Ishan*’s family moved to Mumbai from their village in UP in the year 2015, before he was even born. Their house back in their hometown had 17 family members living under one roof with only five earning members. In their community of farmers, they were disadvantaged, as they did not have their own farm – they were at the mercy of landed wealthy farm-lords to provide them with daily-wage labour for survival.
Health care facilities and schools were far and inaccessible. The family entered into financial struggle after struggle, and finally, Ishan’s father Aziz decided to migrate to Mumbai to find work, better accommodation and better education for the children.
Aziz along with his wife Nazma and four children moved to Mumbai together and began to live in a slum to the North of Mumbai. However, moving to Mumbai did not bring them much relief. Basic necessities like accessing a toilet daily, and reaching a hospital in an emergency were still a struggle. Like most of their neighbours in the slum community, they too lived in a ‘Kutcha’ house (made of poles and tin sheets). When the rains came, their roof leaked and the house flooded. One monsoon, the flooding was so bad, the children could neither sit nor sleep in their house floor.
Pre-pandemic, when Vision Rescue’s interns were doing a survey in the community to enrol non-school going children for the new academic year, they came in contact with Ishan and his siblings – out of school and in desperate need of help. Ishan’s elder brother was enrolled in our Open Based Education course – designed to bridge children who have been out of education for long, back into formal schooling. After a year of coaching with us, he successfully aced his exams, and is now in formal school.
By this time, Ishan’s father Aziz managed to find a job as a daily wage labourer while his mother was busy with household chores and caring for their four children. Having her hands full with household chores meant she couldn’t work outside of home and contribute to the family income.
Life in the slum community continued to be a struggle for them. Their neighbourhood saw frequent violence and fights.The children couldn’t play freely outside the home, nor could they study peacefully in their own home. Through all this turmoil, Ishan’s parents decided that come what may, they wouldn’t compromise on the education of any of their children.
During the pandemic, their resolve was tested to the hilt. Our classrooms were closed, Aziz could find no work, and surviving on no income was a nightmare. Every month of the pandemic, for almost two years, Vision Rescue’s community of donors provided the family with groceries for the month’s meals and even snacks for the children. It was the generous donations of kind people like you that provided for Ishan’s family and 1300+ other families like them during the pandemic. And when the worst of the monsoons hit, mid-pandemic, Vision Rescue donors even stepped in to provide tarpaulin sheets for their hutments.
Post-pandemic, our staff helped enrol Ishan’s sister directly into formal school, and when it was time for Ishan to start education, he too joined our Beacon Learning Centre Junior Kindergarten, along with his twin brother Jishaan* in 2021.
At our classes, Ishan & Jishaan were happy to receive their School Starter Kit which included a school bag, a raincoat, sandals and books. They also got all their medical and dental check ups done. Every weekday, the children cheerfully take home a lunch tiffin, packed to the brim with nutritious food, and for all these gifts services for the children, we are so grateful to you, our community of donors.
In slum communities like Ishan’s, where families have more than two children, which they usually do, the chances of the elder siblings dropping out to look after the younger ones is high. If the children are close in age there is also a possibility that the education of some of the children, especially the girls, get neglected as the family finds it difficult to afford or pay attention to each one’s education. With other financial problems and the need to somehow make ends meet, children’s education becomes the family’s last priority. A situation such as this was prevented in Ishan’s family and Ishan was able to join school smoothly at the right age without any obstacles because his education was just a hop, skip and jump away within the community he lived in.
Ishan’s mother says, “My children have benefitted so much from the education provided by Vision Rescue. If it were not for the classes right in our community, we would have had a tough time managing the home as well as their education. As the children were in the Vision Rescue classes, we were able to survive during the pandemic too. The ration we received during the pandemic was of great help to us, especially because my husband was not able to go to work during that time.”
Ishan is now five and he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. His teacher says that when he first joined school he was very silent but through the activities in class and play he gradually started opening up and interacting with other students. He now identifies and writes numbers and letters well. We look forward to the time when he will go to formal school like his elder siblings.
There are many others in the slum community like Ishan who have many siblings and their families find it difficult to prioritise the education of all of them amidst their acute poverty. With the support and cooperation of you, donors, these children are able to enjoy their right to free and good quality education within the safety of their community, just a hop, skip and jump away.
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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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