By Mr Rahul Raja Sharma | Manager- Udayan Ghar Programme
Udayan Ghar Programme
Udayan Care had set up its first Udayan Ghar (Home) for children in 1996 and created its own model of LIFE: Living in Family Environment. This model enables erstwhile children in need of Care & Protection in to grow in a loving family environment. In these homes, the children are loved and cared for by a group of Mentor Parents-socially committed individuals (volunteers) who groom the children with a team of Coordinators at homes, along with resident Care Givers, Supervisors, & Volunteers.
These homes are located in busy, middle class neighborhoods, so children can reintegrate themselves into society through direct community involvement which helps mainstreaming the children ahead. Our children and young adults are receiving quality education in some of the best educational institutions such as: The Sagar School at Tijara, Alwar, Mata Bhagwati school, Genesis Global school, Tagore International School, East of Kailash, Banyan Tree School, Global Indian International School etc and colleges/ universities like College of Vocational Studies, University of Delhi, Hi- Tech Institute of Engineering, Ghaziabad, Punjab University, Lingaya’s University etc.
Since inception Udayan Ghars have nurtured over 784 children with love, care and protection in 13 Homes across 4 states of India. Presently, there are 178 children across all homes. 27 of our young adults are also been supported through our After Care Programme.
Workshops/ Activities during this Quarter
During the period of March - May, 2017 the team continued working for the betterment of children and the programme. The quarter went well with children engrossed in studies preparing for their final-term examinations and a few corporate engagements. Workshops being a monthly affair addressed several concerns pertaining to Children, Care-givers, Mentor Parents and Coordinators.
Workshops were held with all the programme stakeholders (mentors, coordinators, caregivers, and children). In order to strengthen the stakeholders the following workshops were held during the quarter:
Since, in a constantly changing environment, having life skills is an essential part of being able to meet the challenges of everyday life, Life Skill workshops at home were also held like every other quarter which focused on various subjects like self awareness & self identity, coping with emotions, relationship building, healthy & unhealthy relationships, knowing self, decision making, stress management, healthy habits; family & community, communication and problem solving.
Shanti Home and the Mentor Father, Mr. Deepak conducts workshop with Greater Noida children on a monthly basis. The topics covered during the quarter are Reaching My Goals in the month of March & April and Moving Forward in the month of May.
Psychologist, Ms. Dipti conducts life skill workshops every month with both Noida Boys and Girls. The topics covered so far include, Relationship, Communication & Teenage Issues.
And likewise, life skill workshops at other Udayan Ghars were also conducted during the quarter.
On 7th March, 2017 workshop on Menstrual Health and Hygiene was conducted by Ms. Purnima from National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) at the Udayan care Head Office.
On 8th March, 2017 International Women's Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women was celebrated at the Udayan Care Head Office and across different Udayan Ghars.
Holi, the festival of colors is one of the widely celebrated festivals in India. The festival brings with itself joy, love unity and marks the beginning of spring. The festival is loved by Udayan Ghar children as well. The young Udayanites spared some time from their too busy and tiring annual examination schedule and experienced the joy of the festival along with the mentor parents on 13th March, 2017.
Consultation on ‘Trauma Informed Care: Concepts & Practices for Children in Alternative Care’ was organised by Udayan Care on 17th of March 2017.
Experts, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, volunteers, members of various Child Welfare Committee, DCPU officers, counselors, senior organization heads and civil society members came together to discuss aspects of trauma-informed care for children living under alternative care.
Ms. Vandana from ArtReach India conducted workshops on 28th and 29th March, 2017 wherein, the participants were interviewed regarding how their journey with ArtReach India Teaching Fellowship Programme had been so far, what all they have learnt and experienced in the whole journey. In the next day’s session, children were taught about making and designing objects using ‘Plaster of Paris’ (P.O.P). The participants made some beautiful creations that were preserved to be put on display later on 6th May, 2017.
March is a month where children go through a phase that changes their daily routine, makes some of them undergo stress and anxiety, long hours of study and spend ample time on learning and working on time management. This phase is called as the Examination Phase. The phase is also marked by symptoms such as sleeplessness, restlessness, loss of appetite and fatigue. By the end of the month of March, children feel lethargic and exhausted, so felt our Udayan Ghar children. This time, out of 150 school-going children, all of them successfully appeared for their final term examination for different classes and out of these 150 children, 15 appeared for their Board examination for class X and XII. Therefore, in order to revive their energy before they start attending the next session at their school, Udayan Care planned to take all the children and the staff across its 11 ghars in Delhi/NCR for the movie, Poorna and later to KidZania. On 6th April, 2017, a group of 140 children and 30 staff members went to Spice Mall to witness the inspiring story of Poorna Malavath and later in the second half, the crowd headed towards KidZania andhad an amazing time enjoying activities, such as fashion show, dance show, theatre and working in the kitchen of some of the world’s renowned fast food restaurant chains like, Dominos, Dunkin Donuts etc.
On 9th April, 2017, the track at the Thyagraj Sports Complex was bustled with energy and enthusiasm. The track where 15 teams consisting of 12 participants in each fought against each other in the track and field event of 100 m dash. Competitors from each team tried hard to prove how strong their legs were, how fast they could be and how much pain they could take to bag the trophy for the first position and of course the best team. The event, Khelyatra was organized by Jyotiyatra. Athletes/competitors from each team competed in three different age categories – 12 & under, 14 & under and 16 & under. Team Udayan Care not only won the first position but also got a set of 14 domestic roundtrip air tickets (12 athletes & 2 coaches) to any place in the country.
On 14th & 15th April, 2017, art workshops continue to happen at the Greater Noida ghar. This time, the children were asked to paint the objects made from plaster of paris in the last class. After that children were asked to make big leaves out of plaster so that they can be put up on exhibition in the month of May. In the evening children were asked to cut the boxes from edges so as to make a structure out of it. Each and every child was asked to make his/her structure for the exhibition.
As planned, the artwork of children that included scroll paintings, sculptures, enamel art pieces and so much more was finally put on display at the Kiran Nadar museum of Art (KNMA) on 6th May, 2017. Children across different Udayan Ghars had been attending art workshops from the past six months organized by ArtReach India as part of their Teaching Fellowship Programme. The programme has helped these young artists polish their talent and have a promising future ahead. The exhibition will extend till 6th June, 2017.
On 13th and 14th May, 2017 Udayan Ghar children were invited for a two days camp, “Camp Zonovation” organized by Zonopact, a US based software developing company. The camp wasan idea incubator, which participants from idea generation, prototyping, product design, and investment to market launch. The Udayan Ghar children grabbed all the prizes (1st, 2nd & 3rd) in the activities carried out during the camp.
The achievements and awards are a never ending process for Udayan Family:
Success Story (any one)
1)
Sheetal used to live at her native place with her father and 4 sisters. Her mother died a few months after giving birth to Sheetal. Her father could not stand the trauma and went through severe depression. Her father was also diagnosed with TB (Tuberculosis). Due to his health being deteriorated day by day, he took all his five daughters to their uncle and aunt who showed unwillingness to receive them. The family then moved to their maternal grandparents in Delhi but the clouds of misfortune didn’t disappear. Poor financial condition was the reason this time that the family had to move again. Left with no other options, the father decided to put all his 5 children into Hope Foundation (an adoption home). But, as nobody came forth to adopt the children, they were transferred to Udayan Care for long term care and protection.
By this time, the little sisters had experienced so much of trauma and neglect that had affected their delicate childhood, their socialisation process and their mental & emotional well being.
Sheetal was just 5 years old when she came at Udayan Ghar, Greater Noida. She was traumatized, had no self confidence, had poor educational background and used to cry missing her mother whom she never saw.
She was nurtured with all required love, care and affection and started believing that she had found a new family at the Udayan Ghar. The efforts of the ghar team have transformed her into a girl who shares her experience of traumatized past without any hesitation.
Sheetal was supported through basic need of love and education too. Seeing her sincerity and dedication she was soon enrolled in one of the best schools of the town, DPS, Greater Noida where she groomed out to be a laborious student and started showing inclination towards fashion designing. She had recently appeared for her XII class board examination and scored 87.6% marks. Her dream to pursue her career in fashion designing has also taken a constructive shape as she had been successful in making her way to the India’s most renowned fashion institute, National Institute of Fashion & Technology (NIFT).
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