Nurture 75 vulnerable children in the RedLightArea

Success story

In our Indian society, the birth of a boy is considered a blessing,  unlike the red light area where birth of a girl child is reason for celebration. Being born as a boy in kamathipura, Aman* was an unwelcomed child for his mother, who looked at him as an extra mouth to feed. Aman was a  neglected child who was found lurking on the streets outside the brothels. Our Outreach worker identified him and convinced his mother to admit him to our Umang program. His mother was more than happy to keep the child in a day and night care shelter so that she could  be free from the burden. Aman was just 3 years old when he came to our centre. He was weak and partly malnourished. He would often fall  ill. Our day care and Kindergarten teachers took good care of him, provided him with nutrient supplements and food, which resulted in an improvisation in his health. He then became playful and started participating in activities. When his mother visits him, he recites the poems and songs taught to him, and now, his mother is dreaming a bright future for her son with hopes that he may free her from this agony.

*Name changed to protect his identity.

Organization update

• The Jury and Council of Board Members of “World CSR The Congress & Awards summit with the theme of “You We Can The Future of Profit is ‘Purpose’” has conferred Apne Aap Women’s Collective (AAWC) the “CERTIFICATE OF MERIT” at the World CSR Congress & Awards for its exemplary work with marginalized women and their beneficiaries in Mumbai’s red light area.

• The federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India and the organising committee of West Zone Yuva FOGSI has conferred the Woman Achievers Award to Ms. Manju Vyas, The Chief Executive Officer of Apne Aap Women’s Collective.

• Apne Aap women’s collective was  conferred with Goldstar India Platinum certification foritslevel of transparency & public accountability.

• Apne Aap women’s collective was selected by the Radio Station RED FM for their annual campaign, ‘BAJAO FOR CAUSE 2017’, an initiative of social significance taken up to raise awareness and funds to help the cause

 Umang Update

EDUCATION

 This quarter witnessed the end of the previous academic year and the arrival of new one. Balwadi teachers focused on revising  what they had covered throughout the year, including different songs, alphabets, stories, the national anthem, the national song and numbers; which the children enthusiastically learned. The children continue to learn during their weekly educational sessions with our volunteer, Ms. Marina Dutta. Through these sessions children have learned about the anatomy of the human body, yoga & songs, arranging the flash cards, numbers and dot puzzles, threading & buttoning alternatively, pegging alternately, reading readiness skills, matching flash cards and opposites words etc. In one of the sessions she made all the beneficiaries hear their own heartbeats with the use of Stethoscope, which truly fascinated them.

EXPOSURE VISIT

Volunteer Ms. Marina Dutta  took the Umang beneficiaries to Crawford market, is one of Mumbai's most famous markets, earlier named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal Commissioner of the city, where she showed the eager children the wonderful sights, scents and tastes of various fruits and gave them an opportunity to apply textbook learning into practice. Also in this quarter children got the  opportunity to visit a museum called Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya where they got flashcards of different historical monuments and took part in activities such as treasure hunt in which they were asked to match the flashcards with respective monuments. This exposure visits served two main purposes, one was to help them see the outer world and second to have an outing where they can enjoy and learn at the same time.

 RECREATION EXCERSION

Weekly garden visits were organized for our Umang beneficiaries, which included warm up activities, running around, observation session, etc. in order to have a fun filled day for the children. During the summer holidays, the AAWC team organized a recreational visit for Umang and Udaan beneficiaries to Jijamata Udyaan, earlier known as Victoria’s garden which is a Zoo and garden located in Byculla. All the Umang children were paired with Udaan beneficiaries so that they could connect in an informal environment and could learn the Mentoring skills. The children had lots of fun as they could see their favourite animals and birds and as a surprise, Penguins too.

 ART AND CRAFT ACTIVITIES

During this quarter our beneficiaries engaged in various art and craft activities, including cloud making, flowers (using waste part of vegetables and with the help of their thumb), abstract art with thread, best out of waste, etc. Our intern from Sweden Ms. Petra Wik took session with the beneficiaries, in which they were given sketch pens, chart papers and mirrors, and were asked to look at their reflection in the mirror and put it on  paper. Using their imagination, the children made beautiful sketches. Petra sent all these sketches to a Sweden based school, where our children’s work has been displayed. Her idea was to create a communication between the children

GROUP THERAPY SESSION

Several Dog therapy sessions which aimed at helping the children  become animal friendly and calm, by spending time with dogs were conducted throughout this quarter, by having various activities such as the animal card activity, fetching the alphabet cards with the dog, and a vegetable and fruit puzzle game. Additional games like Catch & Throw etc. were played as well. Moreover, topics such as aggression, fine motor development, etc. were covered through different group activities. Regular group discussions with the beneficiaries were  conducted by the teachers on different topics such as good touch and bad touch, etc.

 HEALTH

In addition to their monthly height – weight measurement, a general medical camp was conducted in this quarter. In this camp all the children were medically checked up, and medicines, prescribed for their minor ailments were given free of cost. Many children were found to have Prickly Heat, Chicken Pox and other skin infections, so they were referred to hospitals, and subsequent follow ups were done. One beneficiary has diagnosed with three tumors on the back of her head, for which she is undergoing treatment at Nair hospital, the Doctor has also prescribed a test, to check whether she is suffering from tuberculosis, which will be done in the month of July. As it was found that many children frequently suffer from abdominal pain, diarrhea and loss of appetite, De- worming medicines were given to all the beneficiaries. Also, children suffering from fever were referred to Private clinics as the treatment from government hospitals failed to succumb the fever. During monthly meetings our day care and Kindergarten teachers had discussions with the mothers of Umang beneficiaries on topics such as the importance of cleanliness, medicines given to their children, development of their children.