• WHERE ARE WE?
  The SKCV Headquarters is Prema Vihar Village, which lies some five miles outside Vijayawada city, a major junction in coastal Andhra Pradesh State, South India. Situated alongside the banks of the River Krishna is an 11 acre farm which provides a safe haven from the chaos and dangers of life on the street. It is home to 130 previously destitute kids, some as young as six years old. The farm is totally managed by the children, both old and young. There are 35 cattle, market gardens and orchards.

• This is in addition to the many girls being helped in the separate Girls Care Centre in the city, as well as the 120 boys in the city Comprehensive Night and Day Shelter unit. Many of these children are orphans, others have run away from abusive or violent parents or stepparents. All are fleeing a life of grinding poverty and disease on the street.

SKCV is a pure vegetarian organization ... for more info click here: 
A Vegetarian Life

• EDUCATION & TRAINING
  Together, husband and wife team, Manihara and Bhakti Norton, and a small band of staff, volunteers and helpers, provide their enormous ‘family’ with a safe, caring environment in which to grow and to thrive. It is up to the children to manage and develop their own life under careful and loving guidance. All children, young and old get the opportunity and are encouraged to experiment with computers.
  Every SKCV child reaches a level of education to enable him/her to take their rightful place in the world. The individual talents of each child are recognized and developed. Some go on to college; other, not academically gifted, are given vocational or agricultural training.  The six SKCV vocational workshops, provide everything from motor cycle repairs to tailoring, generate income which contribute to the village’s running costs.
  

• VOLUNTARY PROCESS
  Children are not coerced to live in the Village, or any other SKCV Centre. They visit and then stay voluntarily making their own choice and enrolling themselves in both the Village and the School. Those who want to return home are encouraged  to do so. Each child has a contribution to make right down to the youngest who are encouraged to grow their own vegetables to "sell" back to the Village kitchen as a source of their pocket money.
  

• DEMOCRACY IN SKCV
  Some of the older boys help to democratically run the village, ("The Future Group-Second Generation") deciding by vote its rules and codes of conduct. They freely enrol themselves in SKCV school or Vocational Training programmes. The few who do return to the street are always welcomed back if and when they choose to return. Others who move out and stand on their own two feet are supported medically and morally for some time ...... and they are happy! .... Please come and visit with them.

• A TYPICAL STREET CHILD* IN INDIA
  * The typical street child may be a boy or a girl, but for the sake of brevity we use the term "he" here

He around 12 years old from a large family in a disadvantaged, rural area. None of the adults in his family has a job and he is the butt of constant abuse and neglect that finally drives him away from home.

He drops out of school and works in small cafes or picks rags for sale or begs to support himself, earning a meagre 10 to 75 pence a day. With nowhere safe to keep his earnings, they are often stolen along with the few possessions he may own. Yet in spite of the harsh, often brutal conditions on the street, he finds them preferable to life in an institution.

• Because he has no regular medical attention or nutritious food, he is constantly sick and weak. He sees his family rarely, but would love to return home it life were different for him there.

• He is the victim of abuse on the streets, both from the general public who scorn him and the police. In his despair, he turns to drugs or glue sniffing and his health deteriorates rapidly. He is at risk from HIV and Aids, yet does not fully understand the dangers.

• He harbours a deep mistrust of adults and craves love, security and happiness.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires participating countries to take every measure to help abused, neglected and needy children. India has ratified this Convention and it's Constitution states that all children have the right to security, basic nutrition, health and social service. But much remains to be done. SKCV-UK aims to assist the Government of India through SKCV-India to help as many children as possible.

SKCV strives to uphold and strengthen these rights, but we rely on the generosity of the public to help us do this.