During the session on 8th September 2025, insights were shared by both Mr. Manoj Thapa, Manager, Volunteer Engagement and Ms. Monisha Murali, Assistant Manager, Volunteer Engagement at Child Rights and You (CRY) who elaborated on the organization’s holistic and prevention-oriented approach to child rights. They explained that CRY works in close coordination with grassroots-level NGOs to safeguard children’s rights, maintaining complete transparency in its operations, with all financial details published in reports. A key emphasis of CRY’s work is prevention rather than direct rescue or rehabilitation. By addressing root causes within communities, counselling families, and breaking harmful stigmas, the foundation seeks to stop violations before they occur and create safer environments where children can access education and opportunities.
Ms. Monisha highlighted that challenges differ across regions, making it necessary to design context-specific interventions that account for local, social, economic, and cultural realities. She also explained CRY’s methods of measuring impact, which include success metrics and tracking relapse rates. While such data-driven evaluation is essential for setting realistic goals, she stressed that the ultimate aim is long-term, sustainable change rather than focusing solely on numbers.
Building on this, Mr. Thapa drew attention to persistent challenges such as the stigma surrounding girls’ education, where families often perceive boys as “assets” and girls as “liabilities,” leading to reluctance in sending daughters for higher studies. He also pointed to infrastructural issues and logistical barriers in remote areas, where children must travel long distances to reach quality schools as well many local private institutions employing underqualified teachers, resulting in poor educational outcomes. Further, he highlighted serious concerns such as child trafficking, where traffickers exploit vulnerable children for specific forms of labor, and practices like the Devadasi system, which forces adolescent girls into prostitution. He reiterated that CRY focuses on empowering communities by building local capacities and encouraging collective responsibility to ensure sustainable change.
Together, their perspectives underscored CRY’s integrated strategy i.e. combining prevention, community engagement, tailored interventions, transparency, and rigorous evaluation to ensure that children all over India can practice their rights and bring lasting impact in securing their development, livelihood, protection and overall participation in the society.
The session concluded with gratitude to the speakers for their thoughtful insights, which not only enumerated and illuminated the diverse challenges faced by children across India but also provided the People United for Law Education and Rehabilitation (PULER) members with valuable perspectives to strengthen their own engagement with children. Their contributions offered a deeper understanding of systemic issues and inspired participants to adopt more empathetic and informed approaches in their interactions.
