By Atul Lekhra | Manager- Resource Mobilization
Dear Change maker,
Greetings from Udaipur! Children aged between one and five in the areas where Seva Mandir works, lack adequate care, nutrition, security and a stimulating environment at home. Extreme poverty forces parents including mothers to work on the farms, as labourers, or travel to forests to collect firewood and fodder. Most worksites do not offer child-care facilities, and those that exist are often of poor quality.
Soni, 3-year-old girl, enrolled in Seva Mandir’s Balwadi (Daycare) in the Badgaon block of Udaipur district comes from a very poor family, with her parents working as daily wage labourer.
Two years ago, when Soni joined Balwadi, she was severely malnourished. Since, both her parents had to go out to work, she was often left neglected at home without care and nutrition required for her normal growth. Her parents got to know about the Balwadi centre near their home and got her enrolled. She diagnosed with malnutrition during a regular health check-up camp at Balwadi and was referred to start treatment for malnutrition immediately at a nearby Community Health Center.
It took her 8 months to come out of the danger zone. Balwadi Instructor gave special attention to her health and fed her with nutritious food like Soya Chunks and Kichadi (Indian dish made of lentils and rice).
According to Soni's parents, “The Balwadi was a life savior for our daughter. Since we work as labor to make ends meet, we had no option to leave her at home unattended. But Seva Mandir’s Balwadi is a blessing. Here, our daughter stays in a safe environment and also gets nutritious food with care. It's been two years since our daughter is attending the Balwadi. we can go to work with a free mind without worrying about her health and safety.”
There are thousands of children in our work area who suffer from malnutrition in absence of care and nutrition. Also, children like Soni are left at home all alone or with their elder siblings (who are also very young) while their parents are working.
Seva Mandir has been running full day Balwadis (Daycares) for the last 14 years to provide care and safety to such children letting their parents work without worrying for their children. Currently 178 Balwadis are operational in tribal areas of south Rajasthan reaching out to 5000 underprivileged children.
It is due to generous support from friends like you Seva Mandir has been able to run these Balwadis.
We are immensely proud of the improvements we have been able to make in the lives of these children and hope to reach out more children with your continued support. Thank you so much for your trust in us. In case you would like to know more about the project, please do write to me at atul.lekhra@sevamandir.org
Warm regards,
Atul Lekhra and the Seva Mandir Team
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