Building Learning Center for children living in slum communities

Many slum community clusters exist in huge population and multiple dynamics across Dahisar and Borivali, suburbs of Mumbai. Thousands of families and children within these slum clusters face basic resource challenges, one being education itself. It is very well known fact that this huge population live in economically, socially, psychologically challenged circumstances leaving them with less or sometimes no opportunities to avail support for enhancing their quality of life.

We currently run 3 Community Centers in open spaces and temples at Ganpat Patil Nagar slum area. We provide Learning, Healing and Art opportunities and platform to the children. We also provide counseling, healing and awareness programs to the mothers. More and more parents want to send their children to learn. However, the space constraint, little resources and funds limit us to offer such opportunities to more number of children.

Lack of physical infrastructure results in challenges to conduct the regular activity classes during monsoon, festivals etc.

We want to build a Learning Center for children- a rented physical infrastructure, which will provide a safe, conducive, growth-oriented and educational environment for the development of the existing children and to enroll more children in our program.

The Learning Center will be run by our empowered Community Leaders - college students who have learned at Touching Lives, received formal teacher's training and have joined the team to share the gift of education with other children.

This will also enable us to recruit passionate leaders and change-makers to teach/mentor and lead the project and take the vision forward.

The in-house developed 'self-work approach/curriculum (supplementary education)' will provide:

1.     Learning & Education: English, Academics (Math, Science, etc.), Technology, Humanities

2.     Wellness

·        Mental Health: Therapies (Reiki, Emotional freedom technique, etc.), Activities (Art based therapy, Expressive therapy, etc.)

·        Spiritual Health: Healing, Meditation, Connection with Earth

·        Physical Health: Yoga, Sports, Movements

3. Conscious Relationships: Work with children/parents/community, Counseling

Existing number of children in 3 Community Centers - 60

Number of mothers in Healing Program - 25

Number of Community Leaders - 7

Program Head - 1

The funds raised through this campaign will help to :

• Set-up classrooms of the Learning Center
• Operational expenses and Educational Resources for one year

Our overall goal is to help the children to Recover, Discover and Do what they realize for themselves and for the world.

Child-Oriented impact:

• Build strong foundation in Education
• Support emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual development
• Bring them to their age appropriate level of learning
• Enroll them in formal schooling
• Equip with tools for healthy self, family, world relationships
• Provide life-skills, vocational and leadership training
• Sponsorship for higher studies

Parent-Oriented impact:

• Educate them towards child development and child care
• Tools for self-care and relationships
• Practical awareness towards the education of their children

Community oriented impact:

• Awareness towards community living / safe environment
• Developing children to become role models for other community people and children
• Including them in the development of the program