By Rahul Thomas | Senior Manager - Operations and Donor Relations
Sahaara believes that every person has a dream, and our work centers around ensuring that marginalized persons are able to articulate and work towards achieving their dream. Children in observation homes are one of the most marginalized populations in Mumbai.
The children who live in these Homes come from different states of India and are educated in a Marathi medium school run by the Home. The language difference makes it difficult for them to learn. Remedial education helps in coaching the children in the Marathi language as well as their school subjects thereby helping them understand what they are learning and maintaining their interest to continue education once discharged from the Home.
Sahaara staff procures addresses of discharged children from the home authorities. The social workers then traverse through labyrinthine gullies of Mumbai slums searching for the children’s residences. Through such home visits, networking with local schools, facilitating assistance in books and materials, the child is facilitated entry into formal education paving the way to a bright future.
During the period April to June 2018, 94 children were provided with remedial education in Chembur Children’s Home, Bal Kalyan Nagari and David Sassoon Industrial School.
We also helped the Child Welfare Committee trace the addresses of 72 lost children and helped in reuniting 41 children to their families.
Kindness changes everything!
We all need moments in life that impact us in such a way that it causes a change of heart, alters our course of life and propels us in the right direction.
17 year old Ravi* found one such moment at the Sahaara education centre in Chembur Children’s Home during his interaction with the teachers.
He comes to class regularly and conducts himself in an exemplary manner. He helps the teacher in the cleaning and setting up of the class room, in the distribution of books and stationery to other children, and also helps in maintaining the discipline of the classroom. He is helpful towards others. But this has not been Ravi’s story all along.
When Ravi was 4 years old, he was found himself alone in a crowded place, where he had lost his parents. He was in tears and very disturbed in the middle of the road where he was picked up by the local police and NGO staff and admitted in a government home for care and protection of children. Due to the high number of children admitted in these Homes, the children here generally lack the personal attention and family care that each child needs.
Being lost from his parents had a major impact on Ravi’s mental and social well-being. He craved for attention and would do things to get attention even if it meant he landed in bad repute. He liked to trouble the school teachers, who would always scold or punish him. Ravi had a good height for his age and he would use his stature to bully or trouble his fellow students, which made it difficult for him to make friends. This was his way of drawing the attention that he craved for.
He was transferred from one Home to another Home every few years and was admitted in the Chembur Children’s Home in early 2018.
Sahaara has been running remedial education in the Chembur Children’s Home since 2004 with the aim of helping the children in the Home to perform better in their studies and continue their education.
When he was enrolled in Sahaara’s remedial education program, he had a great challenge to sit quietly in classroom. He would make fun of and bully others. He disobeyed and disregarded the teachers’ instructions. After some days, the Sahaara teacher asked Ravi to wait after class for a time of personal interaction. He thought he would be punished or reprimanded again. But to his surprise, the teacher spoke kindly to him and engaged him in conversation!
This was the first time he had found a teacher who was willing and interested to understand him. His defences came crashing down as the conversation continued and he, on his own accord, apologised to the teacher for his bad behaviour. He promised that he will not will not make fun of others or disturb the class.
While it took a few days and weeks for Ravi to change his attitude and behaviour, he made the change. It was not strictness that brought about this change but the kindness of the Sahaara teacher who accepted him as he was, and gently helped Ravi not only change but become a change maker in the classroom.
Ravi dreams of becoming a policeman someday and we surely want to walk that journey with him where he sees his dream fulfilled!
* Name changed to protect identity.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
