Aurangabad, May 29:
Dr Ashok Dyalchand, director, Ashish Gram Rachna Trust, Pachod, a small village in Paithan tehsil of Aurangabad district, has been honored with the prestigious Honorary ‘Child Rights Hero of the Decade’ award for his outstanding work in stopping child marriages of girls at the World’s Children’s Prize (WCP) ‘Child Rights Hero’ ceremony held in Sweden on May 23. The trust was one nominee out of the seven nominees from around the world.
Pachod village is located on the Aurangabad to Solapur National Highway. The Ashish Gram Rachna Trust, a charitable organization runs the Institute of Health Management in Pachod working in health development in rural areas from the past 50 years in Aurangabad and Jalna districts. Reproductive and sexual health programmes for married adolescent girls, child rights and adolescent development projects as well as health rights of married and unmarried adolescent girls are being worked on. Similar work is being implemented in Pune but as an urban health project.
Dr Dyalchand was awarded the Children's Nobel Prize in 2019 by the Swedish Children's Prize Foundation for his work for women and girls health rights over the past 50 years. Eight people from across the country were nominated for the hero for the decade for the year 2010 to 2020. Dr Dyalchand was one of the eight nominees. Dr Nelson Mandela has received this prestigious award. The same award was given to Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan on May 23, 2022. The organization has been honored with various awards in 2006, 2014 and 2019.
State minister of employment guarantee and horticulture minister Sandipan Bhumre Patil, former Zilla Parishad member Vilas Bhumre, Paithan APMC chairman Raju Bhumre, Sarpanch Shivraj Bhumre, deputy sarpanch Shivaji Bhalsinge and others have praised Dr Dyalchand.