: A high-level US delegation led by Catherine Carlton, Mayor of the city of Menlo Park, visited the Government Children's Home at neary Kakkanad.
Carlton called upon the children to give foremost priority to education.
The visit on sunday was facilitated by Raising Our Voices (ROV) Foundation, an NGO working closely with the Home as holistic mentors for the children under an agreement with the Social Justice Department, Government of Kerala.
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ROV is a group working for the protection, safety and empowerment of women and children. It is a platform for those who strive to liberate the society from the perpetuation of misogyny and gender imbalance.
ROV signed an MOU with the state government to be facilitators in March 2014. Since then ROV has been in the forefront of various developmental activities at Children's Home, a release said.
The Foundation has been an active partner of the Home in extending a number of facilities for the children such as education, medical support and counselling.
The Mayor presented tokens of appreciation to children who have excelled in various fields, including art and education. Children's cultural programmes were held on the occasion. She emphasized to the children the need to invest in themselves and their education, the one treasure no one can take away from them.
The Mayor was given a tour of the facilities by ROV along with the Superintendent of the Home and CWC. ROV also gave a brief presentation about the organization and explored options of working together with Menlo Park on several fronts like education, aftercare and infrastructure.
