CUTTING THE TIES THAT BIND FAMILIES TO POVERTY
It’s been six years since Savita’s* parents moved to Mumbai.
Her father Sanjay* rented a house in the North of Mumbai, but living in one of the largest slum communities in the city, where exploitation is often common, he was afraid to send his little children out on the streets. Savita’s elder brother Ayush* turned four and her parents were worried about his education. Being new to the slum community, Sanjay was even afraid to send his child walking alone to the school outside their slum. It was then that our Community Case Officers met him and introduced free education at Vision Rescue’s Beacon Learning Centre. Sanjay was hesitant at first, but when he learned that our Beacon Learning Centre was right in his slum community and that his child would be safe with us, he agreed to enroll Ayush!
Ayush completed his Junior Kindergarten with us and our Community Case Officer helped his parents enroll him in a formal school nearby.
All this paved the way for Savita’s education. Her father was no longer afraid to send his younger daughter to school because he knew she would be safe with Vision Rescue, just like his son was. In 2019, Sanjay enrolled little Savita in our Beacon Learning Centre. Savita enjoys her studies with us and she is now in our Senior Kindergarten. And her parents are glad to see their children learn and grow with Vision Rescue.
When the nationwide lockdown was announced in 2020, Savita’s father couldn’t go to work anymore. With unemployment came the fear of hunger. Your generous donations and support enabled us to help Savita’s family with groceries each month of the pandemic, from April 2020 well into 2022.
Savita’s education was not affected even during the lockdown because of your gifts that helped her continue studies with us online right from her home!
At Vision Rescue, we believe that to sustain children in education, it is necessary to remove the external physical and mental barriers present in their families and communities that prevent them from learning. To overcome the barrier of unemployment, we encouraged Savita’s father to participate in a month’s Skill Development Course with our partner NGO Pratham.
Quality healthcare too is another barrier that parents face in sustaining their children in education. During the pandemic, Savita’s mother fell sick. They couldn’t identify the cause nor did they have any idea about her diagnosis. That’s when our community counsellor and medical team stepped in to their rescue. Savita’s mother was diagnosed with anaemia. With proper care and guidance, Savita’s mother was soon on her road to recovery.
Our Community Case officer also helped Savita’s father Sanjay to avail of government schemes for low-income families, such as ‘Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana’, which is a government-backed accident insurance scheme that covers accidental death, permanent disability, and partial disability. We also helped Savita’s parents avail of the ‘Sukanya Samriddhi Yojna’ scheme. This scheme was launched under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign with the main aim of securing the future of a girl child. It enables the legal guardians of the girl child to open a savings bank account for her education and marriage!
Savita’s mother also joined our vocational training course.
All these services have helped Savita sustain in education and have empowered her family. From being parents who were wary of sending their children out to school, to today having two children educated through Vision Rescue, as well as learning and growing themselves, what a journey Savita’s parents have come on, thanks to you! Thank you for investing so richly in Savita and her family!
