Happy Kids Program

Children in the slum communities of Mumbai are rendered vulnerable due to loss of one or both parents. With the loss of breadwinners as well as nurturers, families are limping to care for their young children. This leaves children vulnerable and dependent on people who are unable to provide in the best interest of the child. This creates an unhealthy environment and a fertile ground for dropouts, child abuse, violence and emotional insecurity. Covid19 has increased the number of vulnerable children and they are witnessing unprecedented times, as the institution of family that was once their safe space may no longer be able to provide the much needed environment for their growth and wellbeing. There is a massive need for institutional care and handholding to restore the holistic wellbeing of these vulnerable children. Hence the Happy Kids Program has partnered with residential schools in Maharashtra that can provide the much needed support and human care of these kids.

We propose an intervention for the education and wellbeing of vulnerable children through the Happy Kids program.

The Happy Kids program identifies children who are extremely vulnerable due to loss of parents, abuse, extreme deprivation or dwelling on pavements, through partners like Akanksha, Teach For India & CORP. When a child is found to be vulnerable in the existing environment, we enroll her/him in our program and our team handholds the child into a safer environment, through quality residential schooling in Panchgani, Nashik, Pune. The intervention continues till the completion of education, so as to eliminate the risks of dropouts, abuse, child labor and child marriage. The program takes care of the education, health, nutrition, extracurricular development and any additional supporting needs of the child to ensure that the child completes her/ his education so as to eliminate the risks of dropouts, child labor and early marriage.

Till date 49 kids have been supported by the program and our alumni today are professionally employed, independent adults.

The outcomes of the Happy Kids Program are

1. Academic Achievement - The safe and stable environment provided by the residential schools helps the child to stay focused and grow academically till 10th Std. Post that the Ra Team and mentors handhold the child throughout their college education to pursue a vocation/stream of their choice, ensuring that they complete their academic lifecycle.
2. Personal Development - The stable environment provided by residential schooling promotes better mental health facilitating personal development. The focus on developing hobbies and interests as part of an education program, improves their social and communication skills, makes them more creative and confident and enables them to make better life decisions.
3. Healthy Kids: Due to the residential schooling of the kids, they are provided with timely healthy meals, 3 times a day. The schools also provide scheduled time for physical activity in the playground. This ensures that the kids receive the required nutrition and physical activity to help them grow and build a good immune system in their formative years.
4. Financial Independence - The program provides the right mix of academic and social skills, goal based mentoring and skill based training to enable the child to make a desired career choice and become economically independent. The financial independence of the kids also translates into the financial independence of their families/ dependents.