1. CRTRC Child Rights Training and Resource Centre

2. About Shaishav  “Shaishav” is a Gujarati word meaning “childhood”  We are a voluntary organisation that seeks to free children from the cycle of child labour and promote the ideas of sensitivity, solidarity, empathy and collective strength as a path to empowerment and social change  Formed in 1992 to tackle the issue of children’s rights in Bhavnagar  Aim to enable children with the capacity to improve their situation  Aim to bring together children, adults, government and other organisations to achieve our goals  Strong focus on the issues of child labour, discrimination and exploitation

3. Programme Structure Community Programme Quality Education Programme Development & Empowerment Programme Balghar  Balsena  Tarunsena  Lok Samarthan Manch  Baldost Manch  Area Committees C R T R C  Materials Development  Training  Documentation  Research  Advocacy Networking  Mobile Resource Centre  Setu Shaishav

4. Vision  Established with an intent to provide strong research and development base for the organisation  Serves to:  Support and strengthen the many educational programs that Shaishav and other similar organisations have in place  Expand and develop present programmes and concepts  Sustain programmes through community ownership

5. Objectives  Spread awareness about child rights, particularly to children and those directly involved with underprivileged children  Network with larger child rights organisations to campaign for child rights  Advocacy and campaigning, to build pressure on policy makers to bring about more favourable child rights policy  Increase peoples participation so that programmes run independently

6. Activities  CRTRC’s activities can be split into the following programmes:  Materials Development  Resources & Training  Vocational Training for Youth  Process Standardisation & Documentation  Participatory Action Research  Mobile Resource Centres  Advocacy & Networking

7. Materials Development  Development of various learning and teaching aids  Include games, puppets, audiovisuals, and books  Used by children, parents, teachers, activists, and other organisations

8. Resources & Training  Materials and other resources directed at both adults and children, for training in life skills, child rights, and education issues.  Community based training programme to recruit and train interested women and youths to teach within their communities  Training in service development for child rights activists and other organisations  Child rights activist course  Ongoing motivation and skills development training for school teachers in collaboration with Education Department  Shaishav has become the Indian hub for the US based organisation, Play for Peace

9. Vocational Training for Youth  Various courses offered for youth, in arts, academics, life skills, value education and creativity  Various schedules to suit all children  Many of the courses available for adults are also suitable for children

10. Process Standardisation & Documentation  Organising and cataloguing Shaishav’s current and future teaching techniques, practices, and activities.  Promotes the sustainability of Shaishav’s programmes, allowing our knowledge and practices to be openly shared within the organisation  Manuals also made available to other interested parties, establishing a mutually beneficial channel for information sharing amongst organisations throughout India and abroad

11. Participatory Action Research  Conducting action research on various child rights and field-related topics using primary and secondary data  Exploring currently emerging issues such as child sex abuse and child trafficking  Research supports current child-related programmes run both by Shaishav and other organisations, and also helps identify and develop new programmes  Also conduct budget analysis, and use action research to support advocacy

12. Mobile Resource Centres  2 custom designed, well-equipped buses that function as highly popular Mobile Resource Centres in schools and communities  Operate as field extensions of CRTRC  Academic activities focus on Gujarati, maths, and environmental studies  Developmental activities include games, arts and crafts, slide shows, films, and talks

13. Advocacy & Networking  Shaishav networks with many like-minded organisations at State, National, and International level, to attempt to influence policy and stimulate change  Centre serves as a base for individuals and organisations interested in child rights related issues  Provides a hub to pool local and international resources in an attempt to advance the development of child rights

14. Summary  CRTRC enables Shaishav to further develop its materials, as well as standardise and document its process  Allows Shaishav to provide resources and training on a larger scale  Base for research on child rights and education, communication, and networking, resulting in strengthened advocacy for child rights  Centre functions as a child centred space for development and creativity