Training Space for 600 Poor Girls in Mumbai

‘This is my first time playing musical chairs’, remarked a mother from one of Vacha’s slum communities at Malvani, Mumbai. ‘I am enjoying so much first time after I left school.’ said another nostalgically.

Vacha accelerated its gender parity programme by celebrating International Women’s Day in the 12 bastis (slum communities) where it makes interventions, participating in the Women’s Day march organized by 12 NGOs in Mumbai and a speech by the Project Director of Vacha at Edelgive Foundation.

In 12 bastis, a variety of programmes were organized for the mothers of Vacha girls jointly with girls. The initial groundwork spanned over a week which included planning and resource mobilization. The spectrum of programmes across the bastis was multi-flavored. Outdoor and indoor games included musical chairs, blowing balloons, hairdos using straws, lighting candles, ‘tailing the donkey’, hammering nails, threading needle, darts, tug of war, obstacle race and so on. Henna, art and origami contests were conducted at some bastis. Lectures on eradicating superstitions, generating awareness about TB (tuberculosis) were also held. Our girls in youth groups actively engaged in this effort and felt empowered by participation. ‘So nice to see our mothers taking time off to have fun!’, ‘I never thought my mother could sing.’ were common comments. They felt proud to do this for their mothers and mothers appreciated their Women’s Day plans. Girls committed to do this more often for their mothers.

Reactions and temperaments ranged from peals of laughter to emotional outbursts to women expressing disappointment at the apathetic stance of the government for not taking enough action to curb the societal menace of smoking and drinking. Women were dumbfounded on being asked questions such as how much they valued their own selves and their own lives. On learning the science behind miracles performed by godmen in the anti-superstition drive, some of the women vowed to stay away from these godmen during their hometown visits. Most women remarked that this event made them take a walk down memory lane and into their school years. Some requested for similar gatherings on every Sunday. Mothers were very much moved on listening to talks by their kids acknowledging the efforts of their mothers. It was heart-wrenching to see the role reversal when the “perennially giving” mothers cried on receiving prizes from their kids.

In solidarity with the women’s movement in Mumbai, Vacha team members also joined 12 other women’s and minority groups in the Women’s Day rally. Rendering slogans and songs asserting our rights to freedom, peace and equality, 250 of us marched from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Fort. This was followed by talks analyzing the latest budget from a woman’s standpoint and safeguarding constitutional rights. Older girls from our project always enthusiastically attend Women’s Day programmes and they did this with their own initiative this year. Vacha's Project Director addressed the crowd at EdelGive Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Edelweiss Group (a financial service provider), on Vacha’s journey into the world of girls and women's empowerment.

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