Protect girls from violence in school

Shobha’s daughter was hospitalised with COVID-19 and Shobha herself was unable to work; her usual income being from labouring. With her daughter in hospital for over 2 weeks and Shobha wanting to remain by her side, Shobha was unable to access the basics needed to sustain herself. With her daughter’s case appearing very serious, Shobha felt unable to leave her side and the hospital was unable to provide her with food. Our partners are helping to care for the families of people with coronavirus in their slum community. Shobha and her other daughter were amongst the people receiving a food parcel while they waited for and supported their loved ones in recovery. 

Your support means families in the slum area of Amravati are being supported during the second wave of coronavirus in India. We are in regular review with our partners on the educational needs of the children and in the meantime, funds continue to support their general welfare. Thank you. 

“Today the project visited my school and offered us this educational kit full of materials like books, pen, pencil, compass, mask, sanitizer etc . I am really thankful for this gesture. How I missed all this ever since the schools have been closed!” - Pooja

Pooja and Poonam both belong to Lohara slum central Vidharbha.

Girls like Pooja and Poona retreated into their homes when lockdown measures to curb COVID-19 infections impelled the closure of schools. Like other girls in their community, they spent most of their time watching television or sharing the burden of domestic responsibilities at home with their mothers. The schools remain closed for over a year, and girls are finding it difficult to retain the lessons they had learned.  While on hand, they seem to enjoy the free time they have due to the lockdown, on the other hand, they worry about catching up with the syllabus. If this trend continues, they will be forced to drop out of school since their parents, often hailing from disadvantageous backgrounds, have to prioritize income-generation over providing support with homeschooling.  

To assist students like Pooja and Poonam and close the gap in their educational development, this Karuna-funded project has initiated bridging classes. A 'Shiksha–Mitra' (Learning Buddy) supports students with their lessons and provides assistance for reading and writing. This opportunity has helped the girls break-free from their daily routine in the last 10 months and focus on studies. 

Both Pooja and Poonam love these classes and are happy to have a chance to see some of their school friends and teachers again.  These lessons have been instrumental in refreshing the lessons that they had learnt in the past as well as acquiring new knowledge. 

They feel motivated to return to schools and continue their education.

We are thankful to Karuna and their supporters, like you, who have enabled us to reach out and provide support to 1344 children from slums while they were away from schools.