The Hindu : Kerala / Kannur News : Project to rehabilitate street children launched

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 08, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Kannur

Project to rehabilitate street children launched

Staff Reporter

KANNUR: A project to rehabilitate street children and bring them to the mainstream of society has been launched under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese and the Lions International District here.

`Santhwana Bhavan,' a centre for rehabilitating street children set up at Vattapoil, near Varam here, under the project, was inaugurated by the Kannur MP A.P. Abdullakutty on Monday. The 10-year project has been highlighted as the first major philanthropic initiative of the Lions International District and the diocese here.

Lions District governor P.P. Lakshmanan and Diocese Vicar General Devassy Earathara said that the project envisaged making street urchins good citizens by providing them shelter, food, education and employment. It had conceived works to be done to identify the talented among them and help them cultivate their gifts, they said.

Mr. Abdullakutty described `Santhwana Bhavan' as a symbol of compassion. Increase in the number of street children in the State was only a sign of growing disparity, he said.

The Kannur Bishop Varghese Chakkalakkal presided over the function.

Mr. Lakshmanan said that the rehabilitation project would give thrust to formal as well as informal education of street urchins. Classes for inculcating ethical values, secular thoughts and social commitment among rehabilitated children would be conducted as part of the project, he said.

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