Koshish established in 2006 is a not for profit organisation striving to support and give voice to marginalised children and young people in Kashmir. Youth and Children have been emotionally, psychologically and physically affected by the ongoing turmoil in the region which in turn have given ways to many social problems like lack of education, child labour and drug abuse and which have not been addressed by the government. Koshish works in partnership with NGOs, activists and policy makers to undertake research, design projects, raise awareness and organise training on these issues. Koshish is currently focusing on Human security, protection and equality education issues of children who are more vulnerable in conflict areas.

 At Koshish, we are devoted to our vision for a happy, sound, and creative childhood for every Child.

We work towards reducing the rate of child labor and make sure children’s voices are recognised in issues that affect them. We believe that the best interest of the child needs to be put at the centre of all policy, legislation, and practices affecting their lives.

Koshish is also a research and rights based organization, the focus has been particularly on Women and children keeping in view the vulnerabilities they have in conflict zones. A rights-based approach ensures that entitlements are available to all children without any discrimination. Koshish has conducted several studies in some of the remotest areas of the valley, which have shown interesting insights and the need for these issues be highlighted.

The Government of India ratified the conversion on the Rights of the Child, on 12 November 1992, expressing its commitment to the children of India. The convention provides a framework for Plan's work around the world. In India, this can be seen in our goals.

• Child Survival, Growth and Optimal Development
• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
• Quality and Holistic Education

What We Do? 

• The Organization seeks to address the ever growing and alarming menace of child labor, simultaneously working for the quality education in the state. 
• The organization aims at bringing out the real issues which one encounters during research and subsequently seek to arrive at solution, at the same time Koshish observes the authorized provisions meant to provide the legal aid for the deprived sections like child, widow, elderly, handicapped or the destitute of any form.
• Liaison with the government and awareness amongst the communities remain the two most important components of our intervention. The organization organizes different workshops time to time and meetings with the rationale to sensitize the group within and minimize the widening gap between the common deprived individual and the government.
• Koshish is also into compiling information about social security legislations in order to disseminate the same within the vulnerable communities/institutions. Moreover, the organization has a large pool of volunteers who are working at the ground level who are responsible and important part among their communities.
• Adopted a systematic approach towards immunization which starts with registering every new birth both in government as well as in Koshish records, it serves us two purposes, first after enlisting the new births we are in a situation to keep track of their government registration and secondly it guides us about the periodic immunization with punctuality.
• Child Education and protection: To meet our efforts with the tangibility of targets we aim at transferring the ownership of program to the community itself. In this regard we mobilize our CAC (Child Activity Center) and CGD (children group for development) children as a medium of awareness generation. Our LRAs (local resource associates) along with the children play a proactive role for both keeping record of new births as well as ensuring their periodic immunization.

Acheivements

Health camps for children, pregnant & and lactating mothers

Koshish holds such activities to address the immediate health problems of children & mothers. Most of our intervention areas are deprived of basic health care facilities like there is no dispensary in the area, so people are having no access to proper/necessary health care. We organize all health camps in coordination with district health departments & we seek very cordial support from all the concerned Chief Medical Officers.

Community and government interfaces

We also try to bridge the gap between government & people by organizing such meet at community level. So far NRHM meet between community & government is concerned the main objective is to bring the both closer in order to bring sustainability of such schemes meant for the welfare of the people. By organizing such seminars/public meetings on NRHM our main objective is to facilitate the involvement of communities to avail the facilities and voice of community will reach to government officials/departments.

Study on child labour

Organization is in process of various studies on child issues, currently the team carried out study on Child Labor in programme areas in order to get the data about the gravity of child labor and related issues. Analysis of the data helps the organization to reach to the basic causes of such alarming rate of involvement of children in labor. The data is then shared with the officials and community stake holders, so that they will come to know about the gravity & reasons for making children of tender age to get involved in labor.

Registration of differentional able children

We also work out to identify the children with disability in our programme areas & aware their parents & community about the schemes run by the state for welfare of people with disability. Besides it we also make referrals of such cases to those organizations that are presently running schools for special children.

Support to women

This year we are intending to support women especially widows by providing support in the form of training and also work out for establishing certain vocational centers in coordination with social welfare department, Women Development Corporation and All India Handicrafts.

Child education

With the help of Child Rights and You (CRY) We have formed Children’s Group for Development (CGDs) and CAC’s (Children Activity center)

In all the programme areas wherein children form a group that works as a platform for their development socially and educationally In these CGDs the children freely participate and come up with ideas & express their feelings and emotions with freedom. Thus, such development groups help to inculcate leadership qualities in them and a vent to their feelings and emotions is being provided. The children put their ideas in the group and put it on paper in the form of minutes of the meetings

Every year koshish is preparing children whole year then mainstreaming dropouts / never admitted / child labor children to formal schooling

School enrolement

Koshish intends to increase the enrollment of children in schools, there are places where children are out of school or never admitted due to unavailability of schools

Pre-schooling

As part of the ongoing work, KOSHISH works closely with ICDS centers and social welfare department to ensure pre schooling is functional in all the intervention areas. Organization intends to make ECCE component operational and working towards exploring ECCE implementation in more appropriate way and our team is dedicated to make innovations in the ECCE component on state level.  

ADVOCACY: Koshish is in the advocacy process for the smooth functioning of child related and project related activities from village to state level involving local associates, district officers to ministers in our programme

Child-friendly spaces

Koshish on the project funded by UNICEF has started Child friendly spaces in kulgam district of Kashmir valley, in order to regain the space for recreational activities, play and normal day to day activities for children which otherwise due to prolonged hartals/ strikes/ curfews remain affected.  Koshish with its local partner is clubbed on this project and running 20 such centers till date.

Peacebuilding activities

The Peace Gong, an online newsletter focused on peacebuilding and social change. The project, supported by the Media and Literacy Initiative of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore Foundation, is managed and edited by young students from conflict zones in India, Jammu and Kashmir. The Peace Gong is a platform where young people can share their concerns, ideas and experiences in a creative way. Each issue is thematic, but always focused on peacebuilding. The students are also invited to suggest solutions and new approaches to the problems they write about. The Peace Gong group collaborates with UN volunteers. They work together in inter-regional activities such as art projects, theater performances and seminars promoting mutual understanding, solidarity and friendship between young people of different areas