By Samy Joanes | Assistant Manager - Donor Relations
Name of Project: Pragat
That children in government homes gain academic, vocational and life skills leading them to fulfill their dreams and become positive contributors to society.
Project Period: Ongoing
Reporting Period: 01st October to 31st December 2020
Specific Objectives of the Project:
Achievements of the Project:
Number of beneficiaries: 98
Key Activities:
Challenges:
Sahaara Charitable Society believes that every person has a dream, and our vision is to fulfill the dreams of the vulnerable and marginalized in society. Children living in Mumbai juvenile homes are one of the most vulnerable and marginalized children in Mumbai as a majority of them are missing children from impoverished, abused, and traumatic backgrounds.
Sahaara provides remedial education services for such children in Government Homes to build strong foundations in Math and Languages to ensure they do not drop out of school. However, with the onset of COVID the local government was forced to close down the Homes and Schools as a protection measure to curb the spread of the pandemic. Sahaara reached out to the children and the Home authorities by providing IT infrastructure to conduct online education and conducted the same due to which the children kept in touch with their ongoing education needs.
Sahaara has also been working relentlessly to bridge the digital divide for these children. For the last quarter, Sahaara has identified needy children and provided Internet packs so that they can avail the online remedial education. However, many children from these communities still do not have a smart device. Hence, they depend on other children to share their smart devices or avoid the class altogether – there are numerous stories of camaraderie and sharing which we have seen in this dark season and are proud of.
Becoming unbroken
Sanjana* is a child at the Bal Kalyan Nagri Government Home studying in the 5th Grade, an orphan from a family of 5 sisters and 2 brothers. Only 1 sister among all 7 siblings makes time to visit her. Whenever asked, she has no memory of her parents. All she can recall is that her mother abandoned them when she was very small and left all the siblings at a neighbor’s house.
Sanjana is extremely sensitive and she gets upset very easily and displays mood swings in class. When asked, our teacher found out that she had no one to pour out her heart to. This has affected her studies and her social interactions very badly.
Once the teacher realized her circumstances, they were able to adapt their approach with Sanjana. Sanjana was always extremely disturbed and the teachers approached her in a friendly manner. Sanjana began to trust her teachers and started to open up. She would look forward to spending time with her teacher after class.
Over a period, Sanjana became more confident and can communicate her feelings better. Her concentration in class improved a great deal because of the emotional development. The Sahaara teacher has shown her motivational videos and urged her to focus on her studies. The teacher also routinely used games and activities in the class. Sanjana has become more open, expressive, and is doing a lot better at her studies than she was doing earlier.
* Name changed to protect identity.
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