Children of India Foundation
Children of India Foundation (CIF) is a grassroots non-profit, founded in 2002 and headquartered in Coimbatore, that works with some of the country's most vulnerable children and families. For over two decades, CIF has stood at the intersection of child rights, girls' empowerment, education and sustainable livelihoods partnering with communities, governments, law enforcement and fellow non-profits to end the worst forms of child labour, child marriage, sexual exploitation and caste-based abuse.
Headquarters: Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (Branch office: Bengaluru, Karnataka)
CIF's work is rooted in the belief that the best-placed agents of change are children and women themselves. The organisation invests heavily in community-led structures Kishori Clubs, children's collectives, women's groups and village-level vigilance committees and pairs them with quality education, vocational training and legal support. Programmes are designed in close partnership with district administrations, state departments of education, police, and long-standing international partners such as Terre des Hommes Netherlands, giving every intervention a clear pathway into mainstream systems.
Today, CIF operates across eight states, from the brick kilns of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to the Devadasi heartlands of North Karnataka and the mica mines of Jharkhand. The organisation's footprint spans more than 1,250 villages and has touched over 42,000 children and 67,000 families.
Programs & Focus Areas
- Project GOOD: Getting Out of the Devadasi System
- IMAGE: Initiatives for Married Adolescent Girls' Empowerment
- The Mica Project
- Brick-Kiln Children's Programme: Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
- Adolescent Girls' Skills & Livelihoods
CIF's work is co-designed and co-funded with a trusted set of national and international partners. Its longest-standing collaboration is with Terre des Hommes Netherlands, with whom it co-implements the Devadasi and brick-kiln programmes. CIF also works closely with state departments of education, district police, local panchayats, and a network of grassroots NGOs and media organisations that amplify community voices.
CIF offers the rare combination of a deeply rooted field presence and a nationally relevant agenda. Team members spend real time in villages and kiln sites, work alongside children and families who are protagonists of change, and see their interventions flow into the formal education, protection and justice systems. For mission-driven professionals in child rights, gender, education, research, law or livelihoods, CIF is an opportunity to contribute to tangible, measurable social change.
