Support education for vulnerable children (India)

Name of Project: Pratham & Pragati Projects

Project Period: Ongoing

Reporting Period: July- December 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.
• 71 life skills sessions were conducted in this reporting period. 265 children attended these sessions.
• 294 data recharges were provided to children from red-light areas to gain access to online learning until schools reopened.
• 5 children were enrolled for Computer Education.

Achievements of the Project:

Sahaara strives to achieve its vision of fulfilling dreams of the vulnerable and marginalized in society. With abeliefthateverypersonhasadream,ourworkcentersensurethat our beneficiaries can articulate and work towards achieving their dreams. Children living in high-risk environment in the red-light districts are under constant neglect and prone to abuse. In such environments, the school drop-out rate is usually high. Additionally, children in government run homes lack access to quality education and personal attention, which also results in high level of school drop-outs. The Pratham and Pragati programs strive to build strong foundations among such children in math and languages through remedial education centers to ensure that children continue their learning process in schools. They are also provided access to Computer Education and Vocational training courses to equip them to eventually fulfill their dreams.

In this reporting period 71 life skills sessions were conducted by organizing reading circles, sharing circles, art & craft, hygiene and a session on feelings and emotions. A total of 265 children attended the life skills sessions. Additionally, mobile devices were provided to children in need from red-light areas to gain access online school, until schools were reopened. As the lockdown was eased, Sahaara continued offering offline education. Sahaara also identified and enrolled suitable candidates for computer education and 5 children were enrolled for the same.

Growing through Acceptance

Riya* & Dipika* are two young girls from our education centre. They have a big family consisting of six members. They used to go to a nearby municipal school and were is 5th & 3rd grades respectively. When they felt the need for educational support, they came to Sahaara Turbhe Centre for remedial education. In their gauge test they found it very difficult to read basic letters of Hindi. Sahaara staff realized that there is a huge grade gap and hence arranged extra classes for the girls.

The staff also observed through their behaviour that there is a lack of awareness regarding manners and etiquettes among the Riya and Dipika. Therefore, along with extra academic classes, our teachers also engaged in improving their social skills as well as engaging more with their parents.

With time, they started to slowly progress very well in their studies and are doing very well now. Riya is still slow in her progress but she is very willingly as she saw Sahaara wanting to invest their time and guide her. We have also supported them with a device to attend online education and it is greatly benefitting them.

*Name changed to protect identity.

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