Financial crunch leading to fewer resources for poverty alleviation

During the last Indian financial year, spanning from 1st April 2008 to 31st March 2009, CINI has received fewer donations as compared to the previous fiscal cycle. While it is acknowledged that competition for limited financial resources is increasing among a growing number of charities, there is also evidence that individual donors are becoming more prudent in contributing to social causes. The traditional supporters of our work in India are the same middle class persons who, in Western economies, are losing their jobs, their houses and the security of a steady income. Charities such as CINI, which in the developing world have been active in bringing about improvements in the areas of nutrition, health, education and protection for the poor, are now risking losing an important source of support. The growing middle class in India and other Asian countries has started contributing gradually, but it will take years for it to match the levels of contribution that has been built up over time by its counterparts in wealthier nations.
Over the past 35 years, CINI has extended its reach to poor and marginalized communities living both in rural and urban areas, particularly in preventing malnutrition, which is still the commonest cause of childhood mortality in India. With fewer resources available, life-saving programmes are going to suffer. The motivation of professionals who work at CINI on already low salaries will be further tested. We encourage all our donors to keep their faith in the work of CINI. If the practice of giving and sharing continues even during difficult times, there will be an opportunity for those who have been hit by the global financial downturn to cope with the crisis by extending their solidarity to those communities who need help the most now.



Dr. Samir Chaudhuri

Director

Children growing up in poverty show learning impairment

Working in poor villages and informal urban settlements in India since 1974, we have often witnessed how poverty and deprivation seriously affect children’s capacity to learn. A recent article published in The Economist’s neuroscience and social deprivation section (4 April 2009), titled I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told, reports the results of revealing research studies carried out by Dr. Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently by Drs. Gary Evans and Michelle Schamberg of Cornell University, which substantiate the evidence gathered from our daily experience among deprived communities. The studies show that working memories of children raised in poverty have smaller capacities than those of middle-class children’s. Working memory is the ability to hold bits of information in the brain for current use - the digits of a phone number, for example. Developing a working memory is a prerequisite for learning permanently, as a child seeks to do when s/he undergoes school education. It is crucial for comprehending languages, reading and solving problems. The studies demonstrate that reduced capacities in the memories of the poor are the result of stress affecting the way that childish brains develop in conditions of deprivation.
CINI seeks to bring about human development by creating Child and Woman Friendly Communities, physical and social settings where children and young people can grow up in a protected, enabling environment. Health, nutrition, education and child protection services are provided with the mobilisation of key community members, starting from the family, the service providers and the local self-governments.

Dr. Samir Chaudhuri
Director

17th Rotary India Award 2008

CINI was chosen from many NGO applicants in India for the 17th Rotary India Award 2008. This award is being presented to CINI in public recognition of its unique and unparalleled contributions and the replicable model in combating Child Mortality in India. The selection committee comprised of a Jury chaired by Smt. Justice Leila Seth, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh and they highly appreciated the work done by CINI. The award ceremony carrying a cash prize and a citation, will be held on Monday April 13, 2009 at the auditorium of PHD Chambers of Commerce, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi at 4:p.m.