Vision Rescue began by feeding vada pav to 6 children at Mahim railway station.
Biju and a small group of his friends began by offering basic education to children who came to the railway station for alms. They first taught and fed the kids along the walkway outside the station and then in the neighboring municipal gardens. As the number of children rose, a secure place had to be found for the children to study and to eat without interruption. Who knew this was going to be the stepping stone to the NGO Vision Rescue in the years to come?
Launched the first Vision Rescue Bus bringing food and education to children in two slum locations - Mahim & Matunga.
The Vision Rescue Bus would park just at the edge of the slum communities and the children would come running onboard for a good time of education and food, leaving their struggles to rest. The Bus Program expanded to 4 Mumbai slum communities and later started in Chennai and Kolkata too.
Kickstarted a Sports Program teaching football and cricket to older children.
Vision Rescue started a sports education program for children in slum communities, which provides older children and teens with a healthy outlet for their energy. For those not interested in education within the Bus, this Sports Program prevented at-risk children from getting pulled into social evils such as substance abuse and addiction.
Launched a Medical Van & Dental Van bringing healthcare to the doorsteps of children and families in need.
In order to sustain children in education, families must be healthy. So Vision Rescue started a health program that sends mobile medical and dental units into slums to provide healthcare and host events to educate communities about immunizations, infectious diseases, and hygiene. Additionally, counseling services were provided to adults struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.
Established the first Beacon Learning Centre in Kalwa slum community.
Over time, it became obvious that the needs in slum communities were far higher than what the mobile units would service in the slum communities of Mumbai. The team observed that the best way to sustain a child’s interest in education is to provide comprehensive support for that child’s family. It was time to 'think beyond the bus.' This led to the launch of the Vision Rescue Beacon Learning Centers, classrooms set up first within the slum community at Kalwa, then in Mandala, Shivajinagar, Maharashtra Nagar etc.
Set up Vision Rescue Community Centres and Beacon Learning Centres in 5 slum communities.
While the Beacon Learning Centres educate children, the Community Centres provide vital services to their families and slum community at large to sustain children in education, ranging from awareness camps on civic issues to community development training programs.
Launched Skills Training courses to upskill mothers and older sisters of our children.
The Skills Training program offers courses such as tailoring, mehendi design, paper-bag making, fashion jewellery making to mothers of our Beacon Learning Centre children, for adolescent girls who had dropped out of education and for young, unskilled women. The aim of this program is to help women become financially independent so that they can eventually sustain their children in education in the years to come.
Launched The Movement India - Vision Rescue’s volunteer arm.
The Movement India seeks to match the skill abundance at colleges and corporates in India’s megacities with the need for abundance of India’s slum communities. The Movement India mobilises volunteer talent to serve in the areas of human trafficking, mental health and education for poor income communities.
Launched the School Support Program.
The School Support Program aims to equip and empower municipal schools near slum communities with the best practices in education so that children from impoverished backgrounds can sustain in their studies.
Launched the Vision Rescue Culinary Training Institute.
As an extension of the skills training services for the unemployed and unskilled family members of our children, we launched the Culinary Training Institute that equips mothers and youth with culinary skills followed by employment opportunities provided in collaboration with leading hospitality industry partners.
Launched nationwide Covid-19 relief efforts.
The pandemic years severely impacted the poor and vulnerable communities in our areas of operations and nationwide. We witnessed a growing hunger crisis and rising malnutrition among children; an overburdened healthcare system and underprivileged children being left behind without access to digital education. To combat these three issues, we launched nationwide distributions of first, Emergency Grocery Bags and High-Nutrition Grocery Kits for communities, second, protective provisions distributions for covid-19 institutions & third educational tabs for children to study online.