What is the difference between Relief and Rights?
The Relief approach addresses the symptoms of the problem – malnourishment, children out of school, children in the work force, female infanticide etc. The rights approach identifies the underlying causes of these problems – caste, gender and class biases, livelihoods and absent or indifferent governance – and finds long-term solutions by ensuring children and communities are informed and empowered to seek solutions. The relief approach treats children as objects of sympathy needing our help. The rights approach recognizes them as citizens who are entitled to all that has been promised them under the Indian Constitution and by the United Nations Child Rights Charter.
