Provide Nutrition to Migrant Children For a Year

India is home to over 400 million migrant workers who form the backbone of its economy. These workers often move across states for better livelihood opportunities, living in informal settlements where access to essential services such as healthcare, education, and nutrition is limited.

For migrant families striving to make ends meet, long working hours and precarious living conditions mean that children are often left unattended, without access to early learning, safe spaces, or proper nutrition. As a result, these children are at high risk of:

• Developmental delays due to inadequate or incomplete early years education,
• Malnutrition and missed immunisations resulting in poor health,
• Exposure to social evils of child trafficking, abuse and neglect, gender-based violence, and child labour

All the above factors significantly impact their long-term well-being, their ability to thrive and their resilience.

To address these challenges and foster resilience in migrant communities, Sampark runs 27 Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) centres across Bangalore.

These centres operate from 9.30 am to 5 pmand serve as safe, nurturing spaces for migrant children, providing access to play-based learning, nutritious meals, health check-ups, and emotional support.

This report shall show the work done by Sampark in 5 ECCE centres in Bangalore, whose locations are provided below:

1. Whitefield ECCE Centre: Nallurhalli, Whitefield, Bengaluru, Karnataka-560066.
2. Patalamma ECCE Centre: Patalamma Layout 291, FCI Main Road VS Reddy Layout, Patalamma Layout Kadugodi Road, Bengaluru-560067
3. Wind Mills ECCE Centre:  Wind mills Basavanna Nagara Near Government School Hoodi white field Bangalore-560048
4. Bidadi ECCE Center: Rangegowdana Doddi, Manchanayakana Halli, Bidadi, Ramanagar-562109
5.  Siddapura ECCE Centre- Sri Byraweshwar Swamy Vasathi Nilaya, Siddapura, Whitefield, Bangalore - 560066

Across these 5 centres, during the reporting period of December 2024 to March 2025, a total of 617 migrant children gained access to early years education, quality health and improved nutrition through Sampark's interventions. 

Nutrition

All children at our ECCE centres are provided 3 nutritious meals-breakfast, lunch and evening snacks- every day.

• Consistent access to balanced, nutritious meals enhances children’s physical growth, brain development, and immunity in their first 1,000 days of child's life.
• Proper nutrition also improves focus, energy levels, and emotional stability—key elements for resilience in learning and social interaction.

 Additionally, we also monitor children’s nutritional and health parameters according to World Health Organisation (WHO) standards. Their height and weight are monitored regularly to ensure they meet their developmental milestones.

• During the reporting period, 33 children from five centres were identified as undernourished and were provided with supplementary nutrition, multivitamins, and iron supplements, resulting in improved nutritional and health parameters in 29 of them by the end of the period.

 When a generation of children grows up well-nourished, the community benefits from healthier, more capable individuals who can contribute meaningfully to social and economic well-being.

Education

At our ECCE centres, we provide early years education to migrant children. The children are grouped according to their age: Creche (0-3 years), Balwadi/pre-primary(3-5 years), and Bridge course (5+ years).

• Using an age-appropriate curriculum, we help children develop their cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional skills. These foundational skills are crucial for resilience, enabling children to cope with challenges and engage meaningfully with their environment as they grow.

We supported 222 migrant children as part of our after-school program for those who are already attending public schools. These sessions reinforce classroom learning, address doubts, and provide academic help in key subjects—while also offering a safe space after school hours.

Health and immunisation

Health camps are conducted regularly at all our ECCE centres to monitor the health of children and the community. All eligible children are provided with age-appropriate vaccinations. To improve their health and immunity, children are also provided with Vitamin A and deworming tablets.

• During the reporting period, 396 children had their health screened for various ailments and diseases through 9 health camps, and 25 children recieved timely immunization against deadly but preventable diseases.
• 173 eligible children were protected from intestinal parasites, experienced improved nutritional intake, and fell sick less often through the provision of deworming tablets.

Regular health checks help detect growth delays, malnutrition, or developmental concerns at an early stage. Timely immunisation protects children from life-threatening but preventable diseases. Early intervention can prevent long-term consequences, ensuring children remain on track physically and cognitively. A healthy child is more likely to attend school regularly, engage in learning activities, and participate actively in their environment.

 As part of our health interventions, maternal health is also given high priority.

• During the reporting period, 7 pregnant and lactating migrant women reduced their vulnerability to maternal and child mortality, by availing pre- and post-natal health care services.
• This was possible due to our efforts at linking them to appropriate maternal and child healthcare government services and schemes. 

 A community that monitors and supports its members’ health builds a safety net, ensuring that no one is left behind, thereby reinforcing collective resilience.

Engaging community

Through our ECCE centres, we maintain continuous engagement with migrant parents and the broader migrant community. Regular parent-teacher meetings (PTMs) encourage active parental involvement in their children’s growth and learning. Additionally, we conduct focus group discussions (FGDs) to better understand the community’s needs, challenges, and aspirations.

• 304 parents improved their knowledge on importance of early years childhood education, balanced nutritious meals, vaccinations to prevent deadly diseases etc, by attending 20 PTMs organized by 5 ECCE centers.
• 274 community members voiced their opinion, shared their feedback, improved their financial literacy etc. through 40 FGDs organised by 5 ECCE centres.

This consistent dialogue strengthens trust, promotes collective ownership, and empowers the community to actively participate in shaping their children’s futures. By fostering strong social bonds and shared responsibility, these efforts contribute to building community resilience—enabling families to support one another, adapt to change, and advocate for their rights and well-being more effectively.

Overall Community Resilience

Each of these interventions helps raise healthier, more confident, and better-equipped children who can withstand personal and environmental challenges. Over time, this results in stronger families, reduced healthcare and education burdens, and a more cohesive, forward-looking community.

Ankitha’s New Beginning-Sampark in Action

When Mallu and Radha migrated from Raichur to Bidadi, Bangalore, in search of work, they faced a difficult choice—who would care for their younger daughter, Ankitha? With both parents having to work long hours in the construction sector, their elder daughter Rajeshwari had to drop out of school to look after Ankitha. A girl child's education was thus disrupted. 

That changed when Ankitha was enrolled in Sampark’s ECCE centre on April 1st, 2023.

Initially shy and underweight at just 8 kg, Ankitha struggled to adjust. She had never been in a learning environment before. But with patient care from her teacher, she slowly began to participate, learning rhymes, the alphabet, and hygiene practices. Alongside education, she received daily nutritious meals, and within six months, her weight rose to a healthy 12.5 kg.

Today, Ankitha is cheerful, active, and thriving. Nutritional therapy to Ankitha saved her from falling into the trap of malnutrition. Her happy and healthy childhood has placed her on the journey to a bright future. Rajeshwari is now back in school. This takes us one step closer to ensuring every girl child has equal access to education, irrespective of their situation. 

Mallu and Radha’s family is now on a path toward resilience and empowerment. Access to early childhood care and education not only safeguarded Ankitha’s health and development but also restored Rajeshwari’s right to learn. The family, once burdened by difficult choices, now stands stronger—supported by a system that values education, health, and dignity for all.

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