From Child Labour to College: Support Her Future

Sahil is three years old. He lives with his parents, grandparents and uncle in the village of Kare in Maharashtra, India. He is cared for by his grandmother as his parents go out to work during the day.

When Shail first came to the attention of the project team he was severely malnourished. He was underweight and had stunted growth. Following careful examination by the project doctor and referral to a specialist it was found that he had a heart defect.

To treat Sahil’s malnourishment and bring him to normal weight and height he was given supplementary nutrition and vitamins. He was given spirulina candies for two years continuously and targeted nutrition rich food such as ground nuts and jaggery. His grandmother completed the project’s caregiver programme where she learnt about nutritious cooking and good childcare practise.

Now Sahil comes to the project crèche regularly to play with other children, something that he could not do before. His mother comments on all the changes in him and is very grateful to the project team for their help. None of this would have been possible without the help of the projects supporters.

The project team look to tackle all causes of school drop out of students in the project area. One of the major causes of student drop out is illness and disease. A contributing factor to this is defecation in open fields where families do not have toilet facilities in the home. The project team runs awareness campaigns on good hygiene and sanitation practices and the dangers of open defecation. As part of this the project has helped build 2350 toilets in the project area.      

Keru, 60, lives with his wife, daughter and son in the village of Nimon in Maharashtra, India. He earns about 80p per day through running small errands.

Like many in the region Keru and his family did not have a toilet in their house. Keru’s disability meant that he had to travel long distances to use a suitable toilet. This resulted in him experiencing acute pain.

Through the project’s sanitation campaign Keru was made aware of the importance of proper toilet facilities within the home. The family had little money though, and could not afford the cost of building a toilet. Keru discussed this with a project worker who had come to the village to discuss how the project could support villagers build toilets. The project agreed to supply Keru the materials needed to build. Keru and his son built the toilet and now the family has a toilet in their home.

Now the family does not have to defecate in open fields leading to better health outcomes for them and their neighbours. Keru does not need to travel far distances to use the toilet and as a result no longer suffers from acute pain. Keru speaks with his neighbours about the importance of toilet facilities in the home and others are now starting to follow his lead and build for themselves.