Udaan - Let her dreams ascend.

The latest data* released by Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) in 2020-21 reveals that although at primary level, the dropout rate in 2020-21 was only 0.8 per cent, but at secondary level (Class 9-10), it was 14.6 per cent, which is seriously alarming. Government agencies, nonprofits and other civil society groups do engage with children and their families for better turnout at schools but the overall picture hasn’t changed much since decades.

The education of girl children in India is still a grave issue. Where many girls are still deprived of education and are made to leave their studies one such sector belongs to the marginalised section of society (slums, rural). This economically weaker section cannot avail of education for their children due to lack of funds, such issues have deepened post-COVID-19 where many families were affected and took a hit on their livelihood. Children are not even availed of basic sanitary requirements resulting in poor health. The slums in Lucknow and other working areas of SES i.e. Balrampur and Siddharth Nagar are ever-growing with many children belonging to low-income families and lacking basic rights. The children in these areas are susceptible to several health hazards and lack basic education resulting in their poor development. The girls in these slums are expected to work rather than get basic education to make the ends meet. Through your support, we can ensure a basic education and proper health care for these children to make their future better.

*(Source: *The Print, Nikhil Rampal, 6 June, 2022, **JS Trust, September 14, 2020)

UDAAN is an initiative by Shohratgarh Environmental Society (SES) to ensure girl children in marginalised and vulnerable communities have access to their basic fundamental rights especially education, healthcare and protection. The initiative is aimed at creating an enabling environment for children so they may enjoy a childhood all children deserve. We work with communities to ensure enrolment of out-of-school children and strive to sensitise school management committees and local administration on the need to promote child rights proactively. We help to ensure children have access to nutrition and health services. We also work with children to build their life skills and orient them on rights and entitlements.

As a large chunk of the young generation contribute to the population of India and their inability to attend regular school will undeniably have implications on societal growth and prosperity of India as well. Shohratgarh Environmental Society (SES) has decided to connect these dropout girls (between 11-19 years) with regular school education back again so there is no obstacle in their learning process. Stories of young girls highlighted in our fundraising campaign have been collected from grassroots level who had to drop out from their schools due to family’s poor economic conditions. The campaign will pay school tuition for these girls for one full year to let them study without any interruption . This fundraising campaign intends to promote the spirit to education and inspire others to support the cause of girl child education .

• SES will identify girls who have dropped out of regular schooling due to economic conditions and sensitisation of communities on related health issues.
• Will engage with their families and stakeholders motivating them to send their girls to schools.
• The funds received will be used to deposit their fee, buy learning material, school dress and other items.
• Concise reports of these developments shall be shared on this platform to ensure better transparency and trust of donors.