This book is an ethnographic exploration of slum children’s participation in NGO programs that centres children’s narratives as key to understanding the lived experience of development in India where 50% of the population is under the age of 25. Weaving theoretical and methodological interventions from anthropology, childhood studies and development studies with children’s own narratives and images, the author foregrounds children’s lifeworlds whilst documenting the extent to which these lifeworlds are shaped by the twin forces of marginalisation and aspiration. The book documents NGO campaigns targeting child marriage, sanitation and hygiene, gendered violence and bullying, and depicts and examines children’s sometimes enthusiastic, sometimes reluctant, and sometimes indifferent approach to narrating and performing development. It assesses the way in which children from four slum communities in New Delhi navigate the multiplicities and contradictions of development by analysing the stories, posters and performances children produce for NGOs. Moreover, the book argues that engagement with children’s narratives and performances provide valuable insights into how development attains meaning, garners consensus, fails, succeeds and circulates in a myriad of unexpected ways which consistently defy any assumptions about ‘underdeveloped’ subjectivities. The first book to interrogate the substance and subjectivities produced in the development of NGO organisations offering extra-curricular programs directed towards more intangible and experiential ends, it will be of interest to researchers working in anthropology, development studies, childhood studies and South Asian studies. The book also speaks to scholars working on issues of poverty, rural-urban migration, gender justice, slums and youth.

Focusing on NGOs that work in the areas of rural development, women, and children, the authors' goal is to shed light on the contributions of the sector in the spheres of social welfare, empowerment, service, and rural development. In addition, the problems and difficulties experienced by NGOs are analyzed and explained. This important new book traces the rise of NGOs in India and their transformation over the years, revealing the importance of NGOs in India's development after Independence. Beginning with a detailed history of voluntarism in India and examination of NGOs around the world, the authors provide the framework for examining NGOs in India as a force contributing to development. They then focus on partnerships and cooperation between NGOs and the government, advocacy and policy implications of NGO activity, accountability within organizations, approaches to problems and delivery of services, NGO life cycles, and the need for a code of ethics within NGOs. Case studies on NGOs designed to assist women, children, and rural development are presented and discussed in the context of development in general and improving the quality of life for all Indian citizens. This careful and comprehensive examination is a unique addition to a growing field of literature on India.

India has the largest number of child labourers in the world, and has been the subject of intense media and political campaigns in the North aimed at addressing the abuse of childrenâs rights. This book explores childrenâs rights as a site of power and reveals how the rights discourse has been used by international actors, national elites, and local NGOs in the child labour debate in India. While discussing the childrenâs rights in the contemporary world, the author analyses human rights and power along with insights from postcolonial theorists. He provides empirical accounts of how three Indian NGOs-Bonded Labour Liberation Front, Butterflies, and South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude-are using the discourse of childrenâs rights to challenge child labour practices. Combining global and local perspectives to arrive at a comprehensive picture, the book locates the struggle for child rights on two fronts: critiquing neo-liberal globalization and challenging rights violations in India.

On the legal aspects of forming an NGO.

The book is a comprehensive compendium on child rights in India from a child development perspective. It discusses the challenges that Indian children face for survival, development and education, especially if they are marginalized through disability, lack of care, and poverty. The major issues expounded by the author in relation to rights are infant and child survival, early child development, street and working children, children in conflict with law, children with disabilities, child trafficking and child sexual abuse. The author goes further to delve into the causes, among which are high population, poverty, migration, illiteracy, poor legislation and deep-rooted social norms and behaviour. The book presents the existing policy and legal framework in India for each of these issues. The broad purpose of the book is to comprehensively discuss the roadblocks that the marginalized child in India faces, to understand the causes of these roadblocks and to evaluate government and civil society action for children in India.

Despite some acknowledgement over the years of the significance of seeing children as rights holders, children’s concerns continue to run the risk of not being considered political and mainstream: they continue to be viewed as extensions of adults or simply as members of families and communities. This when the reality is that children are citizens the minute they are born, and entitled to as much attention, if not more than adults, given their age and vulnerability. Concerned with the mainstreaming of children’s interests in policy-making, this book raises such questions as: What is good governance vis-à-vis children? What are the standards and indicators? Can there be one answer for this question that is applicable to all countries? In order to arrive at a better understanding of what good governance for children means and how the realization of the political, cultural, social and civil rights of children may be achieved, the book draws on the diverse and yet comprehensive body of knowledge that has developed over the years from initiatives taken by organisations across the world who work with policy makers to make governance systems more accountable and responsive to the well-being of children as citizens in themselves, simultaneously empowering children to take part in decision-making processes that impact their lives.

Education and NGOs discusses the role of sectors outside the mainstream in relation to improving access to education, with particular focus on the underprivileged. International case study examples offer insights into the work of non-governmental organizations, which play a crucial role in UNESCO's global Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) effort, by providing alternative forms of education and improving educational access. Including a discussion of the work of organizations such as Africa Educational Trust, Kids Company, FIDAL Foundation and many others, the volume explores the role of NGOs in the UK, the USA, India, Nepal, the Gaza Strip, Ecuador, Philippines and South Africa. Each chapter contains contemporary questions to encourage active engagement with the material and an annotated list of suggested reading to support further exploration.

"Updated with an epilogue ..."--P. [4] of cover.

Nongovernmental organizations working in education in India are professional resource centers and innovators able to reach children who are educationaly disadvantaged. The Indian government could improve the effectiveness of primary education by increasing its collaboration with such organizations.