Ambika’s mother Renuka would often observe children in her slum community coming to our Beacon Learning Centre in their bright yellow uniforms. Her curiosity increased even more when she saw them actually excited about coming to a classroom every single day!
Renuka’s own children Ganesh and Ambika weren’t part of any formal education as they were still in their pre-primary years. The free schools nearby admitted only children older than 6 years.
Renuka’s husband Anil was the family’s sole breadwinner. He worked as a daily-waged painter, and on his income they could afford just their basic survival needs. Educating the little children at a private school was not an option for them.
Renuka came up to our Beacon Learning Centre one day and asked if her older son Ganesh could join our classes. We gladly welcomed him in! Next his little sister Ambika joined us too.
While the children received free, quality education, Renuka joined our focus group meetings and actively participated in every activity. She did not stop there but went on to become our Community Champion, volunteering to empower others in her community with vital information about education, healthcare, nutrition etc. However, Renuka had to step back eventually because her husband’s income was no longer enough to sustain the family. She took up work as a daily-waged sweeper to help make ends meet.
Renuka and Anil were so grateful to Vision Rescue’s Beacon Learning Centre for providing their children with free education, that one day Anil even volunteered to paint our classroom walls with a few of his friends!
When the first lockdown was announced in Mumbai in March 2020, Ambika’s parents lost their jobs and they struggled to keep a roof over their heads. In their most difficult times, your donations stepped in to help her family with groceries every month and hearty nutritious snacks for the children.
From March last year, all education institutions across India have been physically closed. Our Beacon Learning Centres too had to transition online. Achieving a successful transition for children in slum communities, where a majority do not have access to even working smartphones and Internet, was difficult. At first, we could only reach about 400 children who had at least one working device at home.
Ambika was not one of those children, as their family didn’t have a phone and couldn’t afford one. Ambika desperately wanted to continue her education with us though. That’s when, once again, your donations enabled us to send an Education Representative to teach Ambika right at her home! Ambika has successfully completed the academic year with us through this Education Representative’s device in March 2021.
As lockdowns are lifted nationwide now, Ambika’s mother and father are once again looking for work. Their dream is to buy a smartphone so that their children can freely study at home any time they like, without being dependent on anyone else.
Ambika’s family is thankful and grateful for all that you do for them. Thank you for Reaching out with Love to this precious family!
