From Child Labour to a Chance at School

CHILD FRIENDLY SPACES

SAATH CHARITABLE TRUST

SAATH is a non-government organization registered as a Public Charitable Trust in Gujarat, India. In Gujarati the word SAATH means, “Together, Co-operation, a Collective or Support.” SAATH’s one-stop, integrated services reach over 4,00,000 individuals in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Since 1989, SAATH has facilitated participatory process that improves the quality of life for the urban and rural poor. SAATH caters to multiple needs of the poor by providing them with one-stop centres, through which they have access to services such as health, education, employment, micro finance and affordable housing. SAATH engages institutions, corporate and individuals throughout the world as partners and supporters for the integrated development of India.

• Vision: Saath envisions inclusive and empowered communities and individuals. 
• Mission: To make human settlements equitable living environments where all residents and vulnerable people have access to health, education, essential infrastructure services and livelihood options, irrespective of their economic and social status.

CHILD FRIENDLY SPACES

SAATH designed Child-Friendly Spaces- a unique, 4-hour informal education course with an aim to later enrol the child labourers, children of construction labourers in formal education. With a steady influx of migrating families to urban settlements and poor quality of education, creating alternative education spaces for quality education has become important.

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAMME

The main and objective of this programme is to reach the child labourers and children of labourers and help them gain formal education eventually and there after making them skilled and self-sufficient. Children from the slums, child labourers as well as children of labourers on construction sites all require a strong base in education and access to quality education. Dropouts from school need to be continuously counselled and encouraged to go back to school. The education programs designed at Saath recognize this need and aims to bridge this gap.

Art & Craft Workshops:

• In collaboration with aProCh Foundation, which aims at making cities child friendly, children of Saath’s Child Friendly Spaces (CFSs) along with children from other schools are taken to exposure visit or workshops on regular basis. During last three months, three music workshops were conducted. About 22 children participated. Children learn to sing rhymes and songs in accompaniment with musical instruments.
• Yet another workshop by aProCh on jewellery making was conducted in April. It was attended by 37 children, mainly from the slum classes. These children come to Saath centres for three hours a day for special class so as to reconnect them to formal education. They make jewellery out of paper and plastic material available in market.
• aProCh took about 100 children from Saath for an exposure visit to Riverfront on the banks of Sabarmati River. Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Corporation (AMTS) provided an exclusive free bus service to pick and drop children. The timing for the visit was 5pm to 7pm. Teachers took the responsibility to drop children to their doorstep. It was a three-day event and children engaged in activities such as rides, watched film and attended a music performance.
• 40+ children were taken to Nini’s Kitchen, a restaurant in Ahmedabad, for lunch. It was organized by a few MSW interns. Children relished upon cuisines, which would be rare for them. They learnt table etiquettes including how to use spoon and forks. They felt special for the day for the special treatment and attention they received from the staff, teachers, and interns.
• Children of Saath were invited to an event organized by the Traffic Department of the city. They were transported in the department’s bus to the venue, GMDC Ground. The aim was to make children aware of traffic rules. The demonstration was followed by painting activity. All the children were then awarded with a certificate for participation. It ended with tummy full of snacks.
• About 50 children from three centres were taken for a film screening at Alpha One mall.
• Two craft workshops by aProCh were conducted during May. 30-40 children along with children from other school participated. They learnt to make things out of paper.
• 35 children visited Vastrapur lake amusement park. It was organized by KPMG. Together they enjoyed rides and had snacks.

Teacher Centric Activities:

• A week-long intensive teacher’s training was conducted. Professional trainers shared and took sessions on a few important parameters for children’s development and holistic growth. These included physical, social, psychological, emotional, and language development, along with activities for each of the developmental aspects. Teachers also learnt how to develop children’s senses so that their overall development is magnified. It was an activity oriented yet theoretically grounded workshop for them. This translated into immediate implementation at the centres.
• Every month teachers’ monitoring meeting is organized at Saath office. This turns out to be a good learning opportunity for all the teachers. They discuss their centre specific achievements and challenges, which are resolved by sharing and brain storming.
• A senior member of the children’s programme was invited to share her experiences at a state level RTE convention.

Health and Hygiene

• Hand washing is a practice that is stressed upon and followed daily. Teacher ensure
• Every quarter health check-ups are done and growth record is maintained. Their height and weight are measured and maintained on monthly basis.
• Pregnant mothers were afraid of taking vaccinations. They were convinced to take for her as well as the child’s better health. When they got convinced, a nurse from the primary health centre was called.
• A health check-up was conducted in March for the children of construction workers. The malnourished children are given supplements to bring their health to normal level.

Interns and Volunteers

• Interns from MSW department of Gujarat University interned with Saath for two months. The conducted numerous educational and extra-curricular activities. They celebrated ‘Holi’ at all the centres. They also took children out for to a nearby nature park for picnic.
• Volunteers from Karma Foundation visited the centre and conducted classroom activities- mixture of education and fun.
• Employees of Plum Slice visit centre once a week and engage with children in fun activities such as singing and storytelling. 

Donation

• Employees of Plum Slice – an IT firm donated three fans, mat, cloth for cradle, twenty pairs of slippers and a few pairs of clothes. They also distributed snacks and fruits.
• Saksham Group, which is aimed at making people able and financially independent donated stationery material which would be sufficient for a class for about three months. It included notebooks, pencils, erasers, and sharpeners.
• A plumbing contractor at one of the construction sites donated biscuits and fruits.
• Ex-employees of a huge construction site distributed snacks and water.

Festival Celebration

• Holi was celebrated at all centres in March. Children played with colour and water. Builders’ staff distributed popcorn and dates as is the custom during Holi pooja.

Monthly Parents – Teachers Meeting

• Parents’ meeting takes place every month. Parents were apprehensive at one of the centres about their children’s progress and had pessimist thoughts about education. The program coordinator then shared progress of all the children in parents meeting.

                                               For the better: A Shift from ‘YELLOW’ to ‘GREEN’

Not long ago, after our independence did we try to revive our countrymen, through our constitution we almost built every reality that was once a dream. However, even though our country is economically progressing and educationally flourishing, we still face the truth. The truth of thousands and millions of impoverished families on the streets; in striated circumstances; jeopardizing their lives by opting for jobs at odds with their health; their lives, and noticeably their self-respect.

One such is the story of Shivam (name changed), a boy of 2 YO, hailing from Madhya Pradesh. Shivam’s father Asharam Kusava worked, as a farmer in Tikamgarh District while his mother, Janki Kusava, was a homemaker taking care of both Shivam, and his little sister Shivani who is an infant of 10 months. Being the only breadwinner of the house, Asharam’s salary was not sufficient to feed his family. They planned on moving to Ahmedabad, in the hope of finding better opportunities for work wherein they finally managed to find work at a construction site. Currently Shivam’s parents have been working as labourers at the L&T Labour Colony of Godrej Garden City since July 2016.

Having non-formal educational centres and Crèches where young children can be taught and cared for, a teacher at the SAATH Charitable Trust discovered the status of Shivam and Shivani. During the regular colony routines, the teachers pay visits to parents working at the site and advise them on the benefits of enrolling their children in the centres for the purpose of day care and education. Janki, who had traditionally been a homemaker, was convinced and ready to utilize the opportunity to go work with her husband while her children availed the advantages that the Centre provided.

Now weighing 10.5 kgs, Shivam has had an immense growth leap in his health and nutrition. The standard chart had confirmed that the boy of 2 years was an underweight of 9.5 kg, belonging to the category of ‘MAM-Yellow (Moderate Accurate Malnutrition)’. He was then ascribed to additional oils, bananas, and eggs apart from his regular diet meal. In the time of a month, he was all fit whooping to a healthy increase of a kilogram, now belonging to the ‘Normal-Green’ category. Upon his increased strength he mingles more with the children of his age, and rears in a very caring atmosphere. With the parallel hard work, the parents contribute to the monetary health and the trust contributes to the children’s mental and physical health.

“We are now satisfied with the income we get, as well as the day care and non-formal education our children get,” say the parents of two. With the hardships that the parents endure, SAATH, willingly takes such projects, to make a difference in the lives of young boys and girls like Shivam and Shivani, for the possibilities that lie ahead for the ‘little futures’ of our country. 

• Progress Report CFS March - May, 2017 (PDF)