Swadhar IDWC (Institute for Development of Women & Children)

Is a programme aimed at addressing the needs of underprivileged families living in slums. The programme is being conducted in partnership with Brembo Brakes India Pvt. Ltd. It includes early childhood development programmes, Balwadi’s, support classes, study centres, vocational training, community library, family counselling and guidance, awareness generation programmes to strengthen families to be self-reliant and dignified.

Project SCOPE(Strengthening Communities for Pre-School Education) concentrates on running home lending libraries, conducting support classes to reduce dropouts from schools and bridge classes to prepare children who are set to start attending schools.

This programme strives to reduce drop-out rates in students coming into mainstream schools from non-formal schools. It tries to cultivate reading habits in children from grade one to four since the knowledge of reading and understanding was found to be critical for a child coming from a non-formal schooling background.

The programme runs in several Municipal Corporation Marathi and Urdu medium schools where time slots are allotted specifically to conduct reading sessions by “Book Fairies”, appointed by Swadhar to distribute books to the children appropriate to their interests and grade.

Partnering with NGO Asha for Education, the Chicago chapter, the Asha Community Center aims to provide facilities like support classes, a Library, Abhyasika and Phulora Balwadi, Health camps, counselling and parent meetings are also an integral part of the project.

Sports days, annual social day celebrations, awareness rallies and hobby classes are all conducted at regular intervals. Awareness sessions cover topics such as first aid, maintaining personal hygiene and hygienic surroundings, purification of drinking water, domestic violence, female feticide etc.

The centre in coordination with the Pune Municipal Corporation also tries to provide basic amenities like schools, local transport, playgrounds for children and toilets, which are absent in these border state areas.

A programme being pursued in partnership with NGO Save the Children, Canada and UK. It focuses on bringing relief to children who are infected with HIV and find themselves bearing the brunt of social abuse.

Such children are provided support in the form of nutrition, medicines, love and care, financial assistance for studies, and counselling besides advocating their cause in colleges, schools and communities through creating support groups from within the community.

Akshardeep provides preschool facilities, support classes, catch-up classes or bridge classes, community libraries and resource centres and study centres where children at different stages of their schooling can benefit from appropriate facilities like books, educational toys, teachers etc.

This programme also reaches out to nomadic communities like camel riders, statue makers and fortune tellers who do not have any identity documents, to conduct support classes for their children. E-learning facilities at two centres assist children by providing curriculum-based support while Palak Sabhas are conducted to create awareness among parents as to the Right to education.

Sensing the need of having a secured environment for the children living in the redlight area of the city; Swadhar IDWC started the Mohor project as a "day-shelter" for the children of women into prostitution in 1997. The day shelter was only for a few hours at the time of its inception, but it soon extended for almost the whole day. Later, in the year 2007, the problem of unavailability of night shelter for these children was addressed by the Mohor project by starting a 24x7 shelter home for these children. Since then, Swadhar IDWC- Mohor Project has been providing care, protection and survival for numerous children having severely harsh and grim backgrounds. Over the past several years, Mohor project has steadily extended help for providing the best possible for the children in need of a conducive and healthy environment for their overall development. There has been a steady growth in the scope of work of Mohor and its outreach has extended enormously and is now accommodating children from other adverse backgrounds who are in need of care and protection.

In the year 2005, project ‘Rays of Hope’ was initiated in Pune, with the initial funding from ‘Save the Children Canada and UK’. Project Rays of Hope aims at an overall development of HIV infected and affected children while also addressing the physical, mental and other health issues arising out of starvation as well as several other social problems related to HIV/AIDS. Children under this project are from economically underprivileged strata of society and their chances of facing starvation are alarmingly high. One of the ways to counter this condition and help them to lead a normal healthy life is to lessen their starvation by ensuring that they are properly fed. With this in mind ROH started supplying protein rich groceries and nutritional supplements on a regular/ monthly basis. This has helped them to cope with their condition in a better manner.