Door Steps Schools

The Door Steps School project in Mumbai, works to prepare, enroll and sustain school going children by providing inputs to initiate the learning process and imbibe the habit of learning amongst the children. Children for whom going to school is not a feasible alternative, the project aims to impart functional literacy through non-formal education classes at a place and time convenient for them.

Under this project three types of educational programs are taken up with the children; Balwadies for children between three to six years. This is a preschool preparation program where the pre-schooler is prepared to entry into school at the right age. The balwadi serve as a preventive measure- preventing children from joining the ranks of child Labour. The other program is that of study classes for the first generation school goers in standard one to four. This is a supportive measure through which extra coaching input is given to the students of class one to four and helps the children to continue within the formal setup.

The non formal education class is the third program is for out of school children under the age of 18 and is a remedial measure giving children an opportunity to gain literacy skill which otherwise would not have had.

Progress

Under this project, we are working in 4 communities where a survey was conducted.  614 preschoolers have been identified by 536 children between 6 – 18 years who have never gone to school and 220 children who have dropped out of school before completing standard 4 have been identified. A total of 471 children have already been linked to education. Of these 270 are enrolled in the 7 balwadis, 83 into the 4 study classes and 118 into NFE. In the new community of the 1300 houses, more than 800 were targeted. 121 children have been enrolled into formal schools, of which 112 children are continuing in the schools while 9 children have dropped for reasons and most of them have done so because they have to go back to their village. Teachers have been trained in multi-grade teaching, class management, and participatory teaching methods. Apart from this regular extra curricular and fun activities were organized for the children around the time of festivals etc.

Child Labor in Coastal Andhra Pradesh

When the Tsunami struck on December 26, 2004, it affected several countries including India, especially the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. Loss of life, damage to properties, and contamination of the drinking water and loss of livestock were some of the havoc created by Tsunami. Among the worst affected were the children who were dropped out of school and forced into child labor, since they had to support their families to earn their livelihood and rebuild their lives.

Since Plan works for children in difficult circumstances, the need to work for the child laborers in this fragile environment and to improve their lives was a priority. The goal of the project is to ensure that children grow up and develop in safe and enabling environment that ensure their rights and participate in their own development. The main task is to take children away from child labor, send them to school, and educate them for their fuller development.

This project was initiated in 8 districts of Andhra Pradesh. It was implemented in 217 villages of the coastal districts by 27 partner organizations being led by Academy of Gandhian Studies (AGS) and CADME networks and supported by Plan. The target groups are Children in this project who belong to the fishing community are involved mostly in prawn; shrimp seed collection, fish processing units, agriculture Labour etc. where health hazards and physical exploitation of girl children are more. The project envisages reaching out to approximately 8000 children where 45% of the children are child laborers in various organized and unorganized sectors. It also ensures cent percent coverage of children to protect them from future disasters.

The activities planned under the project are Education - mainstreaming & enrollment, early childhood care and development through child care centers, vocational training for youth, community mobilization, livelihoods, disaster preparedness, community capacity buildings, advocacy and lobbying through networks and alliance group formation with community participation.

Sustainability is ensured in the project as the design of the project is based on the concept of Child Centered Community Development and follows a model of empowering the child and the community. Any project activity can be sustainable over a period of time if it ensures that the various stakeholders believe in their own development, and be part of development of the project.

Bal Ashram (Project completed)

The Bal Ashram project addressed the problem of child labor at its source
(i.e. at the village level where children are initiated into child labor) by developing child friendly villages that respect the rights and dignity of children. The project was implemented in the state of Rajasthan and rehabilitated, educated and trained children and youth in self sufficiency and leadership to enable them to avoid the cyclic trap of poverty and child labor. Six villages were developed as Bal Mitra Grams or child friendly villages. Through sustained efforts and advocacy, the villagers and children were sensitized on the issue of child labor and Bal Panchayats (Children's Parliaments) were formed in all the villages. The Parliaments worked actively to promote child rights and organized activities for children's development such as discussions, essay writing, quiz competitions, drawing sessions, plays etc.

Another integral component of the project was the rehabilitation center called Bal Ashram where children rescued from bonded labor were provided shelter, trauma counseling and other development opportunities like education, recreational activities, and confidence building measures and so on. Children were involved in non formal education and where possible were enrolled into mainstream schools. They were also provided vocational training for making them self sufficient.