Support education for vulnerable children (India)

Name of Project: Pratham & Pragati Projects

Project Period: Ongoing 

Reporting Period: 01^st January to 31^st March 2021

Specific Objectives of the Project:

• That vulnerable children in Government Homes and Red-Light Districts gain access to academic, vocational and life skill education.
• To bridge the digital divide to help children have access to online learning through provision of mobile devices, mobile recharges/data packs and providing IT infrastructure and IT courses for children in Government Homes and Red-Light Districts.

Achievements of the Project:

• Mobile devices were provided to 18 households from red-light areas to gain access to online learning. 32 children could attend online learning through these devices.
• 49 data recharges were provided to 25 children for online learning.
• 3 children were enrolled for Computer Education.

Sahaara believes that every person has a dream, and our work centers on ensuring that vulnerable and marginalized persons can articulate and work towards achieving their dream. Children in Government run homes and from the red-light districts live in high-risk environment under constant neglect, which also results in high level of school dropouts in middle school. The Pratham and Pragati programs strive to build strong foundations in math and languages through their remedial education centres to ensure such children continue their learning process in schools. They are also provided access to Computer Education and Vocational training courses to equip them to finally fulfill their dreams.

In January, with the release of lockdown restrictions, some computer training centres began operating. Sahaara moved quickly to identify and enroll suitable candidates for computer education. Sahaara continued offering online education by providing mobile recharges and internet data packs to children to attend Zoom classes during the quarter.

Hope shining bright 

Pooja is an 18-year-old young girl who lives in the Turbhe red-light area. She’s the youngest of 4 siblings and lives with her parents and her grandfather. Her parents operated a store in the area, a trade that sustained the family through the years. She is a very cheerful and respectful person and willingly provides a helping hand to the field staff and teachers of Sahaara.

Even with humble earnings, the parents did their best to provide good education for their children. However, their earnings would not suffice at times. Very often, the field staff would notice that Pooja and her sister did not even have proper clothes when they’d come to the Early childhood classes, due to which the staff have donated old clothes to them. Pooja attended the early childhood and remedial education provided by Sahaara to the marginalized children at the Turbhe red-light area, giving her firm foundations for her academics. Through the years, Pooja continued to excel in her studies due to her academic inclination. She has always been a bright student and produced excellent grades. While studying in the 12^th grade, she developed a keen interest towards the field of banking and wanted to learn more.

Sahaara provides supports young boys and girls with vocational training and access to IT courses which enables them to get better jobs. To help fulfil Pooja’s dream, Sahaara supported her to attend a computer course to help her grow and get equipped with the relevant skills.

Pooja dreams to work in a bank one day and support her family with the additional income.

*Name changed to protect the beneficiary’s identity.

Links:

• Remedial Education in Red-light Areas
• Remedial Education in Government Homes