By Gian Francesco Romano
On 5 July the Hon. Tanvir Sait, Minister for primary and secondary education and welfare of the minorities of the State of Karnataka, officially launched the second phase of CREAM. Present at the ceremony were the Salesian Provincial of Bangalore, Fr Mathew Thonikuzhiyil, who lit the ritual lamps along with some staff members and beneficiaries of the project; and several representatives of institutions and organizations that take part in the CREAM initiatives.
The first phase of the project was initiated in December 2012 in order to reach the most disadvantaged children in 10 districts in the state of Karnataka, in high risk urban areas and in rural areas, and together with them to build a culture of protection of children's rights. The project will also put a strong emphasis on improving the potential and the human resources of minors, as well as ensuring the sustainability of activities and results.
The strategies of CREAM include activities for Human Rights Education, the leadership enhancement programmes, initiatives to raise the participation of children in campaigns at district and state levels on issues related to the policies that affect them.
The project results have allowed children and young people to claim their rights and the opportunity to participate in development processes. For the second operational phase (2016-2019) the expectations continue to be ambitious, with training on rights planned for about 150 thousand children.
