The Hindu Business Line : CRY celebrates 25 years

JANUARY 2004 is a very special month for CRY (Child Relief and You), for it was 25 years ago, in January 1979, that the organisation took shape around the dining table in Rippan Kapur's home in Mumbai. And to celebrate this milestone, the not-for-profit venture is chalking out several programmes that focus attention on the rights of underprivileged children.

Over the course of the year, the organisation will roll-out a national campaign to get people from all sections of the society involved in the movement to protect child rights, explains Ingrid Srinath, Director, Resource Mobilisation, CRY.

Meanwhile, in keeping with its objective of building a people's movement for child rights, the organisation is looking at breathing new life into its volunteer programme, she says. The effort here is to target India's urban middle-class and get them to contribute not just their money, but also their skills, time and commitment to the cause of the underprivileged children of the country, she adds.

Also on CRY's agenda for the year is an initiative that raises the quantum of the grants it makes to around Rs 20 crore a year. This will make it possible for the organisation to expand the coverage of its activities, which are currently focused primarily on education, explains Srinath.

This initiative will enable the organisation to scale-up experimental interventions and develop new interventions in areas such as advocacy, health, quality of institutional care for children, child sexual abuse and so on, she adds.

Similarly, on the resource mobilisation front, the organisation aims to raise Rs 40 crore in the next fiscal. It expects to achieve this target by expanding its reach through new channels such as face-to-face fund raising, the Internet and initiatives targeted at Indians living abroad, says Srinath. At the policy level too, the organisation is placing greater emphasis on mobilising and empowering communities, she points out.

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