A legal clinic had started functioning at Snehitha Gender Help Desk of Palakkad District with the help of District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to spread its services to the grass root level of society and to ensure that everyone should have access to legal awareness and justice regardless of their income for those who cannot afford them.Snehitha Legal Cinic had started working from September 2018.

Snehitha Legal Clinic would offer the needy to avail all help and support from the other Government Services and to empower people to achieve inclusion, independence and justice by providing free, quality representation to overcome legal obstacles and other problems under umbrella.  

Legal assistance would be given to the clients by a woman advocate on every wednesdays during 2 PM to 5 PM. The woman advocate would help them to overcome legal issues by giving legal advice and legal service. Snehitha will contact the clients who need legal assistance, those who already registered a case in Snehitha and link them with the advocate and follow up through District Legal Services Authority (DLSA).

Sanjeevani Agri Therapy, the innovative programme launched by Kudumbashree Mission at its BUDS and BRC institutions across the state are working wonders among the mentally challenged children. As, physical, mental happiness and exercises are very much needed for the persons with disability for bringing out the inherent talents within the mentally challenged children, Kudumbashree Mission tried different models through which the children can be active, motivated and productive. Different districts came up with different initiatives for the same. Training the BRC beneficiaries in livelihood activities to generate some income was the motive behind the activities of all districts in their initiatives. All the districts practiced different activities to make the children motivated. During that time Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram districts introduced Agri therapy in the BUDS institutions. The district initiative of Malappuram District was named as ‘Thalir’ and the district initiative of Thiruvananthapuram was named as ‘Jaiva Mukulam’.

As this programme received much acceptance from the children and the society, Kudumbashree State Mission decided to extend Agri therapy to all the BUDS institutions in 2018 and named it as “Sanjeevani”. As soon after the introduction of the programme, all the institutions came forward with enthusiasm to start Sanjeevani. All the Local Self Government Institutions provided 2 cents land for the children to cultivate vegetables. In the Sanjeevani programme, Ernakulam District made a step forward by finding one and half acre land for the children to involve in the Agri therapy. The Agri-therapy programme envisages at the mental and physical development of the individuals at BUDS and BRC through vegetable cultivation. In this project a minimum of 2 cents of land would be used for cultivation by the students. These lands can be either the school premises itself or adjoining lands used by the Joint Liability Groups (JLGs). A training session (to cover the supply of inputs) to school was done at the rate of 5000 per school. A master was assigned the duty of managing the plot, he who would visit the plot each week and guide the students. The BUDS institutions are cultivating vegetables like peas, ladies finger, spinach, brinjal, green chilli and tomato. A total of 144 schools are practicing Agri Therapy in 345 cents of land across the state.

Horticultural therapy is a time-proven practice and now it is accepted as a beneficial and effective therapeutic modality. It is widely used within a broad range of rehabilitative, vocational, and community settings. Horticultural therapy techniques are employed to assist participants to learn new skills or regain those that are lost. Horticultural therapy helps improve memory, cognitive abilities, task initiation, language skills, and socialization. In physical rehabilitation, horticultural therapy can help strengthen muscles and improve coordination, balance, and endurance. In vocational horticultural therapy settings, people learn to work independently, problem solve, and follow directions. BUDS Schools are free and open special schools for mentally challenged children of poor families, owned and managed by the Local Self Government Institutions under the support and guidance of Kudumbashree Mission and the community structure. Whereas, BUDS Rehabilitation Centres (BRCs) are day care centres for mentally challenged persons which are intended to fill a gap in the State’s existing system for providing care to the mentally challenged that caters only to persons up to 18 years of age. BRCs are meant for those who have already undergone special education through BUDS Schools or other centres. However, centres are also open to mentally challenged children who are unable to attend schools. BRCs are meant to train and support persons with special needs for equipping them with skills that make them employable. There are 114 BRCs and 88 BUDS Schools in Kerala which make a total of 202 BUDS institutions in Kerala.

Kudumbashree Women were proactively selling the Navakerala Lottery which was launched by the Directorate of Kerala Lotteries, Government of Kerala in an aim to collect additional fund towards the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for flood rehabilitation activities and for Rebuilding Kerala. Kudumbashree Women had sold lottery tickets worth Rs 9.23 crore. As part of the lottery selling, 1054 CDS out of 1064 CDS had took up the casual agency. Through this 18,252 Kudumbashree women sold the Navakerala Lottery tickets across the state. More than 3.69 lakhs of lottery tickets were sold by the Kudumbashree members. In connection with this, Rangashree, the community theater group of Kudumbashree Mission had also performed street plays for the publicity of the sales of the Navakerala lotteries throughout the state. Kudumbashree Accounts and Audit Service Society (KAASS), Micro Enterprises Consultant (MEC) and other training groups had also took up the casual agency for selling Navakerala Lottery tickets and were active in selling the same.

The Government of Kerala launched the Navakerala lottery in a bid to collect additional funds towards the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF),the emergency assistance release mechanism granting immediate relief to families and individuals distressed by calamity, loss of life due to accidents and chronic diseases. Government of Kerala had entrusted Kudumbashree Mission as an agency to sell tickets to increase the sales of the Navakerala Lottery.

Named as 'Meena', the Balasabha Students from Kannur came up with a short film. The Short film is done by the Narath Grama Panchayath Balasabha, Kannur. The short film is produced by the Narath Grama Panchayath and Kudumbashree CDS. Vismaya, Vandana, Anagh, Nanditha, Shivani, Athulya, Gopika, Arya, Niranjana and Ashwin Rajeev are the students who enacted in the short film. The Short film mainly aims on health awareness and the need of implementing healthy life style in everyone's life. The short film depicts the adverse effects of fast food culture on children. It also focus on what an organisation like Kudumbashree Mission can do in this regard. The short film by Balasabha students throws light on the menace of fast food culture and how Kudumbashree's Micro Enterprises and Joint Liability Groups can do to overcome this issue.

Drawing Camp of the Bala Gothra Sabha Children of Attappady stands out unique. Named as ' Vara', the drawing camp was organised by the Child Resource Centre of Attappady. The Drawing Camp was conducted on 13 and 14 September 2018. More than 200 students took part in the drawing camp. Shri. Siddique, Faculty, Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy, Shri. Nagaraj Uthukuzhy and Smt. Prameela lead the drawing classes for the children. The drawing camp aimed at enhancing the artistic skills of the tribal children in Attappady. An drawing exhibition was also arranged using the drawings of the students. The Child Resource Centre of Attappady had been organising various camps for the capacity building of the tribal students in various topics. A Science camp was also organised by the Child Resource Centre of Attappady during last month.

Kudumbashree Kasaragod District Mission launched Kudumbashree School of Dance and Music. Balasabha school of Dance and Music, the new venture of Kudumbashree Kasaragod District Mission was inaugurated on 13 October 2018 at Cheruvathur Grama Panchayath CDS. The main aim of project is to promote artistic talents of rural children in the district. It is the first institution started under Kudumbashree Balasabha for extending training on classical music and dance. 

Children between the age of 5 and 15 will be given training classes in dance and music. The training classes would be held at the Cheruvathoor Grama Panchayath CDS hall on every Sundays. 200 students had secured admission for the classic music and dance classes.The programme is a joint initiative of Kudumbashree Kasaragod District Mission and Cheruvathur Grama Panchayath CDS .

Kudmbashree women from Angamaly completed the construction of Life Mission House at Manjapra Grama Panchayath, Ernakulam. It is within 53 days that the Kudumbashree women completed the construction of the 420 sq ft terraced house. Smt. Devaki, a widow from Manjapra Panchayath is the beneficiary of the house. The construction of the house was started on 6 June 2018 and was finished on 8 October 2018. It's amidst the unprecedented floods and the calamities that the women completed the construction of the house. Eksath Training Agency from Alappuzha is entrusted for extending the construction training at Ernakulam. The construction for Life Mission and the construction training for the women together are clubbed together to reduce the cost of construction. On the Job Training style is implemented here. It is the sheer hard work of 28 Kudumbashree women of 3 construction units which resulted in the completion of the house within 53 days. The construction of 12 Life Mission houses are also progressing in Ernakulam District in the same manner.

It was on anticipating the huge shortage of labour force in the near future because of various determined Government campaigns of mass housing,that training was extended to women in construction sector. So that groups of micro contractors could be formed, who can take up the construction of houses of poor and needy, in addition to taking up of bigger projects. As a part of LIFE mission more than 2.5 lakh houses are being constructed in the state in this financial year. This provides huge employment opportunity for women construction groups. Further, once the construction groups completes 3/4 houses, it is aimed to upgrade them to become micro contractors for taking up various works of local self governments. Training is given by taking up the construction of the beneficiaries of various government schemes like PMAY(U), LIFE etc. Accredited agenicies like State Nirmithi Kendra, District Nirmithi Kendra, Maithri, Habitat, Thrissur Labour Contracting Society, Pinarayi Industrial Cooperative Society, Kerala State Housing Board, Kerala State Construction Corporation, Costford, Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society, Kitco, Eksath etc are extending construction training to the identified groups in the respective districts under the leadership of the the District Mission Coordinators. Training on construction activities for Kudumbashree members aims to extend skill training for women in various trades in the construction industry for enhancing the skill of the women in construction related activities such that a sustainable income is generated.

Kudumbashree received 150 tonnes of organic manure from Tamil Nadu for Kudumbashree Joint Liability Groups (JLGs). The Organic Manure is contributed by Subhashri Bio Energies (P) Ltd. (SBEL), a division of the Subhashri group of companies, Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu which had metamorphosed into a knowledge leader in organic regeneration and energy independence arena.The company contributed 150 tonnes of organic manure worth Rs 30 lakhs for the women farmers of Kudumbashree Mission. Shri. S. Dorai Raju,Managing Director, Subhashri Bio Energies (P) Ltd along with Shri. V. Clement Rajesh, Head, Operations and Shri. Peechi Muthu, Advisor handed over the organic manure packet to Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister, Government of Kerala in the presence of Shri. S.Harikishore, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission and Shri. Dathan C.S, Programme Officer, Agriculture at Thiruvananthapuram on 27 September 2018.

The 35000 women farmers of the affected 7000 JLGs would be benefited out of this. The organic manure would be distributed among the JLGs in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Kozhikode districts. The farming in 29415 acres of land were fully lost during the unprecedented floods. 25056 Joint Liability Groups were badly affected and the loss of around Rs. 197.21 crore has been estimated.

The contribution of Kudumbashree Members to Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) crosses Rs 11 Crore. Kudumbashree Mission had already contributed an amount of Rs 7 Crore to Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. It is in addition to this that Rs 4 Crore is collected. The cheque of Rs. 7 crore was handed over to Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister, Government of Kerala, by Shri. A.C. Moideen, Minister, Local Self Government Department, Government of Kerala in the presence of Shri. S. Harikishore, Executive Director, Kudumbashree Mission and Programme Officers of Kudumbashree Mission towards Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.

The major part of the amount was mobilized locally by pooling the weekly thrift collection of the NHG members based on the request of the Executive Director of Kudumbashree Mission. NHGs pooled those funds from various sources such as their contributions; amount kept aside for Onam celebrations etc was also added towards the cause. Apart from this, the Resource Persons, members of the Kudumbashree Accounts and Audit Service Society (KAASS) and Training Group Members had also made their individual contributions.

Even though majority of Kudumbashree members were badly affected by the flood, they have been in the forefront in the relief activity and cleaning exercises as well. Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) is the emergency assistance release mechanism granting immediate relief to families and individuals distressed by calamity, loss of life due to accidents and chronic diseases. The additional amount collected will be handed over soon.

The Bal Gothra Sabha Children from Attappady published Children's E-Magazine-'Kunjezhuth'. The Magazine is published by the Attappady Comprehensive Tribal Development and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group Development Project, National Rural Livelihoods Mission, Attappady. 'Kunjezhuth' is the first of its kind magazine being from among the tribal area. The Magazine includes poems, news, tribal poems, paintings of children, proverbs in their regional language etc. The news updates from Attappady is published in the form of 'Letter to the Friend'. The first issue of Kunjezhuth Children's E- Magazine was published during September 2018.The magazine will be published on monthly basis.

The Magazine aims at ensuring the participation of children in tribal areas in the social development activities. Kunjezhuth Magazine also focuses on the personality development of the children based on equality, secularism, gender equality etc and thereby equip the children become part of democracy. It also aims at making the children self confident and extend value education to them. The Editorial Board of the E-Magazine includes the Chief Operating Officer, Coordinator (Social Development), Young Professional (Child Resource Centre), Social Worker(Child Resource Centre), Panchayath Samiti, Bridge Course Teachers, Animators, Bridge School Teachers, Office Bearers of Bala Gothra Panchayath and Resource Persons team of Child Resource Centre.