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Chennai is the 4th largest city of India. It was identified as Madras during the British era and is famed by the superb and distinctive Madras curry still named like that nowadays. The city prides itself of expansive beaches, a magnificent Marina, grand Temples and avant-garde Universities, Cultural centers and more. The flip side is that 25 percent of Chennai’s population dwells in the slums. According to the Census of India, the distinctness of a slum is "a compact area of at least 300 in population or about 60-70 households of poorly built, congested tenements in an unhygienic environment genarally with too little infrastructure and missing proper sanitation and drinking water amenities." More than 30% of the dwellings in these slums have no drainage systems. These inhabitants are exposed to waterborne illnesses like Malaria due to the lack of civic amenities. The residents of slums are always gripped in the fear of flattening of their homes due to urban development activities. The slums are commonly huts built with materials like plastic or tin sheets in a disorganized manner without apt access, congested and overcrowded. The need of educational, health and recreational facilities in the slums make their lives inferior, plunging them into trouble like unemployment, crime, and drug and alcohol abuse. The women and children are the worst affected and they are mostly deprived of the crucial necessities of life. There have been sustained efforts and developmental work by the government and voluntary service by Non-profit organizations and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) to meet the emergent needs of the ever rising slum populace. These efforts directed by various welfare schemes are aimed at developing awareness about hygiene, and to educate them about their constitutional rights and on how to improve their lives. Here are a few NGOs that are occupied in helping the slum populations to relieve poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. ANEW (anewindia.org) This is an society for Non-Traditional Employment for Women. ANEW is a non-profit charitable organization situated at Chennai. It was established with a mission to increase the socio-economic status of young, underprivileged women by empowering them with self confidence and optimum skills to enable them to become self-reliant and contribute to family and society. ANEW is dedicated to helping young women get access to practicable job skills and good paying full time jobs. Usually, employment choices for women from underprivileged families in India are restricted to "traditional" jobs in agriculture and low-skilled handicraft labor. In many cases these women are exploited or underemployed. Over the last few years ANEW has furnished women of the underprivileged section of society with the training necessary to become home nurses, computer operators, car drivers and Auto rickshaw drivers. Karunakarya (Karunakarya.org) has been doing laudable work helping slum dwellers of Chennai (formerly Madras) to integrate into society. Karunakarya motivates and makes it possible for children to secure admission to state run schools, gives various after school services and seeks to equip young people in obtaining professional training. Karunakarya supports the poorest of the poor in slums and villages with medical aid and relief. They also offer awareness programs for slum-dwellers where they study about their human rights and develop problem solving skills. Their plans are meant to enrich and empower the poorest in society so they can take accountability for discovering options to the trouble in their own communities. We salute these NGO’s for their kind and valuable contribution to the future of generations to come. It is said that once the cycle of poverty is smashed it never again returns
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