Education India Project #21074

We are India's children

by Swasti

Project Report | Jun 5, 2017
A Daughter Speaks

By Narendran T | Project Leader

We are India's Children- Gift An Education

There are an estimated 8 million women in sex work in India. They struggle to realise their fundamental rights and negotiate through threats to their safety, health, dignity and well being every day of their lives, to provide a better life for their children.

The “We are India’s Children- Gift An Education” campaign was initiated in 2016 to raise funds for scholarships for these children giving their mothers the assurance that with their children’s future taken care of, they could reduce their dependency on sex work and make safer life choices.

Over the last few months we worked on, and released 2 edits of a short film aimed at explaining the cause of the campaign. The film was also shared across digital and social media as well as through our networks. The Mothers’ Day edit was also featured by YouthKiAwaaz, a prominent digital platform in India with a social media reach of 20 million+ a month.

The film can be viewed at https://goo.gl/OzP5Cb

In this very short film, a daughter introduces her mother, Shanti who has struggled all her life and only wishes that her daughter is well educated and finds a good job. We also meet Mallika Ghosh of Parinaam Foundation who had stepped in to fund scholarships in the footsteps of her late mother’s dream and Shama Karkal of Swasti Health Resource Centre who talks about the importance of raising funds for scholarships and how it is the harbinger of change; of breaking the cycle of poverty and exploitation for the community.

Through this campaign, we have so far supported 123 children of women in sex work from across 5 states of India by providing them scholarships for education. However, we still have a long way to go. We have received over 200 applications for support this year (2017-2018), and these children await financial assistance for continuing their education.

We can be successful in fulfilling the dreams of these children with support from individuals like you.

Please stay connected, donate, support and spread the word!

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Mar 7, 2017
Scholarships for Change

By Narendran T | Project Leader

We are India's Children

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Swasti.

We are extremely happy to share that in the last month, we have provided scholarships to 51 children with funds raised from GlobalGiving and other sources. This brings the total number of children assisted during the year 2016-2017 (as on date) up to 121. Another 40 children have been shortlisted to receive scholarships this month.

Stories have been pouring in about the impact the campaign has had for our community members. Here is one such story.

43-year-old Mamta (name changed) lost her husband to AIDS. She found out then, that she and her daughter were both HIV positive too. Left with no family support to run her home and to obtain the fundamental nutritional and medical care for herself and her daughter, she started doing odd jobs and eventually took to sex work. She put herself at risk of violence, stigma and further marginalisation to ensure her daughter continued to be well taken care of and remained in school. With the help of the community organisation in the area, she was able to find crucial support to ensure her daughter completed her schooling. Mamta was finally able to stop depending on sex work.

Today her daughter is doing a Post Graduate degree in Commerce in a reputed university. Mamta’s dreams are simple: she wants her daughter to study, work and have a good life.

Funds raised from the We are India’s Children campaign has made such life changes possible.

With your support, we can reach all the children who need this scholarship. Spread the word in your network, friends and family!

Our utmost gratitude to Parinaam Foundation, GlobalGiving and other individuals donors for helping us help these children. As we celebrate International Women’s Day this week, let us not forget one of their greatest and sometimes only aspiration - that of giving their children an education.

Thank you

Team Swasti

We are India's Children

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Dec 8, 2016
Invaluable gift of education- Changing lives of children, mothers, and families..

By Narendran T | Project Leader

We are India's Children

Dear friends,

October and November have been eventful months for us. We got closer to our goals and pushed our limits to involve more and more people to contribute towards the cause.

During the Joy of Giving week in the month of October 2016, with the help of passionate donors like you, we raised about 5 lakhs (USD 7575) through GlobalGiving and other sources. We are excited to tell you that this can help more than 100 children.

30 children have been shortlisted in November 2016 to receive scholarships from Parinaam Foundation whom we are partnering with, to provide support for higher education.

The mother of one of these children tells her story, “My name is Gowri. When I was younger, I wanted to study B.Com and become a teacher, but I had to give up my dream after I lost my father and had to look after my family. I was married off at a young age. I took up work in a garment factory, while my husband worked as a construction labourer. He was good to me and things were going well. Six years ago, my husband passed away because of dengue, leaving me behind with two young children. My entire life took a turn. I changed my job, we moved to a different house, and challenges began.

Meena, my daughter, is a perceptive girl. She did not complain once, even when we were having rice with water and salt for dinner. She took care of herself, studied hard and brought her grades up. When I was introduced to the scholarship by the Parinaam Foundation through Swathi Mahila Sangha (SMS), I made sure that I try my best to get this opportunity for my daughter. The people of SMS helped us throughout the process. Finally, when the results came out, I was proud of Meena and everything she had achieved through her hard work.

The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of education. I thank Parinaam Foundation and SMS for giving my daughter an opportunity that I could not get.”

Such stories boost our spirit and make us work harder. So far, we have crossed the half-way mark (USD 4571 received against target of USD 9300 goal) on GlobalGiving with 59 donations. We are closer than ever to our goal, and need your continued support to help the remaining needy children.

With your support, we can do it. Spread the word in your network, friends and family!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2017.

Team Swasti

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