A Study on NGO Services for Children in Mumbai, India

The present research was conducted to study NGOs services for children in Mumbai through a child rights perspective. The study was exploratory in nature and aimed to assess the implementation of child rights by the NGOs. 35 NGOs working for children in the city of Mumbai comprised the sample and were studied using a questionnaire and rating scale as tools. Findings revealed that education (74 percent) and health (54 percent) were the most common concerns of the organizations. Only 17 percent of the NGOs considered child rights to be a concern. The NGOs implemented the right to participation better than any other right. The right to survival was, however, grossly neglected. It was concluded that there are several gaps and areas of lack in the services offered to children. There is also an urgent need to spread awareness amongst the NGO workers themselves to make child rights a part of organizational mandates.

disadvantaged sections of our society and the various policies and programms have proved inadequate.
It is often a case of misplaced priorities. As the Alternate Report -India (1998) was being published by the Working Group on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the government was engaged in exploding nuclear devices. While they worked at generating a shallow sense of national pride, the Indian child was sidelined. As stated in the Alternate 5HSRUW ³$WWHQWLRQ LV GHÀHFWHG DZD\ IURP WKH PRUH SUHVVLQJ QHHG IRU WKH amelioration of the plight of the vast majority of India's children who continue to suffer illiteracy, hunger, disease, bondage and abuse, and GLJQL¿HG FKLOGKRRG UHPDLQV D GLVWDQW GUHDP 6R WKH JRDOV DUH OLNHO\ WR remain mere goals, the policies little more than promises, the programms starved of funds. The true priorities of the government can be summed up in one sentence: Blackcat commandos over blackboards, cheap child labour over childhood, nuclear bombs over nutrition and incarceration and coercion over care." There has been a gradual realization that social development is, perhaps, too complex a sphere to be handled by the government alone. The government requires the support of voluntary agencies or Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
According to the World Bank (1990), "the diversity of NGOs strains DQ\ VLPSOH GH¿QLWLRQ 7KH\ LQFOXGH PDQ\ JURXSV DQG LQVWLWXWLRQV WKDW DUH entirely or largely independent of the government and that have primarily humanitarian or cooperative rather than commercial objectives." 6HYHUDO UHVHDUFKHUV EHOLHYH WKDW GHVLUHG UHVXOWV DUH EHWWHU DFKLHYHG with NGOs. This is due to a combination of factors including greater ÀH[LELOLW\ UHDGLQHVV IRU FKDQJH DQG LPSURYLVDWLRQ FORVH UHODWLRQV ZLWK FOLHQW JURXSV QHWZRUNLQJ VHQVLWLYLW\ DQG FRPPLWPHQW 6ULYHQNDWDUDPDQD 5DM 6XQGDUDP 7KHVH WUDLWV KDYH PDGH WKH 1*2V D IRUFH WR reckon with. There have, in fact, been several occasions in the past where WKH 1*2 VHFWRU KDV LQÀXHQFHG JRYHUQPHQW SROLFLHV DQG SURJUDPPHV The NGOs have forced the governments to pay attention to the neglected sections of society. They have been instrumental in preventing the state IURP EHFRPLQJ D W\UDQQLFDO SRZHU ,Q D ZD\ 1*2V LQÀXHQFH WKH SDWK course and direction of development.
2QH LQVWDQFH ZKHUH WKH 1*2V RI WKH ZRUOG KDYH LQÀXHQFHG WKH SDWK of development is in the creation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 (CRC). This landmark Convention promises numerous rights to the children of the world including economic rights, social rights, cultural rights, civil rights and political rights. All these rights may be understood in terms of the four basic rights -the right to survival, the right to development, the right to protection and the right to participation. The right to survival includes the right to life, the highest attainable standards of health, nutrition and adequate standards of living. It also includes the right to a name and a nationality. The right to development includes the right to education, support for early childhood development and care, social security and the right to leisure, recreation and cultural activities. The right to protection includes freedom from all forms of exploitation, abuse, inhuman or degrading treatment and neglect, including the right WR VSHFLDO SURWHFWLRQ LQ VLWXDWLRQV RI HPHUJHQF\ DQG DUPHG FRQÀLFWV The right to participation includes respect for the views of the child, freedom of expression, access to appropriate information and freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
According to Price-Cohen (1990), when one looks at the completed draft of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the imprint of the NGO group can be found in almost every article. It is evident that the NGOs have played an active role in the drafting of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Their involvement in the entire process of its creation has EHHQ VLJQL¿FDQW WR VD\ WKH OHDVW ,W ZRXOG EH RQO\ QDWXUDO WR H[SHFW WKHVH organizations to be active in the implementation of the Convention as well. Yet there is very little research and data to elaborate on the implementation of child rights by the NGOs. There remains, however, a need to better understand the implementation of child rights by the NGOs, to ascertain which rights of the child are adequately addressed by them and which rights need greater attention.
The study was exploratory in nature. It aimed to ascertain the relationship between the long term and short term objectives of NGOs and the rights of the child. It also aimed to identify the rights of the child adequately and inadequately addressed by the NGOs. Reading material to aid the organizations' understanding of the CRC was also to be created.
The selected NGOs were approached and invited to be a part of the study. Meetings were arranged with senior members of the organizations and they were asked to complete a questionnaire & rating scale for the study. It was believed that knowledge of the rights-based approach to this UHVHDUFK ZRXOG LQÀXHQFH WKH SDUWLFLSDQW ¶V UHVSRQVHV 7KLV DZDUHQHVV FRXOG KDYH OHG WR PDQLSXODWHG RU PRGL¿HG DQVZHUV DLPHG DW SUHVHQWLQJ WKH organization in a better light. Hence any queries or questions that emerged were addressed honestly, without mention of this facet of the research. At the same time, utmost care was taken to ensure that the participants were not misled or lied to at any stage.
The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire and rating scale. The Questionnaire was designed to gather background information on the NGOs. It comprised of open-ended questions to study the major concerns, short-term and long-term objectives of the organizations. It also inquired about any additional facilities the organization would like WR RIIHU WR WKH FKLOGUHQ LQ WKH IXWXUH 7KH 5DWLQJ 6FDOH FRQVLVWHG RI WKLUW\ statements designed to cover all the rights of the child (as stated in the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child). The statements were framed simply and clearly, and the participants were asked to evaluate their organizations for the implementation of that statement. A 5-point rating scale was used ZLWK RSWLRQV UDQJLQJ IURP µ6WURQJO\ 'LVDJUHH ¶ WR µ6WURQJO\ $JUHH ¶ ZLWK D QHXWUDO UHVSRQVH RI µ&DQ ¶W 6D\ ¶ 6FRUHV ZHUH DVVLJQHG WR HDFK UHVSRQVH UDQJLQJ IURP ± WR %URFKXUHV SDPSKOHWV DQG ZHEVLWH GHWDLOV RI WKH organizations were also collected to gather background information and enhance the researcher's understanding of the organization.

Data Analysis
The data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The information gathered from the questionnaire, brochures/pamphlets and websites was tabulated across various variables such as age of the RUJDQL]DWLRQ WDUJHW JURXSV DJH RI WKH EHQH¿FLDULHV HWF 7KH UHVSRQVHV RI the rating scale were scored and coded for each of the thirty statements. The total score of the NGOs for each statement was determined. The NGOs as a group were thus evaluated for their implementation of each of the rights. The statements were then divided into four groups on the basis of WKH EDVLF ULJKWV 6FRUHV IRU HDFK JURXS ZHUH WRWDOHG DQG PHDQ VFRUHV ZHUH calculated.
The coded data was presented in the form of tables and graphs and analyzed subsequently. The understanding gained from the study was used to create reading material on child rights for child care workers.

Background Information of the NGOs
All the organizations studied were child focused NGOs and were situated in various locations across the city of Mumbai. They included organizations with small as well as large numbers of personnel. The number of personnel ranged from 1 to 175. The smaller organizations were run ZLWK PRVWO\ YROXQWDU\ VXSSRUW ZHUH ORFDO 1*2V ZKLOH KDG QDWLRQDO QHWZRUNV DQG KDG LQWHUQDWLRQDO QHWZRUNV SHUFHQW RI WKH 1*2V ZHUH EHWZHHQ DQG \HDUV RI DJH SHUFHQW ZHUH \HDUV ROG DQG percent were established at least 31 years ago. A greater percentage (57 percent) of the organizations offered non-residential services while the smaller number included residential facilities as well. Majority of the NGOs (68 percent) catered solely to children while 17 percent included services for the community as well. Relatively fewer NGOs offered facilities to the elderly, women and youth. Most of the organizations catered to the school going population (4 -15 years) while less than half of them (43 percent) offered services to children below 3 years of age.

Concerns and Objectives Stated by the NGOs
The objectives that an NGO claims to have are of great importance. The objectives determine the organization's approach, programs and policies. They act as motivators for the staff and help others understand the work of the organization. In spite of this obvious importance, it was observed that several of the NGO representatives were not very clear about WKH REMHFWLYHV RI WKHLU RUJDQL]DWLRQV 6HYHUDO RI WKHP QHHGHG WR UHIHU WR D brochure or report listing the objectives while completing the questionnaire.
This was seen even though the participants were senior members of the organizations and would be expected to know the objectives clearly. This gave the impression that the staff in the NGOs may work hard but without a clear-cut goal or aim in mind.
The organizations were free to list their major concerns and objectives as they liked, as the questions were open ended. There was a lot of similarity in the objectives listed by the various NGOs. There were some basic themes and the objectives were common. These objectives are listed in Table 1 along with the percentage of NGOs that listed them. The objectives in themselves give a picture as to which rights of the child the NGOs largely focus upon. Education was the most common with RI WKH SHUFHQW 1*2V OLVWLQJ LW DV RQH RI WKHLU SULPH REMHFWLYHV Clearly then, the right to education is one of the best addressed rights by the NGOs. The CRC has given special emphasis to education. It has also become a priority in national planning. There is a growing realization of the importance of education in building a nation. This importance is perhaps understood by the NGO community as well. Education is also a relatively easy service to offer as compared to other facilities. The NGOs thus devote a large chunk of their resources to educating children.
More than half the NGOs consider providing health services as an objective. There is an understanding that an unhealthy or physically weak child cannot enjoy other facilities offered to him or her. Thus the RUJDQL]DWLRQV SD\ VSHFLDO DWWHQWLRQ WR WKH KHDOWK RI WKHLU EHQH¿FLDULHV Offering shelter, working towards the holistic development of the child and giving vocational training are other common objectives. Only 6 NGOs (17 percent) mentioned child rights in their objectives or brochures. This LV LQ VSLWH RI WKH IDFW WKDW ,QGLD KDV UDWL¿HG WKH &RQYHQWLRQ DOPRVW \HDUV ago and it should have become a part of organizational mandates by now. The NGOs that listed child rights were not necessarily the highest scoring organizations. But their mention of the term showed some awareness about the Convention. Most of the NGO brochures and websites still have a welfare based approach rather than a rights based one. The emphasis is on 'providing' or 'giving' to the children, rather than on securing for them what is truly theirs. One of the principle thoughts behind the creation of the CRC was that children's services should not be viewed as something that stems from charity, generosity or political will. It should be viewed as D 5,*+7 RI WKH FKLOG 'DYLG 7DNLQJ D ULJKWV EDVHG DSSURDFK UDWKHU than a welfare approach creates a sense of duty upon those involved with children. They must see this work as their responsibility towards children rather than something they can do as per their convenience. And this was not seen in majority of the brochures.
The least number of organizations listed creating children's books or other literature as one of their objectives. Certain objectives like recreation were not listed very commonly, but were part of the programs of many NGOs. For example, only 6 percent of the organizations listed recreation as an objective but most others mentioned it somewhere else as part of DQRWKHU SURJUDPV 7KLV FRQ¿UPHG WKH UHVHDUFKHU ¶V H[SHFWDWLRQ WKDW VHYHUDO of the activities conducted by the organizations may not be part of their original program. The organizations may simply be engaging in these activities as and when the need and opportunity arises. Another reason for leaving recreation out of the objectives may be that offering recreational services does not excite donors. The layperson perhaps does not see this to be an immediate need of children and would refrain from contributing to such a program. Many people fail to realize the importance of leisure time in child development. They perceive it as being frivolous and secondary and would give more importance to concerns that "sound" serious such as education or shelter. The NGOs may thus be compelled to leave out such objectives from their literature. Hence it is necessary to consider the responses of the rating scale, in addition to the objectives, to gain a true understanding of the work of NGOs.

Implementation of rights of the child
The Convention has categorized children's rights into four basic rights -the right to survival, the right to development, the right to protection and the right to participation. These rights are indivisible and interdependent. )DLOXUH WR VHFXUH DQ\ RQH ULJKW ZRXOG XQGRXEWHGO\ KDPSHU WKH IXO¿OOPHQW of other rights. It is thus essential that each of these rights be secured for children in totality.
In keeping with the rights based approach to this research, the results of the rating scale have also been divided into these four categories. The NGOs fared differently in their implementation of these four rights.  VOLUME 4, NOMOR 1, JUNI 2007 The highest possible score for any right is 70 while the lowest possible score is -70. As evident in Fig. 1., there was a vast difference in the attention given to the four basic rights. The NGOs scored the highest RQ WKH ULJKW WR SDUWLFLSDWLRQ IROORZHG E\ WKH ULJKW WR GHYHORSPHQW 7KH VFRUH IRU WKH ULJKW WR SURWHFWLRQ ZDV FRPSDUDWLYHO\ ORZHU The right to survival (-1.40) is clearly far less addressed than the other rights. The rights in this category are then in great need of attention.

RIGHT TO SURVIVAL
The right to survival includes the right to life, the highest attainable VWDQGDUGV RI KHDOWK QXWULWLRQ DQG DGHTXDWH VWDQGDUGV RI OLYLQJ 7DEOH elucidates the statements given to judge the implementation of this right.

Statement
No.

3
Initiatives are taken at least once in six months to ensure the survival of the child to the maximum extent possible.
14 The organization is actively involved with promoting and facilitating authorized adoption of children in need. Pre and postnatal care is provided to mothers along with knowledge of appropriate health, nutrition and child rearing practices.
-34 6WDWHPHQWV DQG DUH FORVHO\ UHODWHG %RWK IRFXV RQ WKH KHDOWK DQG survival of the child. Both these statements have received above average VFRUHV 6HYHUDO 1*2V KDYH KHDOWK VHUYLFHV IRU WKHLU EHQH¿FLDULHV 7KLV was seen in the objectives mentioned by them as well. One organization, for example, conducts monthly medical checks at all its centers. The organization also has a mobile dispensary which goes to the slums and streets to serve children in need. In addition to this, monthly camps are conducted for skin, eye, dental and gynecological ailments. Life enhancing awareness is given through health education and empowerment initiatives.

6WDWHPHQWV
DQG KDYH DOVR UHFHLYHG YHU\ ORZ VFRUHV ,Q IDFW the score of statement 19 is the lowest of all the 30 statements. The three statements with negative scores in this category are all related to infants or young children. As seen earlier, this is one of the sorely lacking areas in the work of the NGOs. The awareness levels for these rights were also seen to be low. This is illustrated clearly by the case of 'H' (Names of organizations DUH ZLWKKHOG WR SURWHFW FRQ¿GHQWLDOLW\ µ+ ¶ FODLPV WR EH D µFKLOG ULJKWV organization'. Yet when the researcher spoke with a senior member of the NGO, he stated that these two statements were 'not applicable' to his organization. Clearly he did not believe that providing pre and postnatal care and knowledge to mothers, or working to diminish infant mortality, ZDV WKH ZRUN RI D VR FDOOHG FKLOG ULJKWV RUJDQL]DWLRQ 6LPLODU UHVSRQVHV ZHUH REWDLQHG IURP RWKHU 1*2V DV ZHOO 6RPH 1*2 UHSUHVHQWDWLYHV PDGH comments such as "We work only for children, we are not a women's organization. This is the work of women's organizations." Perhaps these NGO representatives did not realize that their involvement with young FKLOGUHQ RU WKHLU UHVSRQVLELOLW\ WR LQIDQWV FDQ EH IXO¿OOHG RQO\ WKURXJK WKHLU mothers. Through providing mothers with knowledge and care, the NGOs can empower the child with good health even before s/he is born.
Too few organizations understand this need and work for the infant population. Infants are perhaps harder to work with than older children. Infants may be at high risk and the NGOs seem to be refraining from getting involved. There are however some organizations that have stepped LQWR WKLV DUHD 1*2 µ6RQ ¶ VWDWHV RQ LWV ZHEVLWH ³:H VWURQJO\ EHOLHYH WKDW is a mother's health is attended to, if she receives basic nutrition, health care and education in her formative years as well as during pregnancy, then newborn babies would not have to die." The organization conducts programs for women along with children and provides the necessary services to them.
The result that emerges most clearly is that the right to survival is grossly neglected by the NGOs. This is especially so in the case of infants. The organizations have ignored the most basic right of the child while working for other rights. Implementation of this is right is the need of the hour.

RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT
The right to development includes the right to education, social security and the right to leisure, recreation and cultural activities. As depicted in Table 3, the NGOs have scored comparatively well on this category of rights. The organization provides basic primary education for all children. 37 Vocational training and guidance is provided to children in areas that suit their interest and aptitude. The organization regularly provides recreational facilities to children and gives them opportunities to engage in leisure and play activities.

50
7KH KLJKHVW VFRUH DPRQJVW WKH ULJKWV LQ WKLV FDWHJRU\ LV RI 6WDWHPHQW ZKLFK VSHDNV RI SURYLGLQJ UHFUHDWLRQ DQG OHLVXUH WR FKLOGUHQ 7KH score obtained (50) shows that NGOs understand the importance of this right and implement it to a great extent. In fact, there are two NGOs in the sample that are devoted mainly to play and recreation. The kind of activities facilitated include distribution of toys, organizing competitions, meals and games, educational visits, picnics and camps, etc.
5HODWLYHO\ KLJK VFRUHV DUH DOVR REWDLQHG E\ IRU 6WDWHPHQWV DQG which refer to primary education and vocational training. As seen in the REMHFWLYHV VSHFL¿HG E\ WKH 1*2V WKHVH DUH VRPH RI WKH SULPDU\ IXQFWLRQV of many organizations. Though the organizations are offering vocational training, the training is rarely in a vocation of the child's choice. It may EH GLI¿FXOW IRU WKH 1*2V WR RIIHU LQGLYLGXDOL]HG WUDLQLQJ WR HDFK FKLOG DQG WKXV WKH FKLOGUHQ DUH JURXSHG LQWR YRFDWLRQV WKDW WKH RUJDQL]DWLRQ chooses. The training also focuses largely on the technical aspect and doesn't necessarily train the child to manage or market his/her abilities. The children are then often left with technical knowledge but without the skills required to sustain themselves in the community.
Education has been widely recognized as an instrument for empowerment and change and the NGOs are especially active in this area. They offer facilities like ballades, non formal education, enrollment in schools, etc. NGO 'P', for example has the mission statement of "Every child in school and learning well". They aim to universalize primary education in India. They have created a low cost replicable model to provide education. It consists of an accelerated learning method in which an unlettered child starts reading and computing basic mathematics in three weeks. They make use of computer based learning and have designed a Bridge Course program to socially and academically prepare out-of-school child to enter or re-enter the formal school system. The organization has served two lakh children through direct programs and over 3 million children through indirect programs.
Though several NGOs are working to provide education, very few of them offer the same facilities to special children. This is seen by the SRRU VFRUH RI 6WDWHPHQW 7KHUH DUH VRPH RUJDQL]DWLRQV GHYRWHG VSHFL¿FDOO\ WR VSHFLDO FKLOGUHQ 7KHVH RUJDQL]DWLRQV DUH GRLQJ D ORW RI ZRUN WR HGXFDWH WKHVH FKLOGUHQ DQG PDNH WKHP VHOI VXI¿FLHQW DQG LQGHSHQGHQW However, other NGOs rarely integrate special children into their programs. Thus, special children lose out on many facilities and rights that are due to them. Mainstreaming and integration of these children by all NGOs would combat this problem.

RIGHT TO PROTECTION
The right to protection includes freedom from all forms of exploitation, abuse, inhuman or degrading treatment and neglect, including the right to special protection in situations of emergency and armed FRQÀLFWV 7KLV FDWHJRU\ RI ULJKWV KDV EHHQ EHWWHU DGGUHVVHG WKDQ WKH ULJKW to survival but still has low scores as compared to the other two rights. Amongst the rights mentioned in Table 4, those related to protection DJDLQVW GLVFULPLQDWLRQ KDYH D KLJK VFRUH 6WDWHPHQWV DQG KDYH WKH highest scores of all the 30 statements in the rating scale. Most of then NGOs claim that they do not discriminate against the children that they FDUH IRU $ IXOO VFRUH RI FRXOG KDYH EHHQ H[SHFWHG IRU 6WDWHPHQW EXW there were some organizations that were created only for the girl child, or for children from a particular community. In spite of this, the NGOs have scored well on protection against discrimination.
It can be seen that the NGOs are involved in preventing child labor. They do this through direct involvement with working children as well as LQGLUHFWO\ WKURXJK SUHYHQWLQJ GURSRXWV IURP VFKRRO HWF 6LPLODU ZRUN LV done to protect children from substance abuse and sexual exploitation and rehabilitate victims. The goals of one of the organizations studied include de-addiction, education and repatriation. The organization works to provide substance using children and/or HIV affected street children with a recovery process that integrates them into the mainstream of society. Other NGOs run rescue operations and offer rehabilitation to victims of sexual abuse. Though there is some work in this area, other organizations can also participate by spreading awareness on these issues and networking with rehabilitation centers.
It can also be seen that organizations take few measures to protect FKLOGUHQ IURP PDOWUHDWPHQW DV VHHQ LQ 6WDWHPHQW EXW DUH QRW LQYROYHG LQ UHSRUWLQJ RU IROORZLQJ XS RQ FDVHV RI PDOWUHDWPHQW DV VHHQ LQ 6WDWHPHQW 7KH\ DUH ODFNLQJ LQ SURYLGLQJ IRVWHU FDUH RU DOWHUQDWH FDUH DUUDQJHPHQWV for children in need. There is also a severe lack in services provided to refugee or displaced children. The scores are similarly low for measures WDNHQ WR SUHYHQW DQG SXQLVK WUDI¿FNLQJ LQ FKLOGUHQ DQG LQ WKH FDUH SURYLGHG to juvenile delinquents.
A trend may be observed with these rights. All these rights are connected in a way to judiciary and law involving children -arranging foster care, reporting and investigating maltreatment cases, punishing WUDI¿FNLQJ DQG VHUYLFHV IRU UHIXJHH FKLOGUHQ DQG MXYHQLOH GHOLQTXHQWV The NGOs seem to be abstaining from involvement in any kind of legal systems. Judiciary in India is commonly perceived as a long, tiresome and complicated process. This may be the reason why the NGOs are not involving themselves with rights related to the law. This disconnection with the judiciary however, broadens the gap between the law and its implementation. And unfortunately, it is the children in need, who fall through the crevices in this entire process. Rights related to the judiciary are clearly poorly addressed by the NGOs and need greater attention.
The few organizations that have entered this area have done good ZRUN $Q H[DPSOH PD\ EH JLYHQ RI WKH 1*2 µ6D ¶ 7KLV 1*2 ZRUNV WR train and sensitize professionals from different sectors such as police, MXGLFLDU\ GRFWRUV HWF WRZDUGV FRPEDWLQJ WUDI¿FNLQJ RI FKLOGUHQ IRU VH[XDO exploitation. They sensitize judiciary so as to ensure the prosecution of the perpetrators of child related crimes takes place in a speedy and empathetic manner. They are also involved in policy making for children.

7KH VFRUHV REWDLQHG IRU 6WDWHPHQWV DQG VHHP WR EH LURQLFDO 7KH
scores show that the NGOs are doing more to promote the psychological recovery of child victims than they do for the physical recovery. Yet, the brochures and websites of many of these NGOs do not mention the facilities of a counselor for their children. Counseling is also not one of the main objectives listed by the organizations. It is possible, that the score is a representation of their ignorance about counseling. Perhaps the NGOs provide guidance and emotional support to these children, and believe that it is adequate for their psychological recovery. Cases of abuse and exploitation, however, require professional counseling services and that is perhaps not provided by the NGOs.

RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION
The right to participation includes respect for the views of the child, freedom of expression, access to appropriate information and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The NGOs are implementing this right to the greatest extent. The children are encouraged to seek information and knowledge about issues that concern them. 5 The children are encouraged to express their views on issues concerning them without fear or hesitation.

6
The views expressed by them are taken seriously and given due consideration.

7
The organization takes active part in judiciary concerning the child and ensures that the child's voice is heard. 8 Children are given access to information and material that would enhance their social and moral well being.

9
Children are given access to material that would enhance their mental health.

10
The organization is actively involved in the production and dissemination of children's books and television programs -14 The organization encourages all children to understand, appreciate, and freely participate in their own cultural and religious activities.
7KH VFRUH WKDW LV ORZ LV IRU 6WDWHPHQW ZKLFK LV RQFH DJDLQ UHODWHG to the judiciary. The NGOs have scored the highest on this category of ULJKWV 6WDWHPHQWV DQG VKRZ KLJK VFRUHV 7KHVH DUH ULJKWV UHODWHG to respecting the views of the child and giving them adequate resources to enhance their mental, social and moral well being. NGO 'O' asserts, "It is not just enough providing children with food and shelter. Their creativity needs to be tapped. They need to be appreciated and applauded. These FKLOGUHQ VKRXOG EH PDGH VHOI VXI¿FLHQW DQG FRQ¿GHQW VR WKDW WKH\ DUH poised to approach the world in a right manner". This organization, like many others, creates opportunities for children to explore their world and understand issues that concern them. They conduct a program where the children meet once a month to discuss topics like 'math can be fun' and µZRPHQ LQ VRFLHW\ ¶ 6HYHUDO 1*2V RUJDQL]H HGXFDWLRQDO YLVLWV ZRUNVKRSV and competitions for the children where they get to voice their opinions.
The organization 'D' publishes a unique children's newspaper every month. The newspaper is written in the handwriting of the children and is photocopied and bound for distribution. The children choose their own editor, writers and creative designers. They write short articles on issues WKDW DUH RI FRQFHUQ WR WKHP VXFK DV WKH 0XPEDL ÀRRGV VFKRRO IHVWLYDOV and competitions, etc. They illustrate their articles with drawings and pictures and the newspaper is then distributed to other children in the organization's many centers. This NGO also runs libraries and computer centers for children. Books on various issues of their interest are made DYDLODEOH 6XFK SURJUDPV KDYH PDGH D VWURQJ LPSDFW ZLWK WKH QXPEHU RI FKLOGUHQ LQ WKH 1*2 WDNLQJ ERRNV KRPH LQFUHDVLQJ IURP LQ WR LQ The NGOs seem to provide children with information and material that enhances their social, moral and mental well being. They also claim to encourage children to participate in their own religious and cultural activities. They are not however, involved in the production and dissemination of children's books and television programs. This is often a costly procedure and this may be the reason why NGOs do not actively participate in it. It is however, certainly not impossible. This was illustrated E\ WKH 1*2 µ$V ¶ ZKLFK FUHDWHG DQ DQLPDWHG ¿OP RQ FKLOGUHQ ¶V ULJKWV 7KLV ¿OP LV DSSHDOLQJ WR FKLOGUHQ DQG KDV EHHQ VFUHHQHG RQ VHYHUDO RFFDVLRQV Less costly options would be creating simple books or stories for children. 6XFK DFWLYLWLHV DUH DOUHDG\ EHLQJ GRQH LQ PDQ\ SUHVFKRROV DQG EDOZDGLV The next step would then be to channelize these efforts so that they can EHQH¿W D JUHDWHU QXPEHU RI FKLOGUHQ

Future Plans of the NGOs for Implementation of Children's Rights
The organizations were also asked to elaborate on any additional facilities they would like to offer to the children in the future. A large SHUFHQWDJH RI WKH RUJDQL]DWLRQV SHUFHQW KDG QR UHVSRQVH WR WKLV VOLUME 4, NOMOR 1, JUNI 2007 question. This gives an impression of complacency and would perhaps lead to stagnation. The responses given by the NGOs to this question exhibit their understanding of the unmet needs of children. Their future goals and programs show an acknowledgement of areas of lack and their willingness DQG GHVLUH WR ¿OO WKRVH JDSV %ODQN UHVSRQVHV DUH WKXV FOHDUO\ LQGLFDWLYH RI ignorant and uninformed organizations.
Vocational training, shelter, medical, recreational and counseling facilities were common responses. Only 3 percent of the NGOs wished to give their children awareness and knowledge on child rights. This is perhaps D UHÀHFWLRQ RI WKH ODFN RI DZDUHQHVV DPRQJVW WKH 1*2 UHSUHVHQWDWLYHV themselves.

CONCLUSION
It may be concluded that though the NGOs are doing exemplary work there are clear gaps in the services they offer. Their programs focus on a few essential areas and groups but many others are neglected. Child rights is still not an integral part of the organizational mandates. Most NGO brochures and programs do not depict a rights based approach and child ULJKWV GRHV QRW ¿JXUH KLJK RQ WKH SULRULW\ OLVWV RI WKH RUJDQL]DWLRQV 7KHUH LV an immediate need to educate child care workers to enable understanding of children's rights. They may then become channels to spread awareness amongst the masses.

Researchers
This study was limited by the duration of the research. It would have undoubtedly been enhanced if the researcher had been able to study each organization in greater depth rather than relying on the views of the organization's representatives alone. Future researchers could perhaps devote more time to each NGO and include a systematic observation of the organization's programs. Research could also be done on NGOs that have successfully adapted their programs to adopt a child rights approach. The results obtained could act as guidelines to other organizations.

Schools
Child rights is clearly a topic that not many people are informed about. The lack of awareness amongst child care workers gives a picture of KRZ SRRU WKH XQGHUVWDQGLQJ PXVW EH DPRQJVW WKH JHQHUDO SXEOLF 6FKRROV can help combat this by incorporating child rights education into their curriculums. Children and their parents must be made aware of the rights guaranteed to them and the various mechanisms available to secure those rights.

NGOs
The NGOs are all catering to the vulnerable and deprived sections of the society. They are grappling with the same issues and challenges. ,W ZRXOG WKXV EH YHU\ EHQH¿FLDO LI WKH RUJDQL]DWLRQV ZHUH WR HQJDJH LQ greater networking amongst themselves. A lot of the problems faced by NGOs could be better handled if they shared their resources and expertise. Duplication of services could be avoided and a greater impact could be created. The NGOs must thus let go of any pettiness and secrecy that they attach to their programs and must recommit themselves to the well being of the children.
They must also step into the more challenging areas of child care that they have neglected so far. These include caring for infants, involvement with the judiciary and policy making for children. They could also collaborate with the media to spread greater awareness on children's issues. NGOs may act as advisors to television channels, production houses and publishing companies. They can provide their expertise and monitor SURJUDPV WR HQVXUH WKDW WKH PHGLD EHQH¿WV FKLOGUHQ WKURXJK WKHLU VHUYLFHV and does not exploit or harm them in any way.
There is also a greater need for research and documentation by the NGOs themselves. Most organizations do not study their population before GHVLJQLQJ SURJUDPV 7KH RQHV WKDW GR XVXDOO\ GHSHQG RQ XQVFLHQWL¿F research or unauthentic data to provide them with information. There are WRR IHZ RUJDQL]DWLRQV WKDW KDYH UHVHDUFK XQLWV DV ZHOO 6FLHQWL¿F UHVHDUFK would enable the NGOs to design more effective programs and help educate the public about the true status of the Indian child. The NGOs must thus conduct honest research wherever possible. They could also collaborate with University departments that conduct research and use their services.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the NGOs need to spruce up their administration and enrich their staff. Each organization must conduct systematic programs to enhance the work skills and knowledge of their employees. The staff must be made aware of current trends and GHYHORSPHQWV LQ WKH ¿HOG DV ZHOO DV WKH REMHFWLYHV EHKLQG HDFK SURJUDP that they implement. The staff can in turn generate awareness amongst the children and the community. With greater knowledge, they can undoubtedly do greater good.