Mumbai Mobile Creches

Mumbai Mobile Creches aims to create child-friendly construction sites where every child is safe, healthy and educated. The core areas of work of the Read moreorganisation include education, health, nutrition, hygiene, training and community outreach. The organisation believes in moving along with the migrant communities, So, as soon as work gets over at one site and the community starts to exit, the organisation too, packs up and moves out of that location to set up Its services at the next site.

Our vision is for all children to have a nurturing and happy childhood. Our mission is to promote ‘child-friendly sites’; where every child living on a construction site is safe, healthy and educated, and able to enjoy their childhood.

1972- we introduced day care centre model in Mumbai,
1976- We began a Special Project at a slum,
1982- launched Teacher Training Programme,
2013- started Care on Wheels- Mobile Bus Project,
2014- Launched builder managed Child care Centre Model,
2017- Launched Community Outreach Programme Model.

Why do we work with children living on construction sites?

The reason we focus on migrant children on construction sites is because they are one of the most vulnerable and invisible population among the urban poor. Trying to create an island of safety for children amidst hazardous situations is a very daunting task and there aren’t too many non-profit/developmental agencies working with children living in such circumstances. They remain under served and marginalised in many ways. They are hidden behind the walls of construction sites and their invisible families have very poor or no access to any public service. These children have to bear the dual brunt of migration and poverty as their parents move from one construction site to the other for earning a livelihood. Their educational and health prospects are highly compromised. We believe that there is a need to help improve the life prospects of these children and their parents so they can break out of a life of poverty.
How we work with children living on construction sites, our strategic interventions and delivery models:-
We undertake regular site surveys to identify sites where there are children in need of our services and it may be feasible to set up a day care centre in collaboration with builders. We negotiate with Real Estate Developers/ Builders to allocate a safe, covered space to set up the centre and basic facilities such as drinking water and electricity. Once the space is ready, we run the centre for as long as there are children on the site.
We have adopted the following models for delivering the programme to children on construction sites:
a) Day Care Centre- this is our core operating model and is located on construction sites. Through day care centres we deliver a comprehensive programme that addresses the educational, health and nutritional needs of children in the age group birth to fourteen years. Every centre is well stocked with educational material, books and learning aids geared to provide age appropriate educational inputs to children. A monthly plan for educational activities for each section of children (crèche- birth to three years, preschool- three to six years and after school- six years and above) is prepared and carried out. The teachers also serve supplementary nutrition to the children and oversee doctors’ visits and other health related activities. We also run day care centres in two slum communities and on brick kilns (the latter only for about 5 months in a year).
b) Child Care Centres - Since 2014 our effort has been to make our model sustainable by setting up builder supported centres called Child Care Centres. These are completely run and managed by the builder where MMC acts as a knowledge partner and provides supportive supervision to the teachers.
c) Care on Wheels, Mobile Bus - On sites where the number of children are few and the builder is not willing to provide any facility, we operate a model called the Care on Wheels, Mobile Bus. This bus contains all the learning aids, teaching materials, books, games and also serves supplementary nutrition to children. The teachers on the bus conduct classes with the children on the site.
d) Community Outreach Programme - This model works on delivering educational activities for preschool and older children on construction sites where setting up a centre is not possible. Under CORP the focus is also on connecting the community with government services.