Programs  

  Education  

Bridge School Centres

Bridge School Centres are the primary building blocks of RIDE's Child Labour Eradication Programme. The Centres provide an educational, social and emotional transition to government schools for children recently released from full-time work in Kanchipuram's silk looms. The Centres are flexibly designed to maximise each student's success as well as the number of children served. Acknowledging the wide range of school histories, skill levels, health and emotional conditions, RIDE provides each Bridge School Centre student as much coaching as necessary to enable him/her to pass the government school entrance exams and feel confident in his/her abilities to succeed once in the government school. Only those who have been accepted into schools and are emotionally and physically ready to transfer do so. Students will remain in the Centres until they are ready, up to one year. As students transfer to the government school, additional newly released child weavers will enter the Bridge School Centres.

Between March 1998 and March 1999, RIDE opened 8 Bridge School Centres in Kanchipuram, 5 sponsored by U.S.-based charity American Jewish World Service, and 3 by German- based Andheri- Hilfe. These Centres currently serve over 200 former child weavers. The Bridge School Centres also serve as a focal point for the delivery of RIDE's other essential social services to the community including medical check-ups, councelling, and public awareness campaigns.

"At the Bridge School I have learned to be interested in learning. I had worked in the loom for three years before coming to the school. Now, I like learning English and English songs and hope I will be able to read English books soon." Kanagarag, age 13, student at RIDE Bridge School Centre in Thiruvithipallam

Evening Schools

RIDE Day Schools

RIDE Day Schools provide educationional opportunities for children in rural villages of Kanchipuram District where there are no existing school facilities or where the existing facilities are inadequate for providing a quality education. In the RIDE Day Schools, children learn basic education up to the Fifth Standard and receive information and guidance on a range of social and health issues. The schools also serve to prevent parents from enlisting their children as labourers, a sad, but common consequence of inadequate local facilities. In 1998-99, RIDE operated 6 RIDE Day Schools, serving 151 children, including 2 schools dedicated to educating schedule tribal children.

"RIDE has taken a special and true interest in the development of the villages. And RIDE can still do much towards the betterment of the villages and the country as a whole." Miss Sulochana, organizer, RIDE Day School

Family Link Programme (formerly Adopted Children Programme)

Begun in 1990, the Family Link Programme matches sponsor families in Sweden with families in Kanchipuram District. In exchange for the regular school attendance and satisfactory achievement, the school-aged beneficiaries of the programme receive dry food, clothing material, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, school uniforms, and school supplies each month. The sponsoring families also cover the fees for sending the children to school. RIDE also provides support and assistance to parents of the children through its income-generating programmes including Self-Help Groups, Rural Entrepreneurship Development Progamme and the Rural Women's Self- Employment Programme. In 1998-99, the families of 123 children participated in the Family Link Programme. Ninety-eight percent of these children continue to attend school in Kanchipuram District.

"With RIDE's help- supplying food, dress, school fees, notebooks, pens, pencils- those in my neighbourhood and neighbouring villages are able to send their children to school." T. Gangabai, age 16, participant in Family Link Programme