Support orphaned children at our Sunshine Homes

Hello all,

Love and Greetings from Sunshine Homes!

Balraj* (Name changed) is a 17-year-old child staying at Udayan Care Noida Home. He became part of the Sunshine Homes in the year 2022. After the sudden demise of his parents, his grandmother looked after him and her elder sister. After some time, she came to Delhi to secure a better future for them. Due to the tragic turn of events, Balraj was taken to the Child Welfare Committee and transferred to Noida Boys Home. Here at Udayan Care Home, he has enough opportunities to grow. He now realizes that he is part of a family.

Due to frequent disruptions, he was not able to continue his education. After coming to Udayan Ghar, he was not found fit for age-appropriate admission at regular schools. So, he was enrolled in Open Schooling to continue his education.

He is happy about his fellow home-mates and care staff. He says that they have always been very supportive of him. A few months back, he was diagnosed with Jaundice. Udayan Care provided him with expert medical advice. He is now recovering well.

This year in August, he was enrolled for chef training at ‘Haldiram’, a popular fast-food chain in India. He feels that one day he will become a famous chef, a dream that he always cherishes.

Kanhaiya* (Name changed) is one of Balraj’s home-mates. Kanhaiya is one of the prominent shining stars of Udayan Car Home who has become a source of motivation for his home-mates. Kanhaiya arrived at Udayan Care on the 4^th of April, 2018 through the orders of the Child Welfare Committee, Noida. At the time of his arrival, he was struggling to cope with his loneliness and insecurities. Owing to not getting enough opportunities in his life prior to his arrival at Udayan Care, his academic performance needed improvement which he later worked on effectively.

Before his arrival at Udayan Care, Kanhaiya completed his education till 6^th standard. After coming to Udayan Care, he was admitted to Kendriya Vidyalaya Noida. After persistent efforts from the counselors and mentors of the home, he successfully managed to overcome the issues in subject comprehension. His academic performance improved a lot since then. The planned counseling also enabled him to excel in extracurricular activities like sports and art. Apart from excelling in sports, he is also a good artist and regularly participates in the Art workshops conducted by a partner NGO Artreach Foundation.

Kanhaiya is now getting training under the guidance of a cricket coach. He is regularly doing his routine practice at Grassroot Cricket Academy, along with his studies. He is currently enrolled in 11^th Standard at Kendriya Vidyalaya. In the last week of July 2023, he participated in an Inter-regional Kendriya Vidyalaya sports competition held at Etah (UP) and secured a silver medal in a 100-meter Relay Race. He came third in the 100 and 200-meter Race.

From overcoming his quiet nature to becoming a responsible elder brother-like figure at home, Kanhaiya has come a long way to prove his mettle. He has shown his skills ranging from home to schools and cricket academy. His affectionate conversation with his fellow housemates and constructive group activities have endeared him among the housemates. 

Kanhaiya now aspires to become a full-fledged social worker to uplift the lives of children who need care and protection. He says that whatever Udayan Care has endowed him, he is morally obliged to return this in the form of service to mankind. He sincerely believes that Udayan Care has brightened his career prospects.

Millions of children worldwide are devoid of parental love, care, and support, with their futures at stake. The children at the Sunshine Home, want to reach out to people by taking them through Kanhaiya’s journey of growth so far at Sunshine Home. Children of Udayan Care want it to echo among people who can extend their helping hand to disadvantaged children. Udayan Care hopes that one day, every child will be cared for, and supported through thick and thin.

Now, here are the highlights of the activities done by the Team of Sunshine Homes during the last quarter-

SESSION ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

The workshop was held with the objective of understanding psychological development. It was attended by children of the home. It was aimed to make participants understand the type of physical, social and psychological changes that a child undergoes during adolescence and puberty. The session included group activity, group discussion and critical thinking methods.  During the session, the counsellor talked to the children about the concepts of puberty, menstruation, emission, masturbation etc. with a focus on psychological and social changes. During the session, children were asked to make a story reflecting on the psycho-social and physical aspects of the characters given in the pictures. The children explained the story. Then, the counsellor collated the physical, social and psychological depiction from their explanation and facilitated a discussion on the changes that occur during puberty.

It was observed that participants were already aware of the physical aspect of psychological development. They all were able to comprehend and answered accordingly, but they sought help in comprehending the psychological aspect of the pictures.

TRAINING SESSION ON NUTRITION

Children and Staff attended an in-person Training session on Nutrition facilitated by ChildFund India.In the session, children were told about the importance of nutrition, a balanced diet and safe practices to be ensured while taking care of a diet. Considering the crucial time of their age with respect to their mental and physical growth, the session benefitted the children to a great extent.

EID CELEBRATION

Children from various homes celebrated Eid at their respective homes. On the occasion of Eid, Children from Mehrauli home went to Vasant Kunj for a small get-together to celebrate the feeling of brotherhood on the holy festival of Eid. The children had snacks and enjoyed a lot.

SPORTS FESTIVAL

Children of the home participated in Sports Festival under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav as instructed by the Department of Child and Women Development. Children played various games as per the list shared by the legal authorities and actively participated in the same. The activity infused a sense of brotherhood and patriotism into the minds of little children.

NATIONAL MUSEUM VISIT

Children from various homes of Udayan Care went on a visit to the National Museum, wherein they explored Art Galleries and also made sketches. There were three groups (as per their age group) who alternately went to the museum. They all enjoyed this excursion visit and learned a lot. They took selfies with the staff of the National Museum. Visit benefitted them a lot as they knew about various historical facts concerning India’s cultural heritage.

AMBEDKAR JAYANTI (AMBEDKAR BIRTHDAY)

The constitution of India was written by Dr. B R Ambedkar.  On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti (B R Ambedkar’s Birthday), children prepared posters, wrote essays and recited quotes from Dr. Ambedkar. These activities were conducted to introduce the children to his vision of India. All the children liked the activities and got inspired, they pledged to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Ambedkar.

EOD ADVENTURE PARK

The children went for an outing at Every Other Day Adventure Park. Children enjoyed a rain dance, beautiful views, rides and delicious lunch. Overall children had a lot of fun. It was a great day for the children as they came out of the home for an outing along with children from other homes as well. The cross-learning among the children during this kind of event creates a synergy among them to strive for holistic development.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR DAY

Children celebrated International Labour Day on the 1^st of May. Children at the home also got to know about the plight of labour in the world and respective social workers at the homes briefed them on the importance of the day in the history of human rights and labour rights.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY CELEBRATION

 All the children celebrated World Environment Day by watering and tending to the garden. They planted a few decorative plants in the planters. Children also held a group discussion on the theme of End Plastic. They all sat in the garden and discussed air, water and noise pollution, its reason and ways to curb it.

INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY

All children celebrated World Yoga Day by practicing Yoga for an hour in the morning. They all discussed the theme for this year YOGA i.e. VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM (One Earth one family one future). The benefits of yoga for Mental Physical and Emotional well-being were stressed upon. The children did breathing exercises (Anulom, Vilom, Bhastrika, Bhavri etc). They also performed Surya Namaskar asana or Sun Salutations.

VISIT TO KIRAN NADAR MUSEUM

Children visited Kiran Nadar Museum for four days in the summer vacations. This place has a beautiful collection of art pieces and sculptures as well as photographs of ancient architecture. The children saw the paintings and were also explained the basics of art. The children enjoyed it a lot.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Several birthdays were celebrated in this quarter. The celebration was done in the presence of all the children, staff and mentor parents. Children decorated the entire house with balloons and ribbons and prepared handmade greeting cards whenever the occasion came.

ADVENTURE ISLAND VISIT

Children of various homes visited Adventure Park Rithala, for an outing. They were accompanied by caregivers and a home social worker. They enjoyed all the events there including Aqua Bump. They had a sumptuous lunch in between the activities. It was a wonderful recreational activity enjoyed by all. 

This is all that Udayan Care had to share on behalf of the children and team at Sunshine Homes. With this, Udayan Care thanks GlobalGiving and the associated donors for their sustained support.