Foundation endorses initiative to end child marriage
Source: The Sangai Express

Moirang, January 22 2025: In a push to child protection ecosystem in the country, Niti Aayog and the Association for Voluntary Action (AVA) have come together to focus on the most vulnerable regions of India to protect, empower and educate children, and aims to declare 15,000 villages in 104 blocks in the country 'Child Marriage Free' in one year.

Extending complete support, New Life Foundation - Manipur expressed solidarity and said that this collaboration between AVA and NITI Aayog gives them a new lease of enthusiasm and they are committed to make Bishnupur free from any kind of child exploitation including child labour, child trafficking, child marriage and child abuse.

Both New Life Foundation - Manipur and AVA are partners of Just Rights for Children, a network of over 250 NGOs working for child protection and child rights in 416 districts of the country.

Through a Statement of Intent (SoI) signed, this collaboration will target the Aspirational Blocks in 73 districts and establish Bal Surakshit Grams -- a flagship model developed by JRC to foster communities free from child marriage and exploitation.

This initiative is aligned with the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 .

Extending complete support, Dr L Pishak Singh, Secretary of New Life Foundation, Manipur , said, "We have been working relentlessly to make our district child marriage free in line with the Government of India's 'Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat'.

This collaboration is a huge push to our cause and we are committed to collaborating with AVA to make the district free of child marriage.

Additionally, we will work towards strengthening the child protection mechanisms in the district as well.

Together, we will ensure that all our children will have an opportunity to learn, grow and thrive" .

Speaking on the occasion, Dhananjay Tingal, Executive Director, AVA, said, "We are filled with immense pride and gratitude today as we take a significant step forward in empowering the most vulnerable sections of our society.

With collaborated efforts, we aim to make these blocks child marriage free by the end of 2025 and set a precedent for others.

NITI Aayog will collaborate with the state governments, central ministries and other key stakeholders at the district, block and village levels while Just Rights for Children partner will work on identifying such families, collaborate with district administration and governments, and develop a database to track the progress of every child and vulnerable family in real-time among other things.

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