Laadli Remedial Education & Community Development Program

One of the major indicators of a progressive society is the status of women- their level of engagement in economic activities, access to basic entitlements like health, education, level of participation in socio-political activities and the power they are able to wield to influence the decisions that determine the future of their families, communities and countries at large.

However, in India, just like in many other developing and least developed countries, gender inequality has proved to be a major barrier to sustainable development.

Along with lack of access to basic entitlements, the declining trend in child sex ratio, that is, the number of girl children (0-6 years) per 1,000 boy children (0-6 years), has led to the creation of a vicious intergenerational cycle of gender inequality across India. Changes in Child Sex Ratio index reflects underlying socio-economic and cultural patterns of the society, especially its attitude towards the girl child[1].

There are certain barriers to development of women in Jaipur, particularly the lack of available water mainly owing to the arid climate conditions. The slums in the city are the worst affected by this problem and women and young girls are forced to walk for miles to fetch water, most of which is unfit for drinking. Secondly, the district of Jaipur, following the state trend, has a skewed sex ratio of just 910 females per thousand males, which reflects deeply entrenched cultural and sociological barriers to women's development[2]. Though the literacy rate in Jaipur district is 75.5 percent, higher than the State Average of 66.1 percent, yet the gender gap in the literacy rate, at 22.1 percent, is a major concern[3].

Girl children, especially those hailing from underprivileged communities are deprived of quality education, nutrition, health care and are a target for abuse and neglect due to deeply entrenched socio-cultural traditions. And there is hardly any recognition of the fact that these children have immense potential as individuals and have the fundamental right to access services related to education and health. There are a significant number of girl children who are not enrolled in school. Those who are enrolled are expected to fulfill gender specific roles and responsibilities, like helping with household chores, tending younger siblings, taking care of cattle, fetching water, or engagement in economic activities and they often have to miss school. Several girls are not allowed to attend school after attaining puberty. Child marriages and early marriages are also rampant.

These existential experiences, coupled with the lack of effective parental support in nurturing girl children’s education have grossly undermined the standards of female education in Jaipur and thus most girl children’s potential to access quality basic education and / or to succeed at school.

[1] http://www.actionaid.org/sites/files/actionaid/child_sex_ratio_presentation_by_census_commissioner.pdf

[2]    http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTURBANDEVELOPMENT/Resources/336387 1272506514747/Parmar.pdf

[3]    http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/0812_PART_B_DCHB_JAIPUR.pdf

The proposed project shall be an integrated, intensive and culturally sensitive intervention which aims to enhance educational and skill attainment levels of girls hailing from underprivileged communities and, thus strengthen efforts to reduce the prevailing gender disparity, which is one of the major challenges across the state.

The proposed project has two main themes/components- i) remedial education for 80 school going girl (10-15 years) and ii) training on stitching and tailoring for 20 secondary/senior secondary pass out and school drop out girls (16-18 years). The sub-themes/sub-components of the project include training on computer, Communicative English, reading skills, life skills, self-defense, sessions on health, hygiene and nutrition for all the girls.

The teaching and training sessions shall be conducted in the Laadli Community Center in Amer town of Jaipur City. 

Considering the background of the girls, the process shall aim at delivering a child-friendly and gender sensitive education in an environment where the dignity of the girl child is respected and where her rights in relation to education and sustainable development are put on the forefront. Accordingly, the project implementation team will reach out to the girls, their parents/guardians, their teachers in addition to advocating for and preparing an ambient environment for the practice of rights of the girl child, while sensitizing community, decision makers and the public at large. In this connection, appropriate awareness generation material shall be developed in addition to developing suitable teaching/ learning activity modules that will facilitate the delivery of a child friendly and gender sensitive education.

IMPACT EDUCATION :

Currently we are running 2 Centers in Jaipur

-       608 Girls Out of School benefited through Remedial Education Program

-       125 Girls Benefited through Outreach Scholarship Program

-       Educational Material Support provided to 13158 children in Government School

-       39 Life Skill and 45 Soft Skill Workshop organized for overall development of children

IMPACT SKILL DEVELOPMENT :

-       1080 Girls and Women Trained on various Courses like Tailoring, handicraft, Jewellery making  and Placed in various Roles with Start-ups and Enterprises

-       1221 Days – 3690 Manhour Training Imparted on 22 Courses

Currently We are running 2 Centers in Jaipur, We aim to expand to 5 Centers in Jaipur and 5 Centers in Rural Parts of Rajasthan targeting 10000 Beneficiaries