Big dreams, small beginnings
Three-year-old Sana* joined our Beacon Learning Centre bang in the middle of the pandemic.
India was struggling through a devastating first wave of the coronavirus in 2020. Social distancing and lockdown rules were employed throughout the country resulting in the loss of millions of jobs specifically among daily-wage labourers and informal-sector workers – a large proportion of whom are migrants. One of those affected was Sana’s father.
Sana’s father had migrated to the financial capital of the country – Mumbai – in search of job opportunities over a decade ago. He made one of the poorest slums in the city, his home, and settled into a makeshift hutment there. Living in an unauthorised settlement like this one meant that Sana’s father, like all others in the community, had to pay hefty charges to private vendors to avail basic necessities such as electricity and water. Sana’s father worked every daily-wage job available to provide for his little family.
When our Case Officer first visited Sana’s house, we found out that poverty had taken its toll on Sana and her family’s bodies. Sana wasn’t getting proper nutrition and the family was living in unhygienic surroundings with no proper space to even sleep at night. Through our Case Management program our Case Officer set clear targets and goals for Sana’s family to slowly break out of the bondage of cyclical poverty and start to live with dignity. Our Case officer did regular follow-ups with Sana and her family to track their progress. It was at this time that Sana joined our Beacon Learning Centre, inside her slum community, for nursery classes.
During the pandemic, Sana’s father was unable to find even daily-wage work. With no savings remaining, their house rent and bills began to pile up. But throughout this time, your donations paved the way for us to meet progress goals for Sana and her family, starting with quality education for Sana, health assessments and dental checkups for her and health awareness camps, government scheme information and much more for her family. Your gifts also reached out to Sana’s family with a grocery kit each month throughout the pandemic and hearty nutritious snacks for Sana too.
Sana continued her studies online with us throughout the pandemic. Gradually, Sana’s mother began attending our focus group meetings and parents’ meetings. She was overjoyed to see her daughter’s progress at the Open House meeting for parents and teachers.
Sana dreams of becoming a teacher when she grows up and we can’t wait to enroll her in formal school soon.
Thank you for standing strong with Sana and her family throughout the pandemic. It was your support that opened the doors of education for little Sana even during the nationwide lockdown. It’s your donations that have ensured that she sticks with her education despite all the difficulties that have come their way since.
