Educational Sponsorship for 120 Children - India

Dear donors,

Greetings from IDEA!

Summer is at its peak and the monsoon is much awaited in India. It is also the time when schools reopen.

Usually, parents with meager income can not afford to buy new school bags and notebooks for their kids and neglect this important factor of motivation behind going to school. We identify such children through our sponsorship program and make sure that they get every opportunity to stay in the schools. As part of this effort, about 250 children received school bags and notebooks this year. Some of them live in far off places. Our social workers walked that extra mile to reach out to them and brighten up their interest in schooling.

ENVIRONMENT DAY CELEBRATION

On 5 June 2015, children of varying ages from different communities gathered at one of our Learning Centers. Out of the 50 children gathered, about 35 were associated with IDEA through the Learning Centre and the other 15 were a part of the Youth Groups. Most of the children are under the Sponsorship Programme with IDEA. The purpose of this activity was to create awareness and sensitize the slum children about the environmental protection.

It was a two-fold event for the children. The celebrations started with a Poster Making Competition. Children from Std. I to VII were asked to make posters individually depicting scenes from the nature. Children from Std. VII onwards were formed into groups and asked to make posters to send out messages of the importance of the preservation of the environment. They were provided with all the material required for the activity, like chart papers, pencils, erasers and sketch pens. The children came up with beautiful concepts to depict nature with messages ranging from why the environment needs to be preserved to how one can achieve that. 

About 10 volunteers from an IT company participated in the event. They interacted with the children and helped them make their posters. After the activity, the best posters from both the groups were chosen by them and the children were awarded prizes. The children, in return, presented the volunteers with greeting cards decorated with paper quilling, as a token of their appreciation. Later, snacks were served to all the children and volunteers.

The focal activity of the event was the cleaning drive organized towards the end of the day. Only the older group of children participated in this activity. A stretch of littered land was identified around the Learning Centre of IDEA in Lokmanya Colony. The volunteers and students were provided with disposable gloves, masks, brooms and garbage bags to collect the garbage from the area. With active involvement from the entire group, the area was cleaned of pieces of paper, wrappers, foils and large stones. Their efforts attracted other residents of the community, thus fulfilling the purpose of spreading awareness about environment preservation.

The event provided the students the perfect opportunity and environment to interact with those from other communities. A collective sense of unity and belonging to a larger community was sensed amongst them. In addition to realizing the importance of preserving the environment, the children were also given an insight into the role they could play in this endeavour. We're sure that they would further realise their responsibility towards the environment and serve as the initiators of change in their own community.

Thank you dear donors for enabling us to create responsible and sensitive citizens and paving their way for the better tomorrow.