Gender Equality India Project #22899

Training Space for 600 Poor Girls in Mumbai

by Vacha Charitable Trust

Project Report | Nov 17, 2016
Update on the Project

By Sonal Shukla | Trustee

Visit to an Aquarium

Dear friends,

Warm greetings from Vacha Trust. All of us in Vacha team are grateful to you for supporting our building fund for acquiring a small place of our own which will be a centralized place to carry on gender training and other activities.

Currently there is much upheaval in building industry due to demonetization of currency notes for INR 500 and 1000. This is for discouraging hoarding of notes for tax evasion. Fortunately we have done all transactions by cheque only and have booked space with one of the better construction companies. We have been promised possession in April 2017. We are all looking forward to it. Of course, we still have to make final payments including for 6 months of maintenance and also for all the amenities and for furniture. Still it is exciting that, after all these 30 years of functioning we will have a ‘room of our own’ as Virginia Woolf would recommend. We will have to continue hiring space elsewhere is our own space will be very small. Still it is great no one can throw us out from there. We hope you will visit us when/if you are in Mumbai.

This year it is only in November that we finally got permission to continue our inputs in Municipal schools for the poor. Since the children come from literacy deprived families they find it very difficult to cope with 2 of the three languages that are introduce in class 5. These are English, Hindi and Marathi. We will have to have a crash course for weaker students as we now have barely one semester to work on this. We will continue with other programmes in schools also.

The weather is pleasant now so our participants’ trips to explore local educational resources have started. The girls come from deprived families who cannot arrange such trips and their schools neglect use of these resources. This year’s trip included a visit to the newly updated aquarium and to Nehru Centre’s display on ‘Discovery of India’ and to famous Hanging Gardens and Kamla Nehru Park.

We hope you will continue with your generosity during the month beginning with the Giving Tuesday on November 29 so we can qualify for matching grants of various kinds.

With best wishes and regards,

Sonal Shukla

Fun at Nehru Park

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Oct 14, 2016
Accessing Public Spaces and New learning at Vacha

By Nischint Hora | Administrator

Girls accessing open space for outdoor sports

Monsoon and Heavy rains in past few months did not dampen the spirit of our girls. Infact girls were engaged and took leadership in accessing public places and also understand government systems better. The regular activities at Centres continued, they have been learning skills in computers, conversational English and reading new books in our mobile library.

Girls from one centre formed Pressure Groups of mothers to gain their support on issues of safe and clean toilets in their communiies and the need of public libraries on street corners which can be accessed by all in the community. The group was successful in persuading the community women leaders to take up the issue and got the toilets renovated. Now the parents, local leaders and youth groups are more supportive of these girls.

The girls from this very centre have started using the street public library to read newspapers seeing them some women have started accessing the space as well. These girls also continue to go to the beach and use the open space to play games and enjoy the fresh air this was not possible a few months ago.

In India girls are prohibited from accessing play grounds or involve in sports. It affects their healthy growth. Sports activity not only provide physical exercise but also teaches you team spirit, strategizing and entitlement on open spaces. We have been working on this issue in the communities where we have interventions to ensure girls claim their right to play grounds, open spaces and also get involved in sports activities.

The city is gearing up for the Municipal elections (local body) that is scheduled for February. From one centre, the girls had several issues and wanted to discuss these with the local Corporator( local elected Representative) a visit was arranged to his office. The girls questioned him on issues pertaining to their community. They wanted to know when their roads would get paved, their toilets repaired. They also questioned him on what are the expected functions of corporator the year round. They were keen to know who was ultimately responsible for clean toilets. The Corporator pushed some responsibility on them saying their communities needed to cooperate with them better to get things done. The girls decided to work with the community to convince them to get things moving.

In one more community, a workshop on Right to Food was held. Participants learnt about their right to get grains at a fair price and their right to complain if it was not available. Helplines and methods of detecting adulteration and what action was to be taken was shared with them. They were told how to get ration cards, an important factor in all their lives. They have decided to hold a mothers meeting to share this important information.

We thank you for supporting us and look forward to bring more news and happenings from our projects in future.

Girls Access Public Reading Rooms

Girls read newspapers in public reading rooms

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Jul 20, 2016
Celebrations and New Beginnings

By Medhavinee | Executive Director

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