From Child Labour to a Chance at School

After partial unlock we started restricted activities for our Children programme. We were not able to take many pictures because of social distancing.

Activities at CFS

• Creche activities: The children were made to do several activities like passing the parcel, singing rhymes, making minarets out of the paper cups, solving, and organising the puzzles, playing with the blocks, and made them play games like catch the other kid who is running and jumping above and below the ropes. They were also taught to recognize the taste of sugar and salt and distinguish between hot and cold. They were made to identify and recognise sound through playing various musical instruments like cymbals, identifying the missing toy etc.
• Baalwadi activities: The children were taught to identify colours and shapes and names of the same, they were taught the numbers from 1 to 10, further they were taught to read and write the Gujarati alphabets, made to walk on a string in a straight line on the land. The teachers made them play in the doll house, the children made their own doll house too. Also, they were taught to pray. The children created items out of clay.
• Bridge course activities: The children were taught to read and write the numbers from 1 to 100 and the gujarati alphabets, join the dots and draw a picture, learn to read, and write names of the week, read, and write name of vegetables and fruits and animals and birds, made them sing songs and rhymes. Storytelling. They were taught to identify the seasons and flowers that bloom according to the season. The teachers helped few school going children with their homework.
• Due to the onset of winter, blankets were distributed at the two centres to 46 families and 50 children by the KPMG Group.
• 50 children were taken to a restaurant as a part of birthday celebration by a local group named “Karke Dekho Accha Lagta Hai”.
• Distribution of sweets and snacks as a part of Diwali Celebration to 110 children across the centres by a local donor.
• A puppet show was organised by the teachers for the children and activity through singing songs and enacting it and playing music through utensils was held at the centres.
• FGDs were conducted with the parents on various topics like health and nutrition, safety, Importance of education, and vaccination.
• Community meetings were held with the community leaders for general awareness related to mother and child health and hygiene.

Case Story Child Friendly Spaces

Name: Aasha Yadav (names changed)

Age: 03 years

Place: Oghrav village, Uttar Pradesh

Aasha lived with her family in a small village named Oghrav in Uttar Pradesh. They lived in a joint family of 16 members. Ashok bhai, Aasha’s father did not have his own land for farming therefore he used to work as a farm labourer in his village. Many times, he did not find work and due to this his financial condition started depleting. Ashokbhai arrived with his family of three children, his wife and three brothers along with their families in Ahmedabad for better work-related opportunities. He started working at the site of Savvy Swaraj. During the lockdown due to the pandemic Ashokbhai stayed at home most of the times. When the teachers at CFS approached him for the CFS activities and asked for his cell phone number Ashokbhai denied sharing his number with an excuse of not having a cell phone. Later the teachers approached one of his brothers’ and through their phone they tried talking to Ashokbhai’s wife for the betterment of their children. Due to Ashok bhai’s brother not being available every time the teachers called this solution did not last longer. Therefore, the teachers decided to visit his house and conduct activities with the children. Ashokbhai started observing his children play and enjoy the activities.

Now Ashok bhai asks the teachers to help him out with the songs and rhymes so that he could learn them and share it with his children. He has also shared his whatsapp number with the teachers so that he can receive fun learning materials on it. Ashok bhai’s wife has started giving extra nutritious food as three children in the family are suffering from malnutrition.

The child has become more attentive and has begun to enjoy the activities. The parents are very happy to observe this change in their child.

• Progress Report January, 2021 (PDF)