Help Empower 100 Children in Madhya Pradesh India

The Sangrur Children’s Umeed Project is run by Mrs Sonia as the Project Leader and teacher, building on work she started in 2022. The project seeks to facilitate elementary education and a feeding program for destitute children from a slum colony situated in the Punjab State of India.

Currently the project serves about 25-30 children through Mrs Sonia, a qualified teacher who teaches the children in a makeshift classroom made of polythene sheets. The children’s parents work as rubbish pickers and usually leave the slum colony early in the morning at the break of dawn for the city of Sangrur to forage through the city’s rubbish in search of recyclable items. The children are left unattended and usually join their parents in the city picking rubbish or begging. The project thus serves not just to keep these children from the streets but also to offer them some elementary education.

The last few months (December – March 2024) saw the Northern part of India experience a severe winter which was especially bitterly cold for the slum dwellers. This also coincided with the beginning of the school first term. School even had to be delayed by the state government because of the severe cold.

Thankfully, donations made through GlobalGiving were received and used to prepare the slum children for their very first term of school. These children graduated from Mrs Sonia's classroom for their very first day and term of formal schooling in a public school. The funds were unfortunately only enough to cater for twelve of the older children who were set to attend school. These children received new shoes, school bags and warm clothing including socks and vests. It was with a lot of joy that they were ushered off for their first day ever of formal schooling.

Donors like you help provide meals and facilitate an elementary education for the destitute children of Sangrur. You are not just providing meals and clothes for children in rural India but in a seemingly hopeless situation, you are giving them hope for a brighter future.

As always, we are deeply grateful for your support!

The Sangrur Children’s Umeed Project which started in 2022, is run by Mrs Sonia as the Project Leader and teacher. The Umeed Project (Umeed means Hope in the local Punjabi language) seeks to provide elementary education and a feeding program for 50 destitute children in a slum colony situated in Sangrur, Punjab State of India. Currently there are between 25-30 children in the program.

In view of the extreme cold wave conditions across the northern part of India, life continues to be challenging for the destitute living in the slums of Sangrur. The cold weather has compelled the Government of Punjab to extend the state school holidays and Punjab schools scheduled to reopen from January 09, 2023 will have extended winter holidays, remaining shut until January 14, 2023.

Even in these conditions, Mrs Sonia continues to run her classes for the children even if only for shorter periods. Though class may be hampered, the children are still daily receiving lunch composed of dhal and roti for most days. On account of the cold weather arrangements are being made for them to receive warm winter clothing as soon as funding is received through GlobalGiving. Previous donations made through GlobalGiving facilitated the purchase of books and stationery for the children. We continue to look forward to the day when the children will be able to dress up in school uniform and instead of the makeshift classroom, learn in a permanent classroom building free from the extreme weather.

Thank you for your support. Well-wishers like yourself are the hope that these destitute children of Sangrur need. You are not just providing donations for these children in rural India but in a seemingly hopeless situation, you are giving them hope for a brighter future away from rubbish picking and begging.

We remain deeply grateful for your support!