By Rahul Thomas | Coordinator - Donors
Sahaara believes that every person has a dream, and our work centers around ensuring that marginalized persons are able to articulate and work towards achieving their dream. Children living in Mumbai juvenile homes are one of the most marginalized children in Mumbai. Institutionalized, these children are most often from highly poverty stricken families.
As a part of the holistic intervention therein, Sahaara imparts computer education to the children between fourteen to eighteen years of age in the juvenile homes. Sahaara’s in-house computer course delivers a fitting foundation to the children preparing their skills for the technology-driven world outside the homes. The children attending the computer training get a start which will help them break out of the poverty cycle and fulfill their dreams of a stable future.
Salim* completes his computer course!
Salim is an 18-year-old boy staying in David Sassoon Industrial School (DSIS). He is an eighth class student and has just completed Sahaara’s course in Basic Computer Literacy.
Salim hails from the city of Mumbai. He was around 14-years-old when his parents passed away and since then, he was in the care of his elder sister who lived in the western suburbs of Mumbai. As his sister had a low income and found it difficult to handle the expenses, Salim wanted to leave his studies and find a job so that he does not become a burden on her. On being offered a catering job in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujrat by a stranger, Salim was excited and decided to leave Mumbai in the year 2011. While waiting at the Mumbai Central railway station for the person who promised him a job, a policeman and a social worker approached him and, on questioning, found that he was under-age and straying away from home for a job. The policeman took Salim and admitted him in the Umerkhadi Observation Home where minor children who are straying away are kept. Salim’s sister was under the impression that he was in Ahmedabad. During the time he was in Umerkhadi Observation Home, Salim’s sister got married and moved to her husband’s village. When she was informed about Salim, she came to meet him. She realized that Salim’s educational needs could be met through the Observation Home and hence, decided to let him continue stay there. Salim was later shifted to DSIS in 2012.
Sahaara met Salim when he joined Sahaara computer training centre run at the DSIS home for the July 2013 batch. In the beginning of the course he was not too comfortable attending the class as he could not speak English. He was very irregular but gradually he felt comfortable as the Sahaara teachers helped him to converse in Basic English and helped him overcome the difficulties he had in learning computers. In December 2013, he completed his computer-training course in the basics with good grades.
Salim desires to enter into a job where he could use his computer skills. He also desires to buy a used computer as soon as he gets a job so that he can continue to practice all that he has learnt. Sahaara is counselling him for his career and will be referring him to an After Care Home where he can be accommodated after he leaves DSIS. Salim is grateful to Sahaara for helping him learn computers and for encouraging him to work towards fulfilling his dreams.
* Name changed to protect identity
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