Campaign launched to bring awareness in Visakha Agency area

A campaign has been launched to sensitise vulnerable tribal communities in the Agency area of the district on their rights and responsibilities. The weeklong campaign was inaugurated at Araku Valley on Friday on the occasion of the International Day of World Indigenous People.

A round-table meeting was held at Tribal Foundation at Padmapuram to drive home the point that tribal culture and advancement could sustain only if they overcome the fast spreading globalisation, privatisation and liberalisation simultaneously protecting the cultures.

It was decided to take up mass campaigns at shandies, ashram schools, youth gatherings and at villages covering around 1,200 participants to promote tribal cultures. The awareness will cover environment protection, conserving empowerment and indigenous living patterns.

The round-table meet called upon the communities to make unified efforts in accessing the constitutional rights and guarantees and overcome the challenges in the way of empowerment with unity.

The round-table laid emphasis on the health, education, livelihoods, facilitating the de-addiction, avoiding the child labour and marriages, poverty with a collective spirit recognising the beneficiaries as right holders’ overcoming the exclusion, disparities and other social barriers towards a holistic tribal advancement direction.

The participants at the round-table included teachers, students, farmers, self-help groups, Dhimsa Foundation, Tribal Foundation, Girinestham, Chaitanya, Vanamithra, Power, Focus, Chetana, IPAP and Nature and functionaries from international NGOs like DKA Austria, UNICEF, Save the Children, New Education Group — FIRE.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – August 12th, 2013