Child First

The Covid-19's devastating effects pushed 1000 families in Manthan's catchment area into extreme poverty. Marginalized in nature, these families faced higher levels of distress in the pandemic. They lost their livelihoods, had to face the difficulty of barely getting 2 meals a day, and were unable to take care of their children. Rendering many children homeless and orphaned, currently, there are 3000 children in the age group of 6 to14 years who have no source of education and are not enrolled in any school. More than 100 children among the 3000 are either orphaned or have lost the main breadwinner of the family and have only one parent. With no one to take care of them, these children are at a high risk of being exposed to child labour, trafficking, and abuse.

Manthan plans to run a residential hostel on its campus, where some of the most marginalized children can be cared for and nurtured. Owing to the migrant nature of their families, these children are unable to get enrolled in a government school. Through this project, Manthan aims to provide a platform to these children where they can study in a safe and secure environment, and do not have to face the harsh realities of dropping out and having gaps in their schooling. At Manthan, we deeply understand the importance of education which resulted in this project. This hostel will not only provide children with regular meals and education facilities but also a safe, enabling, and thriving environment that encourages them to build a solid future. We have been running a hostel program for some children from vulnerable groups over the last year but are in need of funds to continue running this program.

1. A safe and healthy environment for children from marginalized communities, who are orphaned or whose parents cannot afford to raise them
2. Holistic development of every child in the area
3. Decrease in child dropout rate from schools in Kotri
4. Lower levels of children getting trapped in unfortunate and risky circumstances such as abuse and trafficking