The Bal Sabha is a group where children meet weekly to learn about their rights through play-way based education. In one of the meetings, the children identified an issue of unclean drainage & garbage collection and reached out to the BMC. After follow-up, BMC took active action and now cleans the drainage and garbage daily. The children’s confidence has improved and their parents feel proud of this achievement.
News
Striving for Success
Samrudhi Savite is a 20-year-old girl from a financially struggling family. Through the Kishori group facilitated by Dev Kripa Mandal, she got introduced to vocational training courses by Kotak Mahindra Foundation. After completing the Computer and Retail Services course, she got a job at Mumbai airport and is now financially independent.
Journey of two girls from the Kishori Group
Sneha and Pallavi were part of the Kishori Group at Canossa Jeevan Vikas Kendra, Mahakali, facilitated by our partner. They lacked confidence and communication skills but being part of the group and undergoing personality development sessions helped them come out of their shells. Sneha enrolled in a Capacity Building Program and got motivated to pursue a Bachelors in Social Work. Pallavi did a short-term beautician course and aspires to become a professional makeup artist and set up her own venture.
Drinking Water Issues Resolved
Tamnath village in Karjat, Raigad District faced water scarcity due to the well water levels going down in summers. The Gram Panchayat dug borewells, but they failed. Villagers wrote an application for tap water scheme and followed up with authorities. They started getting tap water from April 2023. Now, villagers use tap water for household activities and have learned the importance of following up on applications and inquiring about schemes.
Villagers get a Balwadi after a long Struggle
The children of Halbudrukh Wadi did not have a place for their Bal Sabha Meetings. Their meetings were held either under a tree or at someone’s house. During one session the Wadi Prerika asked the children to identify an issue in their village. The children collectively answered that they needed a permanent place for their meetings.
Vocational Development: Mentoring Session
Under the Vocational Development Course, the CCO’s of Dharavi Island have held various skills development courses for their beneficiaries, especially the marginalized and the school dropouts. Courses such as Sales Executive Course, Basic Home Appliance Repairs and Mobile and Laptop Repair have helped many to stand on their feet. To get a feedback from them, motivate them and clarify their doubts a mentoring session was held for them.
Menstruation Hygiene Campaign
Young adolescent girls between the ages of 15 to 24 years are brought together under the Kishori Group to raise awareness of mental health, and menstrual hygiene and provide basic financial literacy training. On Menstruation Hygiene and Cleanliness Day, an awareness session was held for the Kishori groups across the six villages of Dharavi Island.
Farmers Melava at Dharavi Island
A first-ever “Farmers Melava” for Dharavi Island was held on April 20th, 2023 at Cardinal Gracias Hall, Uttan. The event included various resource persons who spoke on topics such as organic farming, compost manure, seedlings, sustainable agriculture, and government schemes related to food micro-processing. Following this, a charter of demands was submitted to the local corporator. The event was a great success, and an evaluation session was held on April 24th, 2023.
Capacity Building Program: Valedictory Function
The Capacity Building Program of the Centre for Social Action provides training to youth, grassroot workers, domestic workers, animators, women from Mahila Mandal, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), members of church-based associations, etc., on topics like Basics of Social Work, Good Governance, Para Legal Literacy, etc. These trainings have helped to bring about awareness in participants on various pertinent issues and to realize their potential for overall development. On successfully completing the training, the participants are awarded a certificate at specially organized valedictory function.
Bal Sabha Manch: A Summary Report FY22-23
The Child Rights Advocacy project, Bal Sabha Manch (BSM), by the Centre for Social Action, builds capacities of the children and offers a platform to speak up for child rights. It trains the children to identify issues in and around their communities, discuss and act on resolving these issues by networking with appropriate stakeholders, both, at the local as well at the government levels.