Educating 400 Children in 8 Slums in Delhi/Gurgaon

The Education on Wheels [EOW] Program of Sukarya is meant to ensure Education for all with the motto of “Reaching the unreached”. Here is the story of Radha, a girl child from the slum of Delhi. Radha, being a curious girl, always wanted to inquire and know about anything she came across or think of. She always wanted to study and lead a life like a normal child. She aspires to be a doctor taking care of her family and others. But due to the poverty and lack of resources, her parents could not provide her basic education. 

Radha's dream to study was finally realized when Sukarya’s EOW team visited and enrolled her in the project. Her mother also got very happy for her daughter as she always wanted her to be well-educated and professionally qualified.

Radha’s father being an alcoholic, spends most of his earnings on it. The family atmosphere is also very depressing as her mother being a victim of domestic violence. The poverty, family quarrel, and social life situations all make Radha very upset and sometimes rebellious. But she is a girl with a big dream and great ambition to become a doctor.

The EOW sessions found her to be a quick learner and very good in her studies. She is very punctual and well-disciplined. Even the COVID19 pandemic crisis has not deterred her from attending classes. Through all efforts and means, she manages to attend our virtual classes every day. Since her induction into the EOW project, there has been tremendous progress in her hygiene and behavioral aspect.

The way she is progressing being strong-determined, it is not very far when she would be able to realize her dream. Her mother and the entire family have big hope for her and are very thankful to Sukarya for providing her an opportunity to study.  

                                   Education on Wheels Program Progress Report (March-May 2021)

It was a critical phase of the project wherein the last academic session’s enrolled children appeared for their OBE [Open Basic Examination] conducted by the government. The examination was held in March, in which a total of 91 students appeared. On successful completion, all these students will be mainstreamed with government schools.

Due to the COVID19 situation, at present, the government schools are closed. Once it gets open, the admission formalities will be completed. For the new academic session April 2021 – March 22, the enrollment of the students under the EOW project is in the process. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic challenges, the project has enrolled 150 students, and online virtual classes have already begun. The remaining slots of enrollment will be filled as soon as the COVID situation improves.

During the reporting period, the project has successfully executed the following activities in addition to 336 virtual sessions on Non-Formal Education (NFE) and Remedial Education Classes (REC)

1. Ensured OBE [Open Basic Examination] for 91 EOW students
2. Enrolled fresh 150 students for the new academic sessions 2021-22
3. Identified 3 new locations for project intervention 
4. Assessment and situational analysis were done across the project locations
5. 2 meetings have been conducted with Parents and Community stakeholders
6. Incorporated 8 COVID-19 awareness sessions for children and their parents
7. Organized 7 sessions for parents and community people for the COVID vaccination
8. Situational analysis and survey were done on food and hunger, which has arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown.
9. 6 Computer Literacy sessions were held.
10. Nutrition meals were served for the EOW children on 21 days.

Links:

• facebook page of Sukarya
• Twitter handle of Sukarya
• LinkedIn page of Sukarya

Radhika lives in Masjid Camp in Delhi with her four siblings, her father, who sells balloons, and her mother, a domestic helper.  Team Sukarya spotted Radhika when she was picking rags with her friends. She could not go to school because of the financial difficulties of her parents. But she had an extraordinary zeal and zest for learning, which the team noticed during the first interaction with her. The Sukarya team facilitated the process and enrolled her in the Education on Wheels (EoW) project. To their surprise, her parents resisted as Radhika’s rag-picking was also a source of their daily life besides taking care of her siblings. But the EoW team had series of counseling sessions with them to have their approval on Radhika’s enrollment into the non-formal education program.  Over the period, Radhika turned out to be the most punctual and studious among all students. Her level of understanding is amazing, and her tenacity ranks her to be one of the best students in her group. She aspires to be a doctor, and her parents are pleased with her besides being thankful to Sukarya for bringing education to their door-step.

What happened in this quarter?

In the last quarter (November 2020 - February 2021), 178 children have enrolled in the program for non-formal (NFE)/remedial education classes (REC). In total 544 classes were held - 272  classes for both NFE and REC. Classes were also held on Computer Literacy (24), Arts & Crafts (6), Life Skills (3), and Extra-Curricular Activities (5). 102 children are enrolled for Open Basic Examination (OBE) conducted by the Govt. of India, to be mainstreamed for formal schooling.

Links:

• facebook page
• Tweeter handle of Sukarya
• LinkedIn page of Sukarya