The 4500 rural children we serve are the poorest of the poor, attending public schools - some so small and remote, they are almost forgotten by our fast-paced society. We bring them basic English language and computer skills to give them an equal opportunity for a better future. But they also deserve some joy in their childhood - so every year during the festive season we give a toy to each child. Just $10 will bring ecstatic smiles on the faces of 5 under-privileged children in rural India.
In today's India, even the deprived classes have aspirations and hopes for their children, and facing extreme odds, they place their children in paid private schools where the medium of instruction is English. Only the poorest of the poor children attend free public schools where the medium of instruction is the local vernacular. The social sector works hard to give them the basic necessities and a better future. But these children are deprived even of the simple joys of childhood.
We serve the children studying in public schools, with the aim of providing them with an Equal Opportunity to get meaningful employment later in life. While thinking of their future, we also want to bring some joy in their deprived childhood. Every year, during the festival season, we distribute simple toys to each of these children. The sheer ecstasy on their faces make all the efforts worth it!
OBLF's Vision 2020 is to create a model by adopting most schools in a Block in Bangalore. Since government schools in the entire country face similar challenges, we would like to eventually scale up the program in other parts of the country as more resources become available. Our program has not only benefited the children in the schools we adopted, but our strategy of selecting rural women as Coordinators from the communities has also provided them financial and intellectual independence.
