the states and has become active member of various national and international level networks. Through its NGO partners CLPOA reaches nearly 100000 children and puts its effort to bring about new meaningful changes to their lives.
To encorage children’s partcipation in programmes meant for them CLPOA has been instrumental in evolving a Children’s Council where they get opportunity to speak for themselves and make the adults hear their voices.Today 148 chldren from various NGO partners are member of this ‘Children’s Council’.
CLPOA also gives considerable emphasis on capacity building of NGO personnel and other stakeholders with view to enabling them to handle children’s issues better. It also aims at building solidarity and synery among stakeholders, especially NGO partners in relation to standardization of services, replication of best practices etc.
CLPOA, being a right based networking body, sensitization of stakeholders has been a major task. CLPOA with support from UNICEF has been able to work on issuance of birth certificates to 5000 children of kolkata. The process continued during 2008 and 2009.
Of the main activities, Education and Health are the priorities for CLPOA. As of date CLPOA has been able to bring 28500 never enrolled children children in the formal schooling arena with support from SSA. School Edcation Dept, Govt of West bngal has been kind enough to sanction mid-day meals fo these children.
Also its mobile van “Healing Wheels”- could reach nearly 1500 children with treatment and medicines. School sanitation through construction of toilets and installation of drinking water facielities with support from GOAL(Ireland) has been one of the successful supplementary efforts to govt facielities. During the period under report, 200 Water & Sanitation complexes have been erected for the benefit of nearly 16000 students.
CLPOA in its association with Kolkata Enviornmental Improvement Project (KEIP) and worked in Rehabilitation and Resettlement programme.
Childline activities continued with more focussed approach to combating child labour , trafficing etc.
Publicaton of necessary document on issue on children are added activities in CLPOA of late.Most of these publications aim at providing guidance to NGO partners in relation to various govt rules and regulations, child related laws, developent issues etc.A CD song on AIDS was composed and CD prepared to empower children on AIDS.
Accepting of placement of students from various universities and academic institution is an important activity in CLPOA. It gives students of development studies a first hand experience of the field. Students of IIFT, New Delhi were placed in CLPOA.
Staff Training was also one of the important activities.
The activities and programmes of CLPOA being carried out underline the strong solidarity and the partnership among various stakeholders. On behalf of my colleagues and myself I take this oportunity to convey my sincere thanks and gratitude to all govt and non-govt supportive partners without who’s help we could not have achieved any success.
Achintya Bhattacharya
(Secretary: CLPOA)