Project Resume

Mumbai’s slums occupy 6% of the city's land but are home to 54% of its population. Family incomes are less than Rs. 8,000 a month. Uncertain and fluctuating incomes typically force children, in particular girls, out of the school system as soon as they are deemed capable of contributing to the family income or multiple domestic chores. The absolute poverty has deterred the pursuit of formal education as it is not deemed a high priority as compared to other basic necessities.

Abysmally low levels of quality education in the local public schools with no competent assistance, generationally illiterate parents, sheer lack of physical space needed to allow children to be curious, creative and intelligent, further compounds the problem. 9 out of 10 of India’s most disadvantaged children who grow up in Mumbai’s slums drop out of school, face the risk of child labour and substance abuse, tobacco in particular. Every day, more than 5,500 children in India below the age of 15 are estimated to try tobacco for the first time.

Project Résumé helps children broaden their vision by highlighting the importance of studying and providing enriching life experiences. The program helps children make informed decisions, equips them with necessary life skills, and teaches them vocational skills for sustainable careers. All this is achieved through engaging child-friendly programmes in arts, sports, media, and skill-training.

Project Résumé gives children the means to earn part-time as they study, increase self-esteem, build confidence, shape them into role models for younger children in their communities and encourage them to stay in school.

Project Résumé consists of the Academy of Sports, Arts and Media, and the skills@school programme. These programmes are known to build self-worth of the child by providing a platform for mentorship and skill development, to achieve a productive life marked by aspiration, achievement and economic self-sufficiency.

The program enables children to achieve personal and economic empowerment through experiential platforms of learning such as Sports, Arts, Media and Vocational Skills. Each child enrolled will complete specific training for skills across Cricket, Hockey (sports), Dance, Music, Theatre (arts) or Beauty & Wellness; Hospitality, Retail Management, Home Appliance Repair, Tailoring, Mobile Repairing and Computer Hardware (Vocational). Each child enrolled will complete a minimum of 120 and a maximum of 150 training hours by opting-in to either of these specific career pathways.

Listing below two key objectives of implementing Project Résumé at the school level:

To ensure the child stays in school

The primary objective of Project Résumé is to motivate under-privileged children studying in the Government run high schools to complete their basic education till Class 12 (High School). With exposure to world-class training and performance opportunities, the program makes school an attractive choice for children and their families, promoting higher retention rates at the school level.

Through the introduction of Vocational Skills, children are provided with the opportunity to learn an additional skill that will help them earn a livelihood while still pursuing their education. Platforms such as Project Résumé enable the child to express themselves, find their voice, get noticed and discover themselves for the first time.

To prepare the children for higher education or relevant employment opportunities in future

Project Résumé provides children with the opportunity to develop skills that enable them to enhance their ability to earn a higher income, besides unlocking avenues for further education. The goal is to use innovative and engaging tools of education to leverage unused potential of underserved youth and their families, who would otherwise drop out of school to pursue low paying unskilled jobs or early marriage.

Through each program, be it Arts, Sports, Media or Vocational Skills, the students are trained to be workplace ready where desirable life skills such as reliability, confidence, communication, team work, self-determination, and leadership are imparted. These programs also actively work toward reducing the skill gap that would later affect the child’s ability to secure a sustainable job.