ABSTRACT
Rita Panicker focuses on her work with street-connected children, an approach that is participatory, non-institutional, and rights-based. She demonstrates how education, health, and life skills are the three fundamental rights that will support children to exit from generational poverty and illiteracy. The innovative intervention of children’s cooperatives as a framework to work with children and educate them on democratic participation, equity, collective ownership, and purpose, is proved effective. Child Health and Sports Cooperative and Children’s Development Khazana, and educating children safe and healthy living and financial management have established that cooperatives are the way forward for the poor marginalised children to change their narratives and transform their lives. Social casework and mental health are important as crosscutting components in all programmes rather than a stand-alone specialised intervention. Child protection is seen through the lens of families in crisis and a systemic approach to prevent dissolution of a family. She emphasises the importance of alliances, and research to push the frontiers of development work. She advocates for practitioners and academicians to come together to build a knowledge community.
