Educate Children Living on Construction Sites

A child learns best when he is healthy and full of energy. To be an attentive listener and active participant in the classroom, a child must be well nourished and healthy. However, families living on construction sites have little or no access to healthcare facilities. Therefore, Mumbai Mobile Creches incorporates a comprehensive health and hygiene component into our day care programmes. Our goal is to ensure that every child receives the preventative and curative care they need. Our programme also promotes sustainable healthcare by generating awareness among parents about healthcare options and encouraging migrant families to adopt healthy habits at home. 

MMC makes sure each child is receiving the necessary care and treatment for her or his individual state of health.  Doctors regularly visit the centers and screen for common illnesses. Teachers chart children’s weight and height, which is further monitored by doctors during their visits. “There is an improvement in my child’s health after coming to MMC center. The doctor prescribed a medicine and suggested healthy dietary practices which helped in increasing her weight.”– A parent of a child from one of our daycare centers.

Last year, we facilitated over 800 doctor’s visits and facilitated identification and treatment of over 11,000 cases of various illnesses. We also organized over 75 health camps, including 30 eye camps, 40 ear camps and 5 dental check-up camps which benefited a total of over 3000 children.  In addition, parents are made aware about the available healthcare options in the area and connects families with local healthcare facilities to organize immunizations. In certain cases, if a child needs surgery or intensive medical care, MMC helps to arrange and pay for those procedures. 

Healthy hygiene practices are also practiced at the daycare centres on the construction sites. Centers are swept thrice a day and regularly mopped and disinfected in order to maintain a clean environment for the children. In the morning, the crèche babies are powdered before being given a clean uniform to wear. We also emphasize the importance of hand washing and the use of hand sanitizer in order to encourage healthy personal hygiene habits. “Earlier my child used to play on road, in cement and dust. She used to eat with the same dirty hands. But now I am very happy that at MMC's centre is there on our site. Now, my child washes her hand before eating anything even when she is at home.” – A parent of a child from one of our daycare centres.

Furthermore, the MMC health program works in the greater community to create awareness about health issues and promote a sustainable health model.  We address popular topics like the importance of breastfeeding, vaccinations, parenting practices, malnutrition in children and common childhood illnesses like nutritional anaemia, tuberculosis, etc., through chai pani meetings (parent teacher meetings). Over 200 chai pani meetings were held at our centres reaching over 400 community members on average every month. Lokdoots (street plays) focus on spreading knowledge through entertaining plays which transcend language barriers. The topics cover hygiene and sanitation, safety practices to be followed on construction sites, importance of education, etc. Through over 60 street plays, we reached over 9000 construction site community members.

From organizing family informational sessions and paying for doctor’s honorarium and providing medical care, your support helps MMC makes sure each child and family can get the access to healthcare they need.

Links:

• MMC's website