SOME MINI UPDATES ON ONE! CHILDREN

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Bina is doing really well, she is attending private school as well as our school, studying with us a few hours each morning. She is still the same sweet, adoring, huggable little monkey she has always been. Her little brother Sankrish is practically a different kid than who he was last year, so much more confident and happy, but has become something of a little mischief monger. Bina is really such a darling and holds a really place in my heart, she would come in to the office almost every day when I was there and give me the biggest hug.

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Babli always keeps on smiling in all the class and keeps the class environment healthy. She has been more active and participative than earlier. She loves to play skipping. One amazing change she has brought in the last three months, is she never bothers about anyone teasing her and maintains good cordial relationship with all the students.

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He (Anil) told us that he is not interested in studying and likes to learn electrical work. He also goes to do wiring work with one of his friend. We told him that we will try to get him some electrician course which would help him in future to earn his livelihood. 

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Alfiya is a smart six year old who lives in the Khar Danda area with her two older sisters and a ten month old baby sister. The family is a new addition to One!, since February of 2012.  Her parents seem caring and loving and there seems to be no discord or underlying tension. As the family is comparatively new we don’t have the entire picture or much history……….. Owing to their new status we don’t have full trust in the accuracy of all the information that has been provided.  We as the One! Family will try our best to integrate them and help them adjust to us. Alfiya’s father works as a tailor and has a regular income albeit meagre. It is still an uphill struggle as the one income is stretched thin feeding so many mouths. He takes on small embroidery jobs as well to supplement the income.

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Baby Aliya was extremely malnourished when she first arrived at our door, (the beginning of March this year). That itself was a bad sign but for little Aliya there was worse news  in store. She had a bad lung infection. This became our priority and already over this short period of time we have managed to bring the infection down. It still continues to plague her and we will be monitoring her health closely, meeting her medical needs and her dietary requirements. Nourishment, a clean environment and access to medicines is the need of the day.

Divek is all of three years old and, well, the smallest of his four member family. ……….. he is adorable. Divek, his sister Diveka and his young parents are a new addition to the one! Family; February of this year……………..Home to them is a five minute walk from the Khar Danda school, home, being a grand word here, is actually a shanty constructed with bamboo sticks and discarded plastic. As the saying goes the best kind of advertising is by word of mouth and it was just through that good community chatter that they found us. It takes a village to raise a child and for most of the families around Khar Danda, One! International is that village. Living in a shanty without the basic amenities that we take for granted… electricity, running water and plumbing… is a hard enough existence, but having no support or help from government or any recourse to a better life, is a harsh reality. For us at One!, we are just happy to have the opportunity to be here and provide what we can.

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 At ten years of age Mansi is an angel. Quiet, well behaved, diligent, lovable and the list goes on. Mansi lives in a far flung suburb of Mumbai called Nallasopara and as you are aware, One! has a school there. This worked out quite well for Mansi and her family. Mansi is a part of a seven member household. Her siblings include two sisters and two brothers. She is blessed with loving parents who take an active part in their children’s lives and are great role models. As with most households burdened with poverty vices find an easy in, this is thankfully not the case here and they are not plagued by any such negative influence. Mansi’s father works as a carpenter and manages to bring home around Rupees 4000 ($ 80) a month. Her mother is a housewife and keeps a clean and happy home. Both parents dote on their children. Most kids in Nallasopara attend private school, some in the mornings and some in the afternoons. We at One! have adapted to working with this system, and have morning and afternoon shifts as well. This allows the children freedom to attend our school either after or before. The private schools that operate here are mostly shams, and a way of taking away hard earned money. Most parents have no option but to enroll their children, as some education is better than none. Mansi’s parents have decided not to send her to one of these schools, they believe in the education that One! Is providing and thus, she attends our school fulltime.

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I hope you have enjoyed these little mini updates. The information comes from the Give-A-Child-A-Chance Program updates provided to the GCC sponsors.

More next time.