Nurture 75 vulnerable children in the RedLightArea

Rushing into the room immediately after their visit to the garden, our Umang beneficiaries were brimming with excitement and hunger alike as soon as they had stepped inside the center.

Amidst such chaos, the Umang Program Manager witnessed a small incident of humanity. While a large chunk of the Umang beneficiaries had already queued for lunch, one of them had managed to cut the line and reach the serving space before others. Upon sudden and surprising realization of the same, she immediately put her plate back down, stepped out of the lane and let other behind her eat their lunch. When probed about her behavior she said, ‘if they had been standing here for longer, how can I eat my food before them?!’
Taken aback by the genuine concern and honesty in the words of this Umang beneficiary, the Program Manager then made an example of this beneficiary for positive behavior amongst her peers.

Outreach:

Walking through a dimly-lit and dilapidated building, our outreach team walks up a narrow flight of stairs to finally reach the pinjaras (cages) cramped on the third floor. Heaving, they squat so as to be able to communicate with the women sitting around on the cracked floor. Some women are enquiring about their child’s lives, while some more are seen talking to our team excitedly about an upcoming event organized by their children. These are women living in Kamathipura- Asia’s second largest red-light district, whose offspring are enrolled in our Umang program.

The toddlers of this community are susceptible to many forms of violence and abuse, such as being used as pawns for gambling and drug peddling, being exposed to pornography, physical fights, harassment of their mothers or other female family members, and sometimes even being assaulted themselves. Considering such an exploitative environment, our outreach team is the first and usually preferred point of contact between Apne Aap Women’s Collective and the community inhabiting Kamathipura and Falkland Road, the red-light districts of Mumbai.

With the aid of our dedicated outreach team, this quarter saw about 12 new members joining our Umang program.Upon enrollments, these beneficiaries have access to education (Balwadi), all forms of assistance with their health (ex: referrals, camps, nutritional support, etc.), therapies, interactive activities, exposure and recreational visits, and rehabilitative measures like night-shelter house amongst other general support and aid.

Education:

As is recognized by the Indian government, education is a fundamental right of every child and hence is also one of the most important tools of AAWC to prevent trafficking and prostituting of young children in the red-light districts of Mumbai.

Under our Umang program, we provide preschool educational services to all our beneficiaries. As part of our kindergarten curriculum, we undertake interactive educational exercises, monthly academic assessments, daily garden visits and other exposure/recreational visits as required.

‘As we introduced notebooks to children who are otherwise used to slates, they have found a new educational incentive. One child was so excited that when asked to obey the teachers, he agreed instantly. The notebook has become a tool of positive reinforcement. Every day whenever he completes his writing, he comes and shows me his notebook. I can see the happiness as well as pride on his face.’ Stated the Program Manager (Umang) with utmost joy in her voice.

This quarter, our Umang beneficiaries continued to learn alphabets, numbers, colors, shapes, basic English and Hindi poetry and other fundamental literature of a kindergarten. Some of the quick-grasping children have also been introduced to easy mathematics and English reading. About 35 of our Umang beneficiaries were involved in monthly academic assessments in the last three months. Most of our beneficiaries did well in the assessments, with no learning disabilities identified amongst the children.

Our long-term associate and a specialist in preschool curriculum- Ms. Marina Dutta also continued with her zestful activities, which include interactive games like puzzles, matching cards, role-playing, building blocks etc. Such activities help in developing fine motor, cognitive and social skills. This quarter, Ms. Dutta also arranged for a Santa Claus costume and encouraged one of our Balwadi (kindergarten) teachers to play the lead role in a story Ms. Dutta was to narrate. The story was aimed at explaining the concept of Christmas, and to spark a dialogue amidst our Umang beneficiaries about ‘The well-mannered child’ versus ‘The mischievous child’.

When asked about her thought behind such an activity, Ms. Dutta said: ‘We adults know that Santa Claus doesn’t exist, and we even joke about the same with younger children around us. But for these children, the concept of a Santa Claus is more than just a story. Often, Santa turns into their imaginary friend- a space for finding comfort and emotional stability; or a tool of incentivizing positive behavior. Either way, Santa then becomes very much real to these children. It is also important for the children to slowly grow into the concept of fictional characters, rather than bombard them with such reality at a tender age.’

Apart from these assessments and activities, we have also maintained our regular garden visits- while constantly introducing newer games and activities to maintain their attention. This quarter, we introduced warm-up exercises and group activities at the start and end of each session to bring a sense of community and closure to the beneficiaries. Unlike the simple individual playtime assigned earlier, this design provides for more spaces to interact and learn informal social skills amongst our beneficiaries.

Health and Nutrition:

At AAWC, we place utmost importance on the health and nutritional aid provided to our beneficiaries. Acknowledging the fact that all of our members are from a highly vulnerable and marginalized community, and live in environments that often trigger ill health- our activities range from spreading awareness on general hygiene, sanitation, and required medical support to holding quarterly health camps targeting specific ailments. We have also arranged periodic supply of sourdough breads, healthy salads and sandwiches, which complement the beneficiaries’ daily meals with varied tastes.

Along with this, we aid our beneficiaries with specialized awareness programs for their mothers (ex: neonatal care, medical treatments for contagious diseases, seasonal healthcare, etc.), routine medical referrals, nutritional aid provided through a well-designed diet chart, multivitamin and protein supplements, following up with hospitals and doctors, etc. This quarter, around 20 total Umang members benefited from our monthly medical check-ups. Due to the onset of winter and a constant change in weather, many of our Udaan beneficiaries contracted high fever, common cold and other respiratory issues in the last few months. Most of them were further prescribed blood tests, all of which were negative for any further testing and illnesses. Due to the swift intervention and daily visits to our collaborative hospital, we could tackle these issues meticulously. Nutritional aid in the form of healthy and warm meals, protein and multivitamin supplements, moringa (drumstick) seeds and soy milk was also continued to be provided on a regular basis.

Counseling:

As per ‘Kids Matter’, an Australian early-childhood mental health initiative, “Mental health in early childhood has been described as ‘an ability to form satisfying relationships with others, play, communicate, learn and experience the range of human emotions’ (Parlakian & Seibel, 2002). Research shows that the development of social and emotional skills influence and enhance children’s quality of life and lifelong learning (Denham & Weissberg, 2004)”.

Acknowledging the fact that most of our beneficiaries are born into single-parents, violent or broken family structures- their first contact with society, we recognize the fact that these toddlers may not have formed satisfying relationships or learnt to emote transparently in their earl childhood. To combat further development of their emotional instability and prevent any mental health crisis in the future, we hold various therapy sessions with our Umang beneficiaries. These include one-to-one mentoring/Individual sessions, dog therapy, art therapy and referrals to external experts for aid with severe mental health issues.

While the dog and art therapy sessions are held weekly, the individual sessions and referrals to external experts are held as per requirements. In the dog therapy sessions held this quarter, the therapists aimed at working on hyperactivity, discipline, emotiveness and social skills of our Umang beneficiaries. Through Tesla- a cuddly beige Labrador, our beneficiaries also continued to develop their sensitivities and empathies towards another being by brushing Tesla’s coat, feeding, playing and talking to her.
To make it further interesting, in one of the sessions we also introduced Udaan (5yrs to 18 yrs) beneficiaries (who were once a part of dog therapy sessions during their Umang membership- 2yrs to 5yrs) to share their dog therapy experiences with the current Umang beneficiaries. This led to a great bonding sessions, and also helped the newer Umang beneficiaries feel comfortable with the nature of the therapy.

Umang Mother’s meeting: We at AAWC understand the need for a mother figure and the ensuing disorders and instabilities in the child due to absence of such a relationship. While a large proportion of our beneficiaries do not receive adequate affection from their mothers due to various reasons like, nature of their mothers’ job which poses time restrictions, being children from an ex-partner/ illegitimate child, mothers’ health, addictions etc. When such a mother figure is combined with the fact that these children grow up in our night shelters, it is imperative that AAWC intervenes to create a harmonious and loving relationship between the child and its mother. Thus, AAWC’s mother meetings are often designed towards effective parenting to bridge the gaps in the relationship of a mother and her child.

This quarter, we focused on medical superstitions as the theme for our regular mothers’ meetings. Targeting superstitions about a child’s health- like ‘buri nazar’ (a common Indian form superstition of what in West is known as dark magic), using quacks and their unscientific methods to heal illnesses, considering contagious illnesses as an omen from the divine, etc., we tried to tackle many superstitions about medicine that most parts of this community hold. About 14 mothers have attended these meetings regularly.

Udaan Umang sessions: In the recent quarters, we have also initiated a new method to tackle feelings of belongingness, compassion and family in our beneficiaries. Having noticed that the Umang beneficiaries are closer to the adolescent girls (Udaan beneficiaries) who are members of AAWC, we realized that designing a few sessions between them may lead to positive changes in both sets of beneficiaries. As assumed, these sessions have led to higher bonding amongst the children, with the Umang toddlers finding role models and mentors in their older counterparts. This also helps the toddlers in developing their emotions and finding people to trust their emotions with. Along with this, the Udaan-Umang sessions also act as interesting academic pursuits- with the Udaan girls learning to mentor younger Umang beneficiaries; and the Umang beneficiaries being more willing to learn from ‘newer teachers’.

Night shelter:

We also run our own rehabilitative night shelter for the most vulnerable toddlers and adolescent girls of women in prostitution. Acting as a safe space away from the disturbances and brutalities of the red-light district, our night shelter provides a home for a lot of young children who have never known the comforts of a family and healthy living. With a capacity of almost 35 adolescent girls and 25 toddlers, the members of the night shelter have access to all the other Umang activities like education, health, empowerment, extra-curricular, recreational and exposure visits, and celebrations held at our centers. Around 6 new Umang beneficiaries were enrolled in the night shelter in the last 3 months. A moment of immense joy, every child enrolled in our night shelter is a life protected from the cruelties of the community.

Recreational Activities:

Activities such as indoor and outdoor games, arts and crafts, story-telling sessions, watching quizzes on television, etc. were held this quarter for our Umang beneficiaries. All of our beneficiaries have enjoyed the activities, and often look forward to more of these due to the fun and informal nature of such events. From playing football in an outdoor garden, to crafting their own Christmas trees- the activities this quarter were designed to provide a holistic and wholesome fine tuning to our children.

‘Do you go to school, children?’ Asked a passerby while our Umang children were returning from one such activity held outdoors. Upon scrutinizing the stranger well, one of the witty beneficiaries responded immediately with, ‘…yes ofcourse!’ while another chipped in with ‘We also learn poems and 1...2…3… numbers at our school!’. Though a very minute conversation, it made the overlooking Balwadi (Kindergarten) teacher rather happy to see the Umang children present their education with such pride.

Celebrations:

We celebrated Daan Utsav (Joy of Giving week) with our Umang beneficiaries. Designed keeping in mind the donation of affection and time over funds, this event saw about 7-8 volunteers lead a crafts session with the Umang beneficiaries out in a local garden. From teaching the young children to make rangoli (an Indian form of art in which patterns are created on-ground powdered colors) on plastic stencils to finger-painting on colored papers, the event saw a rather disciplined and joyous bunch of Umang children concentrating on the activities that ensued.

‘These children don’t seem like they’re just 3-year-old! It is magnificent how well-developed their fine motor skills are.’ Exclaimed a rather excited volunteer who had taken the initiative to lead the rangoli-making activity.

This quarter, we also celebrated events like Children’s day, Diwali, Christmas etc. The Udaan girls maneuvered each of these events, which involve planning, anchoring, handling food, etc. with aid from Umang toddlers as per their capabilities. During these celebration, we also held activities like ‘crafting lanterns’, ‘poetry on children’, ‘crafting Christmas trees’ etc. A lot of the products from these activities were then used as decorations for the same, thus leading to a well-rounded and planned cycle of productivity.