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Smile Foundation has identified a very interesting grassroots initiative which is designed to provide holistic education to children from slums and pavements through the participation and involvement of their parents in their development process.
The initiative titled, ‘Sanskar’ is being implemented by Sparsha Charitable Trust at GTB Nagar, Mumbai.
About the Project
Parents are the key players in the process of development of a child. Hence parents need to be educated and trained on the benefits of education. However, not many development initiatives include parents as part of the child development process.
Further, in order to develop a child holistically, it is necessary to work with the parents, environment and the community of the children. The initiative named ‘SANSKAR’ aims to work with all the factors influencing the development of the child especially the parents and the community.
The project is targeting 800 slum children from slums near GTB Nagar, Mumbai. The project has well defined set of objectives for its primary target audience namely underprivileged children.
The project strategy aims to:
- Prepare maximum number of children through creative and play way method and enrol them in the formal education system (municipal schools).
- Provide holistic services of health, nutrition and recreation to these children
- Provide general education and required psycho social interventions
- Sustain the children already in the school system through community study class
At Sanskar, parents of the children are constantly involved in the process through regular parent-teacher meetings, counselling sessions, training in child care and special sessions on importance of education for parents and senior members of the community. Involvement of parents and members of community at every stage of project creates an environment that is ideal for receiving education from a child’s point of view.
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