Mannat* lives along with his mother Mamta and younger brother Sashi in one of Mumbai’s crowded slums. They came to live here five years ago after their mother Mamta got separated from their father.
In a city where rent rates are among the highest in the world, Mamta and his children were desperate for a place to live. It was a kind relative who came to their rescue – providing them an empty house to live in. So, she did not have to pay rent.
However moving into a new locality alone with two children, both below the age of 5 years, was not an easy start for Mamta. In the initial years Mamta worked in a ‘tabela’ (Hindi word for stable, where cows and buffaloes are bred and taken care of). There she earned a measly sum of Rs. 3000/- a month which was barely enough to sustain herself and two sons.
With what she earned she paid for electricity and gas and daily basic expenses. In addition to her woes, neither she nor her children had any government documents like the Aadhar card and PAN Card. Without this basic documentation in place, Mamta couldn’t enroll her children in any school. Moreover, Mamta just did not have the time, capacity or money to send Mannat to school when he was of school going age. While she worked at the tabela, Mannat and Sashi would be playing in the neighborhood streets.
That’s how Mannat’s education took a back seat and so did his brother’s. Mannat effectively lost the first five years of education.
When our Community Interns met with Mamta and spoke to her about the importance of educating her children, they also informed her about our Beacon Learning Centre (BLC) run in her community where the children could receive free and good quality education. Mannat’s mother herself enthusiastically visited the Centre and admitted her sons in our Education Program.
In June 2022 Mannat, was enrolled in Grade I of our BLC’s Open Basic Education program at the age of 8 years and his brother Sashi was enrolled in Nursery at the age of 5 years. Mannat and his mothers dream to go to school like other children he saw was fulfilled. He gladly received his school starter kit and willingly got his medical and dental screening done. He is a child with a warm and beautiful smile and cooperated very well with the teacher who taught him. He learnt everything from scratch, even to hold a pencil. Today he can write independently. He grasps concepts quickly and is focused too. He interacts well in class and gets along with everyone.He loves to help and teach others. He also helps distribute lunch tiffins to the other children every afternoon. His mother proudly says, “before joining BLC my son would roam around and play all day. Today he is learning and studying.” Mannat says he enjoys coming to school to learn poetry and drawing. He cheerfully says that he wants to be a police so that he can catch thief.
Along with good quality education Mannat and his brother take a nutritious lunch tiffin home, which is enough to share with their mother who has been unwell for almost a year. In the past year she has been suffering from Tuberculosis and was hospitalised. She is now at home but is unable to go to work resulting in no income. The doctors have recommended a healthy diet of milk and an egg daily which we have committed to provide. In this way we can support the mother so that she can recover, stay healthy and look after her children. We believe it is imperative for the mother to receive some support so that the children are sustained in education and we are trying to do what we can to help them. Mamta attends our Focused Group Meetings when it is organised near her home, at other times the Community Case Counsellor drops in to see her while passing by.
Once her health improves we also plan to guide her on how to make the relevant documents; the Aadhar Card and Pan Card which will be useful for the children’s future.
Our main focus for this family now is to help the mother revive back to good health, engage and sustain Mannat and his brother in education and restore their dignity. There are many other families like them who remain stuck in the rut of poverty due to illiteracy and unemployment. We do hope that through our work we can break the chain of illiteracy and bring about intergenerational transformation. We thank you once again dear donors that through your donations we are able to put our love for these families and children into action.
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Vision Rescue exists to rescue children from all forms of exploitation by engaging and sustaining them in education. We are a registered NGO for child education under the Bombay Public Trust Act 1950.
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