Help a Girl to Live Life With Dignity

Hunger has disrupted many lives in our country. Here is a story of how Alisba overcame hunger and discrimination and rose above her difficult circumstances to graduate and get a fulfilling job.

Alisba 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 Alisba 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 Alisba’s parents could only afford to give her one meal a day. So Alisba was always hungry and it led to a lack of concentration and weakness. Alisba 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, Alisba 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. Alisba 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 Alisba 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, Alisba 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 health programme, every participant at the 16 centres has their health parameters monitored. Vacha then provides simple nutritious snacks daily to all participants and a supplementary nutritious snack on a weekly basis to those found deficient.

A small intervention can change the health 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 300 children across 5 centres cost Rs. 7,50,000/- per year

 Weekly extra nutrition for 150 children across 5 centres cost Rs. 5,76,000/- per year

Your help can make a huge difference in the lives of these children.