When Vision Rescue met with Sumer* and his family for the first time about a year ago, the family was in the middle of major turmoil. Sumer’s mother Parimala was a victim of domestic violence, as a result of which she was now a single parent, and had moved in with her parents. Sumer’s father Deva had returned back to their village in Uttar Pradesh, leaving them behind.
The small house Sumer and his family lived in belonged to Sumer’s maternal grandparents who have been Mumbai residents for over 40 years. Six members live here, making it very congested. Their home is located in one of the slums North of Mumbai, and is the biggest and fastest growing in the Thane District. Sumer’s mother Parimala didn’t know much about her surroundings because she rarely ventured out of her home. She was so scarred by her experiences, that she couldn’t even fend for herself after her husband left her.
Parimla was already dealing with the trauma of domestic violence, and separation from her spouse, as well as looking after an infant – Sumer’s younger sibling – at the time we met her. Her parents were her only support, so she continued to live in their house along with her children. In all of this chaos, Sumer’s education was of least priority as his mother couldn’t afford to send him to school and his grandparents were already heavily in debt. He was four years old when Vision Rescue first met him.
During Vision Rescue’s Mission Admission enrollment drive in June 2022, we met Sumer and his mother, and welcomed Sumer into our Beacon Learning Centre (BLC) in the Nursery class. Our Community Case Officer counselled Sumer’s mother about the importance of Early Childhood Education, and she was glad that her son could finally receive the love, care and attention he so needed, along with quality pre-primary education at our Centre.
Like most children Sumer cried through most of week one in our classrooms, but once he settled in, he coped well and got along well with all the other children. Thanks to the timely donations of Vision Rescue supporters like you we were able to give him and all 1400 children in our Beacon Learning Centres across Mumbai, a free School Starter Kit – comprising a school bag, uniforms, textbooks, stationery and more. Sumer was thrilled to hold it all as it was his first time receiving so many new things at once!
It is almost the end of the academic year now and Sumer has learnt the alphabet and numbers, as well as several poems. He has made friends and is happy to come neatly and tidily to our Centre. When Sumer leaves each afternoon he gladly takes back with him his lunch tiffin. Once again, thanks to you donors, we are able to provide each child with a rich nutritious meal curated in partnership with certified nutritionists and targeted at providing every child a wholesome meal comprising the vital vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates of a healthy diet.
As Sumer grew in education at our BLC, our Community Case Officer spent time with his mother at their home, and soon enough the stark difficulties his family faced came to light. We intervened to help the family so that Sumer could continue to be sustained in our education program. His mother Parimala was still anxious about stepping out of her home, thanks to the trauma of her past. Our Community Case Officer encouraged her to pick up one of our Skill Development & Livelihood courses, but she was reluctant.
After some convincing and counselling Parimala enrolled in and completed a paper bag-making course with us. She also started attending our health and dental awareness programs when she got time. Sumer and his mother soon became active beneficiaries of Vision Rescue’s services in their community. She also felt empowered to take up a small job of making ‘rakhis’ (thread decorative bracelets) from home for a small-scale company in the locality.
The highlight of Sumer and his mother’s growth journey with us was when the family received a grant of Rs. 10,000/- under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Pheriwala Government Scheme’ to run a small scale business. Vision Rescue organised the awareness and enrollment Campaign for this Government scheme in their community and Sumer’s family was one of the many families who had applied for it and received it.
Today his grandparents run a small snack cart in the local market with the capital amount received. Even though they earn a bare minimum of Rs. 250 to 300 per day, it is a consistent source of income. They still do not have enough money to pay their house rent, light and water bills but are living one day at a time with the amount they earn from this business.
We are simultaneously trying to empower his mother to enrol in our income generating activities so that she may be able to sustain herself, her family and restore her dignity. We do hope that this family can be an inspiration to others like them in the community by making their child’s education a priority.
We are happy to see how the family has transitioned from a high-risk living environment with no means of stable sustenance to a medium-risk environment with basic means of survival in place and free quality education for their son. We do believe that the education given to this child can be a game-changer for this family’s future. Till then, with your help and support we will continue to address one need at a time!
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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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