Why am I fundraising?

I'm raising money for a cause that is very dear to me: Roshan! Roshan is a child development centre based in a low income community in Dindoshi, Goregaon. It addresses the developmental needs of children (0-16 years) through the twin approaches of an Early Intervention Centre (EIC) and a children's library. The Early Intervention Centre's efforts are aimed at medical and rehabilitative intervention of children with physical and mental disabilities whereas the library's goal is enrichment education.

I want to help the Roshan kids go on a field trip that will stimulate, excite and motivate the children to keep on learning.

I want to offer the children from the library, the opportunity to go on a tour of Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Byculla Zoo, Kamla Nehru Park and watch a the Wonders of the Universe show at Nehru Planetarium. These kids are curious, eager to learn but live in a very secluded area in Mumbai and don't have the financial means to organize this themselves. Roshan is a great initiative that provides kids from low income families in Dindoshi, Goregaon with a library that functions as a social and learning environment. Let's get their self esteem growing by taking them out of their secluded area and encourage them to dream big!!

70-80 children visit the library every month and daily approximately 40 children attend the library. You can help celebrate and reward the commitment to learning shown by the 40 children who visit the library daily by helping make their field trip a possibility.

The Early Intervention Centre helps kids who have physical and/ or intellectual disabilities. In some cases, the parents have no idea how to handle and cope with their child's disabilities. A few are so ashamed of their children that they had been confined to their homes before Roshan. The Early Intervention Centre gives these children a place within their community to learn and socialize with other kids. Besides this, they also provide the treatment these kids need whether physical therapy, hearing aids or surgery.

Due to the challenges faced by parents while travelling with children with special needs, the isolation experienced by these children is extremely high. Children with intellectual disabilities learn through engaging all their senses and experiential learning is the ideal way to help them develop. These children are deprived of open spaces in which they can walk, run and play. Field Trips take on an extra special meaning for our children with special needs and their parents. Field Trips provide rare opportunities for parents where they can shed their worries for a few hours and spend quality time bonding with their special needs children.

With your support we can send the 18 children attending the Early Intervention Centre and their caregivers to the Picnic Spot in Aarey Colony for some well deserved rest, relaxation and fun where the children can learn and play in a stimulating environment.

I believe every child has the right to get a good education (the kind of education you and me received) that supports the overall development of the child. Unfortunately that is not a given for every child in Mumbai and that's why I need your help and why I have set up a crowdfunding page for Roshan.

For this field trip, I need to raise Rs 25,000 by the end of this month since the outing for the library will be held on 18th October and for the Early Intervention Centre on 29th October.

It's an amount that we can manage to raise together but we have no time to waste, so please start donating!

Please join us on our outings and give the children the gift of your time!

These kids deserve all the support we can get!

What do I plan to do with the funds?

The funds raised will go towards covering all the expenses for both the field trips; including the transportation charges, entry fees and snacks for 60 children.

The schedule for the field trips:

Library Field Trip: 18th October, 2015

9:00- We depart from the library (Dindoshi, Goregaon)

10:30- 11:30- Museum tour of Dr Bhaudaji Lad Museum

11:30- 12:30- Visit to Byculla Zoo (Rani Baug)

12:30- 1:00- Lunch time

1:30-3:00- Visit to Kamla Nehru Park

4:00-5:30- Wonders of the Universe Show at Nehru Planetarium

7:30- Reach the library

Early Intervention Centre Field Trip: 29th October, 2015

11:00- Depart from the Early Intervention Centre

12:00- 1:00- have lunch at the picnic spot

1:00- 4:00- Enjoy the gardens at the picnic spot in Aarey Colony and engage in planned games and activities

5:00- Reach the Early Intervention Centre

FAQs

Who started Roshan?

Roshan is unique as it is a community led project. It was started in 2013 by four alumni of Sahyog’s Umang program for women. These women run the EIC and the library and are supported and guided by the Sahyog staff.

What need does Roshan address?

Roshan is located in the SSPL Colony in Dindoshi, Goregaon. It is a colony for slum rehabilitated residents. The residents belong to low income families with very low levels of education and limited awareness and access to resources and opportunities.

In the colony, there was no centre catering to children with physical and mental disabilities, let alone a place where kids could play, interact and learn with other kids. Hence the alumni, who are women from the communities, came up with the idea for a library and an Early Intervention Centre.

What activities are conducted at Roshan?

The EIC was started with the objective of addressing the stigma attached to disabilities and integrating these children with other children their age in a nurturing environment.

Activities at the EIC include art, craft, basic literacy and numeracy for all children and rehabilitative intervention for children with physical and intellectual disabilities.

The library was started with the objective of facilitating language development of children, thereby improving their academic outcomes while broadening their horizons, developing critical thinking and fostering responsible citizens of tomorrow

At the library, different book based activities and vibrancy activities are conducted with the children to facilitate language development and to develop the joy of reading. There is guided reading where the children are paired with a teacher and also free reading time, when the children can read any book. The children are assessed on their reading levels and the librarians help the children select books based on the same.

What are the challenges faced by Roshan?

Initially the concept of a library was alien to most residents. They understood school and tuition classes but didn’t see any value in a library. Since many children have to do piece work to help their families survive, education is not the highest priority for some families.

Through individual discussions with parents, inviting parents to visit the library and through open days and community events the benefits of the library were shared with the community. Many parents who were skeptical about the library now ensure that their child is able to take some time out in a day to attend the library.

The stigma attached to disability makes it very challenging to identify children with special needs. In most families they either refuse to accept that they have a child with special needs or completely ignore their child with special needs as they cannot see any future for them. The largest challenge faced by the Roshan team is convincing the parents of the unique potential of each child and encouraging them to become active participants in achieving a brighter future for their children with special needs.

Another challenge that Roshan faces is the fact that the SPPL Colony is a very secluded area, far away from other communities. It's not very easy for people from other communities to visit the centres. In addition, Roshan operates from 2 small apartments and hence not too many kids can visit at the same time.

What are the fees for the programmes?

There is no fee for the library. The EIC charges Rs 50 per kid per month. This is a very nominal amount but it gives the families the feeling that their children actually need to go because they have paid for the services. If it is free, then there is no motivation for them to send their children regularly. If the family is unable to afford the fee then it is reduced or waived off depending on the financial condition of the family.

How many kids participate in the Roshan programmes?

We are connected to above 150 children in the community and about 30-50 visit the library regularly. There are 20 children who are connected to the Early Intervention Centre.

III. Sahyog

What is Sahyog?

Sahyog is part of the Chehak Trust. The idea of Sahyog started when founding members, Neha Madhiwalla and Padma Deosthali were doing research among the women in the community. A large number of girls had dropped out of school because of social strictures, poverty or just an inadequate number of secondary education opportunities in the neighborhood. They decided to set up a Sahyog School where girls could learn academic instruction coupled with life skill sessions. This was in 2000. Since then, Sahyog has grown and now consists of 4 programmes.

Is Sahyog a registered entity?

Sahyog is part of the Chehak Trust. The Chehak trust is a registered Trust under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950 (reg. no E - 21112, Mum).

Does Sahyog have an 80 Certificate?

Yes. Sahyog has an 80 G certificate and all donations receive an 80 G receipt.

What are the different programmes run by Sahyog?

There are four programmes

Umang:

Umang was set up to complement the Sahyog School. A decade later the girls who started learning at Sahyog School were women who were still curious to learn more about themselves and the world around them. What jobs can I apply for?” “Do I have the skills that the job market demands today?” “I’ve never traveled alone before!” “Will my parents agree to send me out of the house to earn money?”. Umang was born in 2011 to respond to these questions and to help these women with job opportunities in the social sector.

Sangharsh:

Sangharsh was set up in 2003 in the Jari Mari community, one of the communities where the Sahyog School had been started earlier, to encourage an inclusive view of education and support community based rehabilitation work. The centre caters to children and adolescents who have, or are at risk of, developmental disabilities: learning disabilities, hearing impairment, mild mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, and orthopedic disabilities. At any point in time, the number of children attending Sangharsh is between10-25; ages ranging from 3-18 years.

Jhula:

Jhula is a life skills program for women. The three themes of Jhula are Jism (body), Jahan (world) and Zindagi (life). In 8 modules girls will be taught knowledge, skills and experiences that otherwise were inaccessible to them. Jhula has been implemented as an addition to the vocational training and was first implemented to the Sahyog School. It combines learning with practical work and community interaction to allow girls to step out of their restricted areas.

If you want more information about Sahyog's work please visit their webiste www.sahyogchehak.org.in or visit their Facebook page, their id is SahyogMumbai