'Our Responsibility to Children' (ORC) is a unique social experiment initiated in Kerala in 2010, to create a safe, nurturing, and just environment wherein vulnerable children involved, or at risk of getting involved, in harmful behavior are brought to the mainstream, equipped and empowered with life skills, appropriate support, and knowledge to realize their full potential and become productive m
embers of society. Over the past few years, ORC has dynamically proved that it is possible to address the issues of our children through a multi-sector approach involving various government agencies and civil society. This social experiment has been successful in:
Mentoring, and advocating on behalf of, young offenders in the juvenile justice system;
Preventing youth from indulging in deviant behavior and anti-social activities; and
Diverting youth at risk into constructive activities and better opportunities;
Drawing from the experience of ORC experiments in different cities of the State, the Government of Kerala has decided to integrate ORC into its Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS).ORC will become a key component of ICPS and will be implemented as a joint initiative of the Departments of Education, Social Justice, Health, Home, and Local Self Government in collaboration with like-minded civil society organizations and individuals. Under the overall umbrella of ICPS, ORC will strengthen its operations and mainstream its activities through schools in Kerala. ORC is optimistic of initiating and strengthening a collective and constructive intervention from parents, teachers and society at large to ensure that our children develop and flourish in a protective and safe environment;