Empower Girls of Mumbai Slums
Campaign by Vacha Charitable Trust
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Story
Hunger has disrupted many lives in our country. Here is a story of how Sayra overcame hunger and discrimination and rose above her difficult circumstances to graduate and get a fulfilling job.
Sayra lives in a slum in Mumbai and her parents are migrants from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and belong to a minority community. Her neighbour enrolled her at Vacha at the age of 10. She was very talented and showed a lot of promise. But Sayra was weak and fell ill very often. She also could not concentrate on any task and was very irregular at school.
Vacha’s coordinator found that Sayra’s parents could only afford to give her one meal a day. So, Sayra was always hungry, and it led to a lack of concentration and weakness. Sayra was not interested in studying and did not participate in most activities in Vacha.
Vacha began providing her with a nutritious meal every afternoon at the centre. Gradually, Sayra began to gain more strength and attended school regularly. She had the energy to do her homework and learn different art forms at the Vacha Centre. Her participation in the activities at Vacha increased severalfold and she won many of the art competitions. Sayra not only completed her schooling but also did her graduation while continuing to attend programmes at Vacha. She was always the first to volunteer for any work and motivated many of the younger children.
Last year, Vacha employed Sayra as a community coordinator and today she helps identify other girls in similar situations. She also trains young girls coming to the Centre in computers and art. She encourages them to read and be well-informed on matters that matter to their lives and community. Her life has been an inspiration for all Vacha children.
Sadly, Sayra is not a one-off case in most urban slums. Many young children in urban slums live on a single meal every day. They are malnourished and have very low haemoglobin which results in health and emotional complications.
Through Vacha’s skill-building and health programme, every participant at the 16 centres receives simple nutritious snacks daily, additional supplementary nutritious snack on a weekly basis to those found deficient, receives scholarship for education, training in English, Computer, menstrual health and hygiene as well as leadership building.
A small intervention can change the health and education profile of an entire generation living in these urban slums and help them achieve their aspirations. It is for this purpose that we request your financial sponsorship.
-Daily nutritious snack for 650 children across 12 centres cost Rs.16,25,000/- per year
- Weekly extra nutrition for 200 children across 10 centres cost Rs. 7,68,000/- per year.
-Rs.1 lakh for 10 girls to complete their college education. We require support for 100 girls.
-Rs.50000/- for 10 girls to complete their school education. We require the support for 200 girls.
Your donation can make a huge difference in the lives of these children.
Updates
28 Dec, 2024
The scholarship recipients and participants of Vacha's Empowerment Programme are talented, hard-working and highly aspirational. They dream of becoming doctors, engineers, teachers, social workers and much more. However, their socio-economic situations often pose a significant barrier as the families lack financial resource needed to support these ambitions. Furthermore, gender discrimination in families lead to prioritising sons' education over daughters’ educational and career aspirations, placing her lower on the list. Recognising the power and potential of girls’ dreams, Vacha has been providing scholarships to adolescent girls and young women to help bridge this gap.
This year, 313 girls received scholarships. Based on the participants’ level of education, the scholarships were distributed to school going and college going marginalised girls. Impact of the Vacha's Scholarship Programme is attached,
8 Oct, 2024
Vacha team and its programme participants are actively participating in #Daanutsav 2024. We are reaching out to friends, relatives, like minded networks as well as at the Indian Oil petrol pumps (Sahar Road, Marol Naka and Usma Petrol Pumps) to raise funds for education, health and well-being of girls and boys from urban slums in Mumbai and Thane districts.
Sports is one of the important part of our adolescent health programme as regular physical activity can have many benefits for overall health and well-being. It not only improves the physical health but mental health as well, helping girls and boys to develop a positive self-image.
We are excited to share the success of our recent Khelotsav (Play Festival) in Ambernath, an eastern suburban city in Thane district, close to our community centers in the Kalyan-Dombivli area. Thanks to your generous support, we confidently expanded our reach to local schools, where adolescents truly played their hearts out!
What made this Khelotsav special was our focus on inclusion. We thoughtfully incorporated traditional games that resonate with the adolescents in their bastis, such as Bhaura (Spinning Tops), Kanche (Marbles), Basketball, Archery, and Rassi Udi (Jumping Ropes). However, these games are often played in a segregated manner—boys typically enjoy Kanche and Bhaura while girls are left out.
Our Khelotsav aimed to break these barriers by creating a safe and inclusive space for all adolescents to enjoy these games together, promoting sports for everyone!
Given the nature of our work, we recognize the urgent need for more events like Khelotsav. Without such interventions, adolescent girls have limited opportunities for physical activity due to mobility restrictions based on gender identity. Meanwhile, boys often play in unsafe areas surrounded by dumping grounds and open drainages, which adversely affects their health.
With your continued support, we can create even more opportunities for girls to play, fostering a joyful and healthy adolescence for all!
Thank you for being a part of this transformative journey!
Organisers
Vacha Charitable Trust
Beneficiary Charity
Vacha Trust
Organiser
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