Support-11500-kids-out-of-child-labour-&-poverty

Harshida's Story - aged 7

Harshada’s parents, both mother and father, are working as wage labours and  whole day they are away from home.  Harshada’s old grand mother is the only person at home to look after three small kids which was beyond her capacity.  Their financial condition is very poor and the parents somehow manage the house expenses.

Harshada was very shy  girl and  was having inferiority complex.  That was the reason she was not able to mix with other children.  However three year back she joined in the pre-school centre, started by NISD, and there were number of changes took place in her overall personality.  She started taking interest in her studies, different plays, songs etc.  As her interest increased she was coming regularly in the pre-school.  Her hand writing is very beautiful. She also took part in number of competitions and gain confidence.

Last  June  she was enrolled in the formal school in the first standard.  When meet her class teacher, he told she is very clever and active girl.  Her hand writing is beautiful.  She sings songs, good in play, won in school competition, she is good in studies, and she never bunks her class.  She is  best student of our class and school.  Not only that but she gives speeches very well.  Comparative to other students she is  very good at reading, writing, story telling, singling  etc.

Harshada’s  younger brother and sister also attend the pre-school regularly.  Thanks to you for supporting NISD to run pre-school activities and for shaping  future of    displaced tribal  children like Harshada.

Child’s Name: Sandeep Dnyandev Kere

Village:  Nilwande

Education: 10^th standard

Age :  18 years

Situation before joining the course

Sandeep was residing in Nilwande village which is far from town. His financial condition was very poor.   His father is a mason and mother does labour work, but their income is mostly dependent on the availability of work on that particular day.   His elder brother studied till 11^th standard and now he is also doing farm work.  Sandeep has studied till 10^th standard, but he failed in one subject. After that he did not go to school for the past two years and was instead helping parents with farming. 

Present Situation:

Sandeep heard about NISD through the project social workers. He decided to join the Electrical Repair & Maintenance of Household Appliances course. He attended the course regularly. He completed the course successfully. He has now started his own self-employment business. He recently got a contract to work in one of the houses in the village. Not only has this turned his life around and given him faith and confidence in himself, but he is able to also provide much-needed financial support to his family.

Prakash, the leader of the project sent me this story a couple of weeks ago. I found it really moving, but also incredible - how simple measures seem to be making a big difference for individuals, and by extension whole families on the ground. Here's the story of Bhagubai - 

Mrs. Bhagubai Ashok Tajanpure was residing at Saikhnidi.  As her husband is not educated or skilled he was working as wage labour.  But it was not possible for him to maintain his family in his small earnings.  Therefore Bhagubai forced to roll bidis to supplement her husband’s income.  Her all three children are taking education and therefore both- husband and wife’s- income is not sufficient and they were living in extreme poverty.  Their house was just like a hut, which was not safe, secure and suitable to live.  In winter and rainy seasons they are facing maximum problems due to this low quality housing condition.  They are always scared in nighttime.

Once Mrs. Bhagubai came in contact with NISD’s staff and enrolled her name in the SHG.  NISD also helped her financially to purchase 5 goats, which afterwards increased upto 25-30.  Her husband started looking after the goat as he got full time work and good and permanent income source out of goat sale, milk and manure.  This increased their saving.

But still their house problem was not solved because there income was not sufficient to construct house by taking bank loan.  In the SHG meeting she came to know Habitat joint housing project initiated by NISD in that area.   She raised some money from her relatives, took loan from NISD Bachat Gat Mahasangh and applied to Habitat’s support.  By noticing her need NISD sanctioned her proposal and assisted her.  Her husband and she both worked as labour on the construction. 

Now Bhagubai says that she never expected that she could build such house but because of Habitat and NISD’s support she could able to build her dream house.  Now  we have safe, secure and good house where we can sleep fearlessly, she added.  

Let's carry on helping to make people's dreams a reality!