Nurture 75 vulnerable children in the RedLightArea

Pooja*was an introverted child initially; she used to sit in a corner, and she was more interested in coloring pictures. The teacher used to talk to her and tried to make her feel comfortable for daily activities. Slowly she opened up and started engaging in the activities. She also gradually improved in her academics.

Recently, AAWC started a general group discussion with the Umang beneficiaries, which engages the child and the teacher. In this discussion also, Pooja used to never talk. It took a bit of time for her to open up. She then started to discuss the things she was doing at the center, and when she was back to her home on weekends. She revealed how her mother stands outside of one of the busiest buildings in the area and takes her along. Though she did not like it, she never told this to her mother because of her own introverted nature. When she told this to the Balwadi teacher in the session, the teacher advised her to say it to her mother. She made her understand the importance of talking and also a mother’s affection. During the next discussion with the kids, Pooja informed the same teacher about how she refused to stand outside with her mother and made her mother understand. Now, her mother keeps her at home during her work and talks to her comparatively more on weekends.

*names changed to protect identity

Organization Updates:

GuideStarIndia Transparency Gold Award (Advance level): During this quarter, AAWC received the GuideStarIndia Gold award (Advance level) for transparency and accountability in the Public Domain. AAWC was amongst 51 other awardees throughout the country to achieve this feat.AAWC has to undergo four levels of transparency criteria for achieving the Advanced Gold level certification.

Project Inspire: AAWC was selected as a semifinalist for Project Inspire, which is a joint initiative by the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard, to help young changemakers create a better world for Women & Girls in Asia Pacific.

Umang Program Updates:

Education: During this quarter, the Umang children were introduced to alphabets and numbers through flashcards. The younger kids started drawing standing, slanting and sleeping lines on their slates. The kids were also shown videos of different colors, names of fruits, parts of the body, and shapes. Our volunteer, Ms. Marina Dutta,conducted educational sessions with the children where they explored using a stethoscope to hear heartbeats, matching animals and human being’s skeletons with flashcards, sorting with delight activity included matching various covers of bottles with different shapes and sizes, putting beads onto a thread, solving puzzles, and making story sequence with pictures. The kids were introduced to gothic architectural designs and imaginary travel around the world, where children were educated on different historical monuments, sculptures from India, different landmarks of Mumbai city, introduction to the map of India and Asia using flashcards. The Udaan girls conducted a session by asking the Umang children to identify numbers on flowers made by the girls.

 Recreational Excursions: In this quarter, the Umang Children were taken to visit Hanging Garden and Funky Monkey amusement center where they explored the various types of equipment installed there. The children had great fun visiting these places. During the Ganpati festival, the children were taken to visit various Ganpati Pandals and scenery in nearby vicinities. The kids were also oriented on why we celebrate these festivals on such a grand level in our country.

 Art & Craft activity: The arts and craft activities in this quarter were conducted with sessions on making butterfly with leaves, fur of a lion with colouring chart papers and leaves, tree with green marble papers, butterfly, flowers, creating alphabets, clocks, tearing papers, making spider by dipping fingers onto different colours, making standing, sleeping, slanting lines, making clouds by sticking cotton, etc. During the Raksha Bandhan festival, the children also prepared rakhis. The objective behind this activity was to enable improvement in following instructions, better hand-eye coordination, memory development, fine motor skills, and developing concentration.

 Animal-assisted Therapy sessions:These sessions were conducted with activities and interactions with a dog, which were designed around sharing, politely asking each other, hiding biscuits, shaking hands with the dog, making alphabets, balls, flowers, apples, and butterfly using clay, introducing different animals through pictures and giving information on how these animals are useful to us. The sessions also included reciting days of the week and months of the year and counting numbers. Activities of feeding and grooming the dog helped to develop a sense of patience in the Umang children.

 Counseling sessions:

In this quarter, the counseling sessions given to the Umang children were based on good touch and bad touch, self-discipline, etiquettes and toilet manners using different game methods. These sessions also included various activities based on stories, discussion on different topics, play therapy sessions, enacting, role play, playing with foam blocks in pairs, passing the ball, collecting different colour beads, filling ball in jar, differentiating between good and bad behaviour, solving puzzles, counting sticks, looking at a book and sharing information of that book, sharing the difference between a village and a town with stories and pictures to develop their imagination skills. The general group discussion had also started from this quarter, conducted twice a week so that the children could open up to the teachers and also take the revision of the educational activities conducted at the Balwadi.

 Celebrations

The celebration of festivals like Raksha Bandhan and Gopal Kala was organized during this quarter along with the national festival of Independence Day. During Raksha Bandhan, the Balwadi teachers prepared rakhis using foam papers and with smiley faces on them. The kids tied Rakhi to each other. A group activity was conducted where the kids dipped a ball in colors and threw it on a chart paper. The Gopal Kala festival was celebrated in common with Udaan & Umang children; all the beneficiaries gathered in a circle to break the Dahi handi at the center. While celebrating Independence Day, the children were introduced to the National Flag of India by orienting them about the tri-colour, which were put on their palms and then pasted on chart paper.

Rohan’s* mother stayed in a brothel and did not want her son to stay in the same building as she wanted him to grow up in a safe and positive space. However, Rohan disliked staying in shelter homes and managed to escape from the various night shelters where he was placed.

When he was bought to AAWC, the staff was informed of his habit of running away from various shelter homes. As a result, AAWC staff paid key attention to him and ensured regular communication with his mother about his developments. The teachers also focused on increasing his concentration level and keeping him engaged in different activities. Gradually, he started showing interest by participating in all sorts of events and did not wish to go back home.

He now meets his family during the weekly visitation hours and goes back home on Sundays. He loves staying at AAWC and does not show any sign of discomfort.

*names changed to protect identity

Organization Updates

Capacity Building:

During the quarter, AAWC Staff attended a Patient’s Rights Workshop conducted by Rangoonwala Foundation and a workshop on CSR and Intellectual Property Rights organized by International Resources for Fairer Trade.

Medical Camp:

A Dental Camp and a General Medical Camp were organized at AAWC in association with Angels Dentist Network for all our beneficiaries. 141 AAWC and other community members benefited from the camps.

Umang Updates

Education:

Umang children attended daily kindergarten classes which included learning and revising the education syllabus along with e-learning sessions, and poems and songs learning. The children also learnt the days of the week through a series of innovative games. They also learnt about table etiquettes, anatomy, wildlife, geometric designs and architecture, through sorting, counting, picture matching, and other innovative exercises during weekly educational sessions with volunteer Marina Dutta.

Recreational Excursions:

The children visited the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum and Hanging Garden with volunteer Marina Dutta. During the Museum visit, the children saw exhibits in the Natural History, Himalayan Art, Sculpture and Miniature Gallery of the Museum and also participated in a treasure hunt contest. They also visited the garden and beaches during the summer.

Art and Craft Activity:

The children participated in various art and craft sessions that involved an innovative printing exercise using their fingers and feathers, making sun and butterflies using clay and leaves as well as a pulse activity wherein they stuck different pulses on a flower sketch. They also made various art works using colors and paints.

Animal-assisted Therapy Session:

We began animal-assisted therapy sessions for the Umang children at our Falkland Road Centre this quarter. The children at both centers eagerly participated in the sessions and learnt about discipline, following instructions, sharing, social skills, counting and English words.

Counseling Sessions:

AAWC’s in-house counselor conducted extensive individual and group counseling sessions with the Umang children focusing on behavior modification, impulse control, empathy, discipline, patience and manners. She also introduced imaginative and creative thinking to the children. The concentration, attention and listening skills of the children were also addressed and strengthened during the counseling sessions.