The situation of tribal children in southern Odisha is a complex one, as they often face a range of challenges that can hinder their development and well-being. The communities are located in remote, rural areas, which makes it difficult for their children to access basic services such as healthcare, education, and clean water. The children often face discrimination and marginalization due to their ethnic and cultural backgrounds. As a result, children are likely to experience poverty, malnutrition, and poor health outcomes. They also have lower rates of school enrolment and completion, which limits their opportunities for personal and professional growth. Children are often at greater risk of exploitation and abuse, including child labour, child marriage, and child trafficking. To address the challenges faced by the children we have developed a range of initiatives and programs that focus on child health and nutrition, education and protection. Children in the four districts we work in are undernourished in all three indicators – stunting, wasting and underweight as compared to the state average. The highest stunting (in percent) prevalent in Nabarangpur (45.8) followed by Malkangiri (45.7), Raygada (43.5) and Koraput (40.3). Nabarangpur (36.0 percent), Malkangiri (32.5 per cent), and Koraput (28.5) had a higher prevalence of ‘wasting’ children. Malkangiri district and Nabarangpur had over 50 percent underweight children and in Koraput and Raygada districts over 40 percent of children were underweight.

The literacy levels in the four districts are at the lowest level with Koraput at 49.21%, Malkangiri at 49.49%,  Nabarangpur at 77.87% and Raygada at 78.08% (census 2011). Less than 20 per cent of children in standard three can read the standard two-level text in the districts (ASER 2018). One of the reasons for the low literacy level of the districts is, that the mainstream educational processes mostly disregard the socio-cultural characteristics of the tribal communities, and precisely, tribal children face serious language problems during the initial years of schooling. Dropout among tribal children continues to be high. The school dropout percentage in Malkangiri is 21.9 %, Raygada is 17.7%, Koraput is 17% and Nabarangpur is 16.3%. A majority of tribal children who enrol in class I drop out within a few years of entering school. Dropout rates of tribal children from school are as high between classes I and VIII. (Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 2020). We work closely with communities and the government to improve the nutritional status and early childhood development of children aged between 7 months and 3 years, impart early childhood education through Activity Based Learning and prepare 3 – 5 years children to become school-ready and move from preschool to primary school and enrol, retain, and ensure children attain grade-appropriate skills and competencies in primary, upper primary and residential schools.

More than one-third of the population is below 18 years in the four districts where we work. This is the most vulnerable group in the community in terms of neglect, abuse and exploitation. The children mostly drop out and start working in different occupations such as agriculture and allied works, collecting and processing minor forest produce, domestic work and domestic help, hotels, roadside Dhaba etc. Apart from these occupations, children are also engaged as apprentices, which is taken as a normal process of growing by theirparents and communities. Mute acceptance towards this normal process of growing in the name of child help has encouraged child labour. South Odisha is the epicentre of Migration. Children are the main victims of the migration process. Census 2011 data reveals that a large proportion of interstate migrants from southern Odisha move to adjacent states – Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana and West Bengal. Districts such as Mahasamund, Bastar and Durg in Chhattisgarh, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh; Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, East and West Medinipur in West Bengal are major destinations for interstate Odia migrants. The families take advances from agents/middlemen and send their children to Surat, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Raipur for work.

Child Marriage is another ugly reality in the southern districts of Odisha. More than 40% of children still get married early in south Odisha. Child marriage violates the human right to which a child is entitled. Girls and boys who are married early are most likely to drop out of school and discontinue formal education. They are also likely to be pushed into early childbearing, which increases the risk of maternal mortality, morbidity and infant death, and malnutrition for the mother and child. Child trafficking has seen a spurt. District-wise data reveals that the Koraput district has become one of the trafficking hubs in the State. In 2021, 20 children, mostly girls were rescued from a railway station. They belonged to the Kandhamal, Gajapati and Koraput. These trafficked children are likely to be pushed to work as domestic workers or to work in small companies in hazardous work conditions.

We work to create solutions that support adolescents and youth’s transition into adult life and work, to education and skills development. To keep them safe and supported, we work to prevent and respond to violence within families, among peers, in villages and schools. We also tackle the growing risks they face in society, promote adolescent and youth-friendly justice systems, and address harmful practices like child marriage, child marriage, children sexual abuse and trafficking.