About Peace Trust:

Peace Trust is a non-partisan, non-political, secular and non-governmental organisation engaged in promoting eradication of child labour, child rights, welfare of migrant labour, youth skill development, protection of environment and awareness of health and hygiene. It believes in sustainable development with equitable distribution of the fruits of development and equal opportunities for all citizens.

Genesis

Peace Trust was established in 1984 at Dindigul in Tamil Nadu state. It was founded by Dr.Joseph Paul Baskar who had been engaged in social work for several years, helping the child labourers to get released from hazardous industries like tanneries and cotton mills. At present the area of operation of the Trust spans four districts of Tamil Nadu, viz., Dindigul, Cuddalore, Chennai and Nagapattinam.

Vision

Peace Trust’s vision is to create an environment free from ignorance and exploitation through promoting equal opportunities for vulnerable, marginalized and poor people, especially youth and children and to ensure sustainable development at all levels. In order to realize the vision Peace Trust has the following four key work areas focused on children and youth for participatory implementation;

Mission

Education - Promoting the rights of the children against exploitations and abuses and enhancing their learning through formal and alternate education and by ensuring a child-friendly society.

Skill Development – Facilitating vulnerable and poor youth for skill development and gainful employment to improve the economic situation of the family.

Environment - Protecting the environment and help in the preservation of natural resources by educating the community on bio-diversity conservation, climate change adaptation, minimizing the resource-usage and on proper utilization and recycling of available resources.

The following are the relevant work experiences

Education - Peace Trust adopted a holistic approach in dealing with the menace of child labour in leather tanning industry. Non-formal education programmes were carried out for the child labourers and prepared these children to attend formal schools, special bridge courses were also arranged to reenroll the children back to school. More than 8000 child labourers were rehabilitated over 10 years of project implementation. About 181 Child Laborers of poor families drawn from 27 cotton spinning mills in Vedasandur Taluk were rehabilitated by offering support for their school education and providing of special tuition and cash incentives to the families to compensate the income lost. In Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu a total of 2035 families were supported, 2310 children and 713 adults benefited

through the programmes such as total residential care, evening tuition, open school and bridge school programmes. The educational status of the children has improved in the selected villages of Nagapattinam district which in turn has increased their options for employment and income.

Skill Development - Peace Trust has released and rehabilitated child laborers from hazardous occupations, vulnerable adolescents and youth from the low income families, they were trained in skill development programme and arranged gainful employment to improve their economic situation. Peace Industrial School in Dindigul district has been providing one year and two years formal vocational training programmes affiliated by National Council for Vocational Training and State Council for Vocational Training. Peace Industrial School has so far provided technical education to 1511 low income youth in various technical courses from the year 2000 to 2015 to improve their economic situation. 1209 youths have got gainful employment in nearby garment factories, textile industries, computer and browsing centers, petrol stations and rental shops schools (including government) etc., and 302 youths have started their own micro and small enterprises. These technically qualified youth are currently earning an average annual income of Rs. 96,000 which is recurring, stable and sustainable, thereby have improved their standard of living. Vocational Education and Employment Facilitation centre is also offering one year vocational training courses for the under privileged youth in Velankanni, Nagapattinam district.

Environment - Watershed projects have transformed 8300 hectares of dry lands from Ridge to Valley of the selected watersheds. Empowered the farming community into socio-economic development through interventions such as promotion of viable income generation activities for landless families, implementation of soil and water conservation technologies like water harvesting structures, rehabilitation of water harvesting structures, land treatments, vegetative measures, promotion of sustainable agriculture technologies for small and marginal farmers and introduced renewable energy technologies. Peace Trust being the Regional Resource Agency (RRA) of Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has been coordinating the National Environmental Awareness Campaign (NEAC) in 18 districts of South Tamil Nadu.