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Sunbeam - A Ray of Hope MISSION
TO
TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF UNDERPRIVILEGED INDIAN CHILDREN GIVING THEM
AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALISE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. OBJECTIVES
1.
TO OVERSEE THE HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN
– THEIR PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EDUCATIONAL NEEDS. 2.
TO MOTIVATE
AND EMPOWER THE COMMUNITY TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT
OF THEIR CHILDREN. TO
MAKE SUNBEAM INTERVENTION A PROGRAMME OF TRANSFORMATION RATHER THAN
SERVICE DELIVERY – WITH CLARITY ON WITHDRAWAL STRATEGY, SO THAT THE
COMMUNITY CAN BECOME INDEPENDENT AND SELF-RELIANT. ACTIVITIES
UNDERTAKEN (IMPACT OF OUR INTERVENTION)
EDUCATION
(Non
Formal and Formal) More
than just the ability to read and write, education gives them confidence
in themselves. With space
generously donated by contractors at construction sites or by the
Education Officer in BMC schools, we conduct Balwadis for pre-primary
children (age-group 3 to 5) and Non Formal Education (NFE) classes
for newcomers at our existing centres / new initiatives (age-group
6 and above). On
a regular basis, we introduce sessions like songs, drama, drawing
and poetry to enliven the atmosphere in the classroom so as to make
studies more interesting. Once
the children have mastered the basics, they are made to join the mainstream,
with the centre giving them the appropriate coaching even after they
have joined formal schools. Bridge
courses are conducted for children who are of age-group 5 to 10 but
those who have never had an opportunity to attend formal schools.
Appropriate training is imparted to enable them to join the
mainstream by ensuring direct admissions to classes based on their
age and aptitude. Today,
80% of the children attending Sunbeam study classes are up to the
desired levels in the academics and only 20% still attend bridge courses.
By the beginning of the next academic year i.e. June – 05 we aim to
bring them too up to the desired levels at the formal schools they
study in. 1.
HEALTHCARE AND NUTRITION This
covers the aspects of nutrition, health awareness, and counseling.
When we started, healthcare was never a priority with the parents.
Now they are empowered enough to take the responsibility of
their children’s healthcare.
These communities avail of the medical facilities available
at the Government clinics / hospitals.
They also provide nutritive meals to their children. Hence, our midday meals programme is limited only to the street
children. 2.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Over
a period of time we have realised that Sunbeam would have achieved
little without the underlying support from the parents.
In order to understand the children, their motivation, and
their behaviour, it is important for us to build a rapport with the
parents. Contrary to
popular belief, they are very concerned about their children’s welfare
and would like to give them the best opportunities.
They want to be a part of this positive change that is taking
place in their children’s lives.
Therefore, we have introduced community meetings once a month
to give them an opportunity to share their thoughts with us.
Here it must also be mentioned that they willingly contribute
part of the expenditure incurred on each child.
There has been a steady decline of dependency levels on Sunbeam. 3.
RECREATION Earlier
on in the project we realized the importance of this aspect.
Homework would be completed doubly fast, with the brighter
ones coaching, coaxing and even scolding those who had trouble catching
up. So, we regularly
take the children on excursions to places of interest or parks.
Besides being a channel for entertainment, we believe that
recreation can also be instructive.
So we arrange to take our children on exposure visits. We
have also been fortunate to have the services of NGOs such as Magic
Bus as well as individual donors who have been sponsoring overnight
outstation camps. Thanks
to Magic Bus, sports too has become a weekly activity for our children,
thereby utilizing a child’s potential to its fullest. ABOUT
SUNBEAM
Sunbeam is a story written
by many tiny hands - hands of street children, slum children, children
of migrant construction workers. Children who very early on learn
that dreams are not for them.
II TOTAL OUTREACH
– CENTERWISE NUMBER OF CHILDREN – OCT’04
III IMPACT OF OUR INTERVENTION – 685CHILDREN.
ACADEMIC
YEAR – 04 – 05
SUNBEAM
HISTORY
Sunbeam started out as an unusual friendship
in 1996. Between six children at a construction site and Khurshid
Dabdi and her colleagues, who worked in the adjacent CRY office. Soon,
a collection bag went around and money was pooled in to start the
‘Neighbourhood Project’. The contributions took care of their immediate
needs - a nutritious meal and colouring books! The construction ended in two years time,
but not without setting the foundation for something bigger. The Neighbourhood
Project crystallised into Sunbeam and the first centre was set up
at Arthur Road with 18 children. On 10 December 1999, Khurshid Dabdi,
along with two colleagues, and with encouragement from the CRY management,
registered Sunbeam as a charitable trust. Today, the Sunbeam family includes 650
children in 5 centres, 18 teachers and hundreds of volunteers and
donors. All of who believe that childhood is a time to be happy and
carefree. And that no child should be deprived of this right.
ACHIEVEMENTS To
learn
about the impact of our intervention at an organizational level let us take you through a few touching case stories of our children. I
Never-say-die Ganesh What do you do when your parents move to another
construction site and your school report hasn’t reached you? And what
do you do if that means you can’t be admitted to a private school?
If you’re Ganesh, age 11, you don’t complain
that life is unkind. You don’t wait for your teacher to figure out
what to do. You take charge. You march into the nearest post office,
have a word with the postmaster and return to the centre within an
hour - report card in hand. Proactivity like this is unique. But then,
so is Ganesh. In the 5 years that he’s been with Sunbeam, his parents
have moved sites as many times. But come rain or shine, by bus, train
or on foot, he’s turned up at the nearest Sunbeam centre. And not
just that, he’s ensured that he’s among the top in his class. Because of his sterling performance, Ganesh
was one of the 25 students who was selected for admission to a private
school. But before Ganesh could step into a private school, there
was one final test. The teachers reported that they couldn’t find
a good private school in the vicinity of Ganesh’s home. Was Ganesh
disappointed? If you’ve gotten to know Ganesh a bit by now,
you’ll have guessed what he did next. That’s right! He personally scoured the area
and came up with the names of a few private schools. Today he’s gained
admission in a good private school in Wadala. II Bhurjamma and the new centre Bhurjamma was in the Phoenix Mills centre
for a brief period before her parents moved to a construction site
at Dadar. She was disappointed of course, but that didn’t stop her
from canvassing for Sunbeam among the 40 children and their parents
at Dadar. Next, she confronted the contractor and got 2 tiny rooms
where classes could be conducted. “Now you have to start a centre
at Dadar,” she said with a winning smile. The centre was started in Jan 2002. Unfortunately
for Bhurjamma, her father passed away and her mother contracted a
bad case of tuberculosis. Bhurjamma went to work to support her family
until her mother recovered. It’s a sad irony that Bhurjamma who helped
set up the centre never got the opportunity to study there herself.
But thanks to her proactivity, 40 children went to school When we faced a staff crunch at
Kamala Mills, unlikely help came from 9 year old Tara. She took it
upon herself to coach 15 children for 2 hours every morning. And completed
her own studies in the evening. Thanks to her efforts, all 15 children
were promoted to Std. II, while she went to Std. III.
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