Update on India Cancel Se requiere un título

I'm puzzled by "creative solutions" that CI's seeking to a problem that is fundamental to FCRA - India's Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
- Is there a "real plan" for CI to return to India?
- Unlike during the pandemic, sponsored families/youth in India are not receiving sponsorship benefits for sometime or months now. Do they know of the problems CI having, if not will they leave the program prematurely before CI resume work?
- Currently all funding from CI to India suspended due to the situation (I believe) in Kolkata, hence affecting Delhi operation too – is the problem or solution/plan that CI testing interconnected to both sites?

I would also like to know how this has been communicated to the children and families. Do they understand why the local offices are closed and they are no longer receiving letters and EGs from their sponsors? At least some families may have been living in CI's area of operations specifically in order to receive benefits. Now that these have stopped, families may decide to move elsewhere. The children now also find themselves without the tutoring help that a number of sponsors have been providing and that is considered essential in India. But, the Indian authorities seem confident that they can take up where CI left off. Has CI received feedback on any of these issues from India?

The local team in India explained the paused operations to the families and assured them the team is working hard to returning to normal services. Children are still enrolled in our program and know they continue to have their same sponsor. They know you care about them, even though we cannot deliver letters or EGs to the families.

Our teams have developed a plan to continue operations, which they must test to ensure it is feasible and positively impacts the children and youth. These tests are for both agencies in India. If successful, we hope to resume operations in the April timeframe and will reach out to the families when sponsorship services are accessible to them. 

Hello,
Any new news on the Situation in India?  Just curious how things are progressing.  Thank you for any update you can provide.

We know the anticipation about India is growing and we thank all of you for your patience and support. Our team and partners are dedicated and determined to resume sponsorship programming and are working tirelessly to that goal. We're looking forward to sharing our next update the end of April.

FYI concerning CI's issues in INDIA.

Heard a story on NPR yesterday (3-14-24) that stated the ruling government in India has passed a law that will make it more difficult if not impossible for Muslims to become citizens. I seem to recall that the majority of CI's work is in the Muslim communities and that was part of the issue they were having with the government and their renewal paperwork. I would think this new law would greatly hinder, if not eliminate their ability to do work in the Muslim communities which they serve.

Hopefully I am wrong, but things seem to be getting worse instead of better for Muslims in India.

All of my India children have got their new photos taken. Can CI confirm that funding has started to reach India now? My understanding is that Delhi continues with the program uninterrupted, but is Kolkata moving to 'cluster model' finalised? If so, which CCs are open there to receive benefits, including use of facilities for (non-cluster run) programs?

Some programs began in late April and others in May and June in both Delhi and Kolkata, thanks to those dedicated sponsors that continued to provide funding during the pause. We’re excited to share that our program areas of focus include education, life skills, nutrition, health, and career readiness.  As mentioned in previous posts, we are unable to deliver letters to and from children and cannot support extra gifts as our resources are focused on programs at this time.   

Any idea if or when we will be able to send letters and extra gifts to our sponsored children in India?  I was very happy to see a new picture of Nabiya but do miss the communication.  I am very glad that programs have started back up and do realize that is the most important thing for the children but I would really love to catch back up with Nabiya and let her know that I think of her often. 

We truly appreciate your desire to catchup with Nabiya. Our staff in both agencies are reconnecting with each of the over 17,000 youth in our program. This means a home visit to each family, discussing programs, helping identify programs that best meet their needs, updating their photo and personal information and ensuring CIKC has the updates to provide to each sponsor. We know that EG's and correspondence will not be possible anytime soon. It is taking longer than anticipated to reconnect with the children and families because of the in-depth consultation and limited resources involved while also ensuring programs are available.  We'll be in touch with our India sponsors as more information becomes available.  

Hi Debbie, you write that correspondence and EGs will not be possible any time soon because of the Indian agencies' workload. However, can you tell us whether EGs and letters are even allowed under the new sponsorship scheme in India? I imagine many compromises were necessary for CI to be able to keep operating there. For example, the information in the updated FRs is slightly different than for children from the other countries, with some of the most personal information missing.

@elemay: The issue around EGs is related to staffing (managing current workload and program priorities) and working within the FCRA regulations.  We’re not giving up, but there are several things we will need to figure out to support EGs under the new requirements, and we simply are not able to take on anything additional at this time as much as we would love to. 

That's good that India's making progress getting children involved in the program activities. I know Sahay and Children are active, but the issue I think is how CI can fit into their new regime. Do CIKC have reps currently in Kolkata and Delhi overseeing a solution to iron out any issues with the local staff?

That's a good question Elemay and I'm not sure we've got a clear answer. Are letters affected under the new regulations or not? If the delay in EGs is about staffing AND regulations what does that mean for timing? We've been told 'not anytime soon' but that's pretty vague. Are we talking weeks, months, years, possibly never?

@chelaka, @Pippa1 - Our staff, both in Kansas City and overseas, are working diligently.  We remain optimistic that we can continue to successfully provide benefits and services to the children and meet the requirements of the Indian government.  As far as letters and EGs, the truth is we really don’t have a timeline, except that we know it’ll be more than a few weeks or months.  It’s only been a few months since we started operating under the new guidelines and with over 17,000 children, it’s not an easy feat.  We appreciate your patience and continued support as we concentrate on providing the children and youth with meaningful programs focused on education, health, nutrition, life skills and career readiness.