About Us
Bibs Available: 4 (Please contact the NGO for the same)
Cause Category:
Education
Telephone:
8104638406
Address: C/O Ankit Kanani, 601, Sai Laxmi, Next to Bhargav hospital, Babhai naka, Borivali West, Mumbai - 400092
Connect:
Aligned to the following Sustainable Development Goals
Who We Are
Based in Mumbai, Touching Lives is a non-profit organization working towards Education and Mental Health of the children from vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds. It provides opportunities for Learning, Healing, Art, Technology and Life-skills for their holistic development and empowerment. Thus, envisaging them to lead a better quality of life with financial independence, employment, leadership and a conscious relationship with themselves and the world.
Founded in 2003 by Sonia Mackwani with the value – ‘it is our need to serve than saying we are serving the needy’, the team of Touching Lives is guided by the mantras of Self-work*, Seva (service) and Sadhna (practice).
The core of Touching Lives’ work is – the Independent Learners project. It is an afterschool program; an initiative to provide activity-based supplementary education to the children living in slum communities in Dahisar and Borivali - suburbs of Mumbai and to the youth from different parts of the country living in vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds. A child attending programs run under the Project is assisted in continuing their formal education at school and college and is also empowered with English language communication skills, life-skills training, knowledge and tools for sound emotional development, mental well-being, creativity, scholarship opportunities and strong personal support.
Photos / Videos
Our Fundraisers
Ankit Kanani
Fundraiser Bronze
` 12500 of
` 500000
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Raising Funds For
Developing Learning Center:
The pandemic led us to surrender our Learning Center in Mumbai. We are now in the process of restarting programs in-person. We are raising funds to set-up our physical learning spaces, to cover the costs of rent, infrastructure, children’s library, multi-sensory learning materials.
Join our TMM 2024 campaign, aiming to raise ₹18,00,000. The funds will enable us to run programs for more than 200 children and parents at the Learning Center. The per-child cost is ₹9,000 ($110) annually, ₹750 ($9) monthly.
Our children grapple with diverse challenges.
Lack of:
-Basic water, sanitation, hygiene
-Parental guidance and assistance
-Financial resources for college fee
-Good quality education in formal school
-Conducive and enough space for studying
-Positive role models and influences
At our Learning Center, we endeavour to provide:
-Safe, Creative and inspiring learning space
-Access to books, technology, art
-Exposure to global trends, careers, opportunities
-Curriculum to bridge the gap for formal education
-Program for parents
-Professional, compassionate Teachers/Mentors
When our alumni students graduate, secure good jobs in reputable companies, move to rented apartments from slums, they not only enhance their own and their families' quality of life but also inspire other children and parents in their communities.
Fund Utilization in 2023
Total funds raised in 2023 - INR 775874.6
| Project Name | Independent Learners Project |
| Amount Utilized (INR) | 150000 |
| Project Description | Independent Learners Project by Touching Lives is an afterschool program; an initiative to provide activity-based supplementary education to the children living in slum communities in Dahisar and Borivali - suburbs of Mumbai and to the youth from different parts of the country living in vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds. The committed students, aged 6 – 23 years, gain supplementary education, mental health support & mentoring for conscious parent–child–world relationships through several interconnected programs.
All the students enrolling at Touching Lives are divided into four different programs – Beginners, Foundation, Discovery, Dream. There’s a separate therapeutic program for the parents of these students. The project is executed online - One hour each for thrice a week. The mentors also conduct individual and small-batch sessions with children on a weekly basis. The School Study program with volunteers is also executed online all seven days a week. The project supports more than 200 children and parents. |
| Locations | Mumbai suburban > Maharashtra (MH) |
| Causes | Education > Non formal education,Education > Promoting reading,Education > Education scholarships,Education > Digital Learning |
| Beneficiary Group | Children,Women |
| Beneficiary Description | Indira Nagar, Dhobi Ghat, Ganpat Patil Nagar, Pushpa Vihar, Shivaji Nagar, Rawal Pada and many more big and small slum clusters exist in Dahisar (a suburb of Mumbai), where thousands of families live in precarious conditions. Lack of electricity, water, washrooms and cluttered thatched houses is a reality that leads to uncertainty and apprehensions in their day-to-day life.
Most of our children attend municipal or government-aided schools and live in slum communities. The students enrolling at Touching Lives are divided into four different learning programs – Beginners, Foundation, Discovery, Dream. The students are assigned to these programs based on entry-level assessment and their English reading levels at the time of admission. Hence, some of the students don’t necessarily fit into their age-appropriate program. Each program is further divided into smaller batches for better teacher-child ratio and for accommodating school/college timings.
|
| Impact | With a persistent effort for more than a decade working with children from slum communities in Dahisar and Borivali in Mumbai, Touching Lives has supported educational journeys of hundreds of children over the years. We do provide long-term support to the students year after year. Education is a long-term commitment.
Ram Soni, a student of Touching Lives had to drop-out of school multiple times to support his father selling vegetables and earning a living for the family. With the support of Touching Lives team and volunteers, Ram was able to get back to his education, earn a degree in Psychology and also get employment opportunity at Touching Lives.
We provide safe and compassionate space where every child has opportunities to express themselves. Over the years, many children are now completing their higher education and thriving to move out of poverty. They are setting examples for others. More families are enlightened towards their participation in their child’s education and their own self-care.
Thus, the model is a promise toward better quality of life, better employment and holistic development over generations. |
Activities Conducted
| No | Activity / Item / Beneficiaries | Quantity / Number, if applicable |
| 1 |
Regular weekly sessions for children on English, life-skills |
180 |
| 2 |
Monthly therapeutic workshops for mothers |
20 |
| 3 |
Financial support for school fee, college fee, medical treatment |
8 |
| 4 |
Workshops for other schools, NGOs |
3 |
| 5 |
Instagram videos for mental-health awareness |
12 |
|
` 128001 of ` 1800000
Raised by 14 contributors.
Verified documents submitted :
Anshul Gupta
Monik Kapadia
Anup Kulkarni
Mihir Sanghavi
Sandeep Raut
Chirag Thakkar
Shruti Konher
Dr Pankaj Gandhi
ABHAY PARULEKAR