Centre for Integrated Development

CID is actively engaged in ongoing tree plantation efforts, aiming to mitigate the impacts of deforestation by encouraging widespread planting across the region.
Activities:
• Implementing educational programs in schools and colleges.
• Organizing rallies and exhibitions to raise awareness.
• Conducting a Plantation Campaign in different parts of the city.
• Mobilizing youth groups, created by CID, to lead awareness rallies and plantation campaigns.
• Occasionally organizing exhibitions and distributing pamphlets.
• Spreading awareness campaigns to discourage the use of plastic bags.

Child Help Desk Program, supported by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Childline, is the country's first 24-hour toll-free helpline for children in distress and street children. Operating across 366 cities/districts and 34 states/Union Territories with a network of 700 organizations nationwide, CID has managed Childline services at Gwalior railway station since 2018. In the current year, Railway Childline at Gwalior has handled 215 cases, ranging from missing children to shelter requirements, child marriage, restoration, child begging, medical assistance, emotional support, and guidance.
The primary objective of this initiative by CID is to ensure that every vulnerable, neglected, marginalized, abused, or exploited child has immediate access to the emergency helpline, CHILDLINE 1098. The intervention area specifically targets Gwalior Railway Station, aiming to provide temporary shelter as no other shelters exist in the region.

The Bal Panchayat, or Children's Parliament, is a platform initiated by the Center for Integrated Development (CID) to empower children's voices and leadership. It aims to address various issues affecting children, providing them a platform to engage with duty bearers and change-agents regarding their concerns. The primary goal is to promote children's right to participation, ensuring their unheard voices are heard.
The formation of a Bal Panchayat involves uniting all children from NFE centers and the locality, elucidating the importance of unity, after which interested children join meetings where they select a name and the working core group. The group size and its members are determined by elections supervised by a CID representative. Permission is sought from school authorities to establish Bal Panchayats in schools.
Each Bal Panchayat focuses on leadership, teamwork, unity, and awareness of social issues, holding monthly meetings and quarterly district-level meetings.

CID upholds that children possess inherent rights as citizens and advocates for their full entitlement to these rights. The organization emphasizes the collective responsibility of individuals, from parents to policymakers, to ensure the realization of these rights. CID acts as a catalyst to amplify the voices of India's children and garner support from various segments of society by advocating, negotiating, and mobilizing resources to protect and promote children's rights.
In rural areas, CID directs efforts toward advocating for the rights of marginalized tribes, particularly the Sahariya community. Recognizing their neglected status, CID has initiated actions such as establishing anganwadi centers and schools to ensure quality education, including providing Mid-Day Meals, for Sahariya children and others in villages across Districts Shivpuri, Sheopur, Guna, and Ashoknagar. These efforts aim to address the educational needs and rights of children within marginalized communities.

The Sahariya community, facing extreme poverty, predominantly engages in daily wage or bonded labor. With significantly low literacy rates, the majority of children suffer severe malnourishment, contributing to high mortality rates, recording nearly 300 deaths in recent years. This marginalized group's assimilation into mainstream society has led to a decline in their traditional identity and religious customs.
To address immediate needs, the initial efforts included food distribution and health camps, offering crucial relief to the impoverished community. Subsequently, the organisation aimed to empower the Sahariya community by raising awareness of their rights. SAJAG (Sahariya Jana Gathbandhan) played a pivotal role in this endeavour. Over time, SAJAG facilitated the election of Sahariya representatives to local governing bodies, advocated for securing forest land rights under forest laws, and utilized Right to Information petitions when necessary.

For the past five years, CID has dedicated efforts to empower individuals with disabilities (specially-abled people), particularly within the Sahariya tribe and the general population. Through extensive intervention, CID identified that the Sahariya community faces greater vulnerability due to their detachment from the general populace and frequent migrations. This disconnect has deprived them of crucial governmental schemes and policies designed to enhance livelihoods. Consequently, individuals with disabilities and their families encounter hardships, lacking necessary information to access government-provided facilities and sustain their livelihoods. To address this, CID initiated a community-based rehabilitation program specifically tailored for the Sahariya disabled individuals, yielding significant positive outcomes and transforming lives.

CID initiated monthly health check-up camps at each center to provide medical support to children and raise awareness on health, hygiene, and sanitation. During this period, over 60 successful health check-up camps were organized by CID. Common health issues detected among children included skin infections, viral fever, cough, eye flu, malaria, malnutrition, minor injuries, and wounds.
Upon careful observation, it was noted that many individuals from backward communities, particularly in the Sahariya tribes, lacked awareness about health, sanitation, and diseases caused by poor sanitation practices. Addressing this, CID shifted its focus to various health issues like Female Feticide, Malnutrition, Pulse Polio Campaign, HIV/AIDS, and others. CID collaborated with local administrations to establish Community Based Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (CNRC) in the most vulnerable and backward areas.

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are voluntary associations typically comprising women who unite based on shared interests to offer mutual financial assistance and collectively address both communal and personal concerns. These groups aim to foster leadership skills, teamwork, and empower women to contribute to their families' financial well-being.
Key Functions of SHGs:
• Savings: Women contribute their savings to the SHG, pooling resources for collective financial growth.
• Loans: SHGs extend loans to their members, providing access to financial assistance when needed.
• Leadership Development: SHGs focus on developing leadership qualities and decision-making capabilities among women, fostering empowerment within their communities.

The "School Chalo Abhiyan" is an ongoing campaign aiming to enrol children into regular schooling. This initiative has yielded commendable outcomes, witnessing a steady increase in the enrolment of children from the targeted areas into regular schools.
To achieve this objective, the organisation conducted a comprehensive survey of the specific localities inhabited by marginalized communities. Subsequently, the CID staff, volunteers, and members of the Bal Panchayats initiated direct communication with parents, encouraging and motivating them to enrol their children in schools. Notably, CID places a strong emphasis on enrolling girl children into schools.
Various awareness-raising activities are organized, including meetings, door-to-door interactions, wall inscriptions, exhibitions, puppet shows, and rallies.

To raise awareness about the repercussions of declining sex ratios on our societal structure, combat sex determination tests, and implement stringent laws to completely eradicate this menace, CID is actively conducting the "Save the Girl Child Campaign" in Gwalior and its surrounding regions. This area of Madhya Pradesh is particularly affected by this issue, with Gwalior being a significant resource centre for female feticide and infanticide.
Under this campaign, CID is organizing diverse activities targeting various segments of society, including NGOs, CBOs, SHGs, media representatives, social workers, public officials, medical practitioners, youth, students, and the general populace. These initiatives aim to engage and educate all sections of society regarding the grave impact of declining sex ratios and the urgent need to eliminate the practice of sex determination tests.

CID has an existing partnership with the Micronutrient Initiative (MI) to execute the Vitamin A program across six districts within the Gwalior division. Leveraging its established rapport with health and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) department officials, CID utilized this platform to enhance the coverage and uptake of Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) tablets, as well as improve dietary practices among adolescent girls. This initiative, part of the Adolescent Nutrition Program, made use of the already trained human resources employed by CID.
Through the "Right Start" program supported by MI, CID focused on boosting the coverage and consumption of Adolescent IFA-WIFS Blue supplementation, alongside promoting nutritional counselling to combat anaemia, particularly among adolescent girls.