Visakhapatnam :
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), in collaboration with NGOs and the Andhra Pradesh government, has kick-started a four-year pilot project ‘Convergent Action for Adolescents’, to educate and empower adolescents of Vizag district.
Apart from Unicef, 22 government departments of AP (at the district level), guided by AIKYA, a Kerala-based NGO, will team up for the project. The team met Vizag district collector N Yuvaraj on Wednesday to discuss the project.
The project is aimed at educating pre-pubescent and adolescent children on physiological changes they undergo after attaining puberty and prevent negative behavioural traits from creeping in during their interaction with adults during this stage.
The project also aims to protect these children and adolescents from being sexually exploited and eradicate the system of child marriage.
Speaking on the project, social worker and child rights protection specialist Sony Kutty George said that many children in this phase (10-19 years) of life find it difficult to cope up with the changes leading to depression, loss of confidence and even juvenile delinquent tendencies. “The project aims to boost mental, physical and emotional health in these adolescents,” George said.
On why Visakhapatnam district was selected for the project, George said the district has a unique urban-rural-tribal divide. “The district is not only home to the largest city of AP, but also has vast rural and tribal areas that are extremely backward. Also, the 2011 census revealed that the district has a high number of child labourers,” he said.
Ruth L Leano, chief of field office (Karnataka and AP), Unicef, who was present at the meet, said the pilot project will help generate awareness and develop a healthy future for these youngsters. She said that across the vast rural and tribal stretch many youngsters miss out on opportunities that other privileged children of the same age group have access to. District collector N Yuvaraj said the authorities will work hard to ensure that the project is a success.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / March 05th, 2015