With the support that his teachers gave him, Abhishek now goes to a big school
Abhishek lives with his parents in a small house near Poothkalan, a small town near Delhi. His father works as a small properties dealer and his mother is is a homemaker. Their family income is around Rs.5000/- per month ($69). With this meager income, it is very hard for them to make ends meet. However, they wanted to educate Abhishek with the hope that it would provide him a better future.
When Abhishek was four, his father enrolled him in the Palna Shishu Kendra program at Poothkalan centre. In the beginning he was a very quiet child. He spoke with a stammer and hence didn't come forward to speak much. He had no exposure to any kind of formal education.
Over the next year Abhishek made tremendous progress. With constant guidance and support from the Shishu Kendra instructors, he began to read and write the alphabets in English. He learnt to count up to 50 and to pronounce and write the vowels in Hindi.
His overall health improved over a period of time. A speech therapist has been working with Abhishek regularly and and his stammering has reduced considerably.
He became one of the most active students in the class. He also participated enthusiastically in all the activities. He enjoys playing games and secured the first position in many school races.
Abhishek now goes to a mainstream school, the Saraswati Niketan Public School. His family is delighted that Abhishek now has the hope of a good education.
You can help children like Abhishek rewrite their futures to escape the poverty they are born into.
You can help children across low income homes in India take their first steps to education. You can donate so that they can hope to build a better life for themselves and their families. You can give with confidence because every program listed is GIVEASSURED.
By donating to this program
you will be sponsoring the overall costs incurred to support the beneficiaries
What the beneficiary gets
Program Description
The PALNA WeeKids programme prepares young underprivileged children in the age group of 2 to 6 years to enroll in mainstream schools. Over 500 children are enrolled in this programme, with about 40-50 children in each unit. Where the children belong to particularly impoverished backgrounds, they are also provided with clothes and shoes.
Starting with two centres at Qudsia Bagh and Janakpuri, they now run over 12 units across several slums and resettlement areas of Delhi including Dakshinpuri, Gadaipur, Janakpuri, Trilokpuri.
Apart from an introduction to academic learning which includes the alphabet, counting, shapes and colours, names of flowers and animals, the children are also taught basic hygiene and its importance, posture and manners. This orientation instils discipline, manners, health and confidence in the children, even as it induces learning. The overall atmosphere is a cheerful and caring one and the children look forward to coming to the centre.
The staff also guides parents on how to apply for school admission and the documentation that is required. Mock interviews prepare them for the process.
Over 85% of children from this programme have been successfully enrolled in mainstream schools of the city.
When you donate to this program you become the reason for underprivileged children to receive an education, a hope for a life they can otherwise not dream of.
Delhi Council for Child Welfare
Program Updates
23 March, 2021
Innovating to ensure continuity
#2
The period starting from April 2020 has been challenging for every organisation and individual, and it is has taken perseverance and effort to navigate through these times, while trying to ensure minimum impact on the quality of services. We have had to learn to innovate and do things differently. We are now running classes only for residential children in the home for abandoned children, as other children from underprivileged families cannot come to the classes, in accordance with the mandate of the Delhi government. In the early months of the pandemic, the regular teachers were not available, and so the senior staff stepped in to see that the children still had their classes. Classrooms were rearranged to allow social distancing. The youngest ones were taught how to hold a pencil and learn the alphabets. The elder ones had regular classes in reading, writing, arithmetic. Additionally there were regular story-telling and read-aloud sessions as well physical education for all the children. A smartboard was deployed to enable the children to learn more effectively through multi-media. Children also enjoyed watching short educational films. The usual outdoor educational tours have not been possible, and have had to be compensated by showing films on relevant subjects, like the Wonders of the World, Delhi monuments with a little bit of their history, etc. From July the teachers came back and resumed classes as usual. However all the new protocols and precautions of regular sanitisation of the classrooms as well as social distancing, use of masks in the classrooms, and strict hygiene are being maintained
5 July, 2020
Children at work and play!
#1
Children at work and play!
The PALNA WeeKids program prepares under-privileged children in the age group of 2 to 6 years to get admission into schools. The parents are also guided through the admission process. Typically more than 85% of our beneficiaries get into mainstream schools every year. We currently have about 600 children enrolled and the program runs in 14 centres across many slum and resettlement areas of Delhi including Dakshinpuri, Madipur, Trilokpuri, etc. Where the children belong to particularly impoverished backgrounds, they are also provided with clothes and shoes.
