Case Study 1 :

Priyanka’s lovely red and white frock, short brown hair and her effervescent smile made her stand out in the summer workshop, specially organised for sponsored children by ISC. As I started talking to her about her interests and hobbies, Priyanka helped me to create a profile for her, which I found to be special in many ways.

Priyanka is one of the spunky kids whose education is supported by United Way. Like many other kids enrolled in Joglekarwadi Municipal School, she resides in the slum nearby (her house is a 10 minutes walk from school). Her father works in a transport company near CST. His job is to keep stock of goods leaving the godown. She says that her father leaves at 8 in the morning and returns at around 9pm in the night. For Priyanka, the moments that are most memorable for her are when her parents regale the children with stories about life in their village near Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

Like many migrants to the city of Mumbai, Priyanka’s father came here to Mumbai, the “City of Dreams” in search of better opportunities. Though it was an escape from the stifling poverty back home, the heavy city living expenses and the daily grind in a fast paced city like Mumbai meant compromising on several essentials, which most middle income people take for granted. Education for their children would have been unaffordable if not for support extended through agencies like ISC and United Way.

Priyanka is a creative little girl who loves working with her hands. Glass painting is her current favourite pastime (She was exposed to this in the art and craft workshop conducted by ISC recently). Priyanka also loves drawing and activities which kindle her creative instincts. Her favourite subjects are Hindi and Marathi. She does not like Maths and Science because she feels the subjects are too clinical for her.

Contrary to stereotypes about poor families being uninterested in education; Priyanka’s parents seem to be well informed about the economic opportunities that education has to offer for their children. Her father’s dream for her is modest; he hopes to enroll Priyanka in a Teacher’s training course after her 12th standard so that she will be able to chart a career much different from what she witnesses around her presently.

Case Study 2 :

I was waiting for the summer workshop to get over so that I could profile some kids from Joglekarwadi School. As I watched the children trying to finish the tasks set out for them by the art and craft teacher, I noticed Asha who had finished her artificial flowers and had moved on to assist other children who had still not got a hang of things. She was all over the place, helping measure the cloth at one point of time, lending scissors to some other children and gluing the flowers together for others. It was her precociousness which made me pose some questions to her.

If you ask Asha for her name, she is likely to say “Asha Raghupathy Thakur” with a hint of pride in her tone. Her parents are an example of how cultures get merged in this melting pot of a city-Mumbai. Her father Raghupathy Thakur is from Bihar and her mother Tulsa Thakur is Maharashtrian. Their home in this mega city is near the Sion Railway Lines near the Hanuman Mandir.

Raghupathy is a carpenter by profession. But in Mumbai, you need to be able to market yourself and build contacts in order to get the kind of work that can support a family. Asha’s father makes ends meet by doing odd jobs. He occasionally receives orders for making furniture in the slum community. Tulsa, Asha’s mother takes care of the housework at home.

Asha is currently in the 6th standard and is enrolled in the Marathi medium. Her aim is to be able to fluently converse in English as she grows up. She idolises doctors and hopes to heal people in the future. She has two brothers younger to her and an older sister who assists her with her lessons.

Asha loves extracurricular activities especially drawing and craft work. She enjoys the stories that she reads as part of her English and Hindi lessons.

Bal Asha Ghar: Jyoti

The first thing that strikes you about Jyoti when you see her is the extraordinary maturity in her eyes, much beyond her 11 years. At the same time, after meeting her, one cannot escape the reality of her circumstance, where she like several other children in Bal Asha Ghar, have been forced to mature beyond their years because society has been indifferent to their needs.

Jyoti's mother is a sex-worker in Mumbai's Kamathipura. Her mother got to know about Bal Asha Ghar from the NGO Prerana, which works with sex workers and their children in the Red Light Area- ‘Kamathipura'. Jyoti's mother was motivated into sending her to Bal Asha Ghar because she was convinced that ISC would educate her child and take care of her needs. Most importantly, the environmental change that the residential facility offered to Jyoti was uncomparable to what she could otherwise have provided for her in her cramped quarters in Kamathipura.

Children like Jyoti are doubly disadvantaged because firstly, there is a continous attempt to push children like her into the sex trade by antisocial elements who scout for vulnerable targets. Secondly, poverty leaves children with very few alternatives and in fact pushes them into the vicious cycle of prostitution.

Jyoti is presently enrolled in Vidya Prasarani Sanstha or ‘VPS', as the children call it. VPS has exposed children like Jyoti to a whole new world, much different from the harsh environment that she has encountered since birth. Jyoti obtained her school results just yesterday. She has stood 12 th in her class and is quite pleased with her performance this time. The little girl is happy attending school and says that her teachers in VPS are much better than the ones who taught her in Mumbai. She has made friends at school and also participates in the group activities organised in the residential home from time to time. Jyoti enjoys working on sums which are assigned to her as homework by her Maths teacher. At Bal Asha Ghar, she prefers to help out in the kitchen, whenever she does find time from hey busy schedule.

Case Study 3 :

Prakash lives with his mother & sister in a rented room at Dharavi. His mother prepares meals and supplies the lunch boxes to different offices and gets the profit of Rs 2000/-per month. After paying house rent, electricity and water charges, very less amount is left with his mother for Prakash and his sister's education. Prakash's father stays separately.

Prakash's academic performance is excellent; he is regular to school and scored 3 rd rank in Std V. His goal is to become a “doctor”. He participates in various activities in school like drama, sports, allocation competition. He is cheerful child, loves to interact with his peers. He displays good team spirit. He is respectful to elders and takes care of youngsters. He has leadership quality.

Prakash helps his mother in his work before and after school hours. But for the intervention made by the agency, Prakash might have been drop-out due to financial. Mother's income is not sufficient for Prakash's education.

Now Prakash is enjoying his studies and he feels his ambition to become a doctor will be fulfilled.

Case Study 4 :

Ajay lives in a slum area near railway line at Sion.They have their own room, but for electricity and water they have to depend on their neighbors. After paying electricity and water charges, very little amount is left with his family for Ajay and his brother's education.

Ajay's parents were hurt in different accidents, so both of them are not in the condition of earning. Ajay's elder sister due to financial reason can't continue her studies after Std VII. She is only earning member in the family. She works in leather company and earns Rs 1,200/- per month.

Ajay is good in studies, regular to school and also scored 7th rank in last examination. He loves drawing, sports, outing and makes friends very soon. He participated in “Inter School Craft Competition” and got 3 rd prize.

Ajay was supposed to drop-out due to financial reason, as his family's income is not enough to sustain Ajay and his brother's education. Sponsorship aid will now enable his to pursue education.

His parents are handicapped and the family depends upon the income of the elder daughter who earns Rs 1200p.m. Ajay had planned to drop –out due financial reasons. With the support of UWM, Ajay is now able to continue his education. He has ranked in 7 th in Std V and has won 3 rd prize in ‘Inter School Craft Competition'