The Community Programme

The Community Programme focuses on the low income areas in Bhavnagar where Shaishav has identified the largest number of child labourers. The aim of the programme is to keep children out of the labour force by admitting them into the formal school system and to support them in their education to ensure retention in the schools. Through the programme, the parents and the communities are sensitised to the importance of education and mobilised to improve the conditions of children in their areas.

Pre Primary Education Programme

Shaishav provides Balwadis, or pre primary education, for children between 3 and 6 years.  In the Balwadis, the children are trained to pay attention to learning and introduced to new concepts, so they can adapt to formal school education more easily. The Balwadis also ensure that the children are enrolled in school at the right age, and thereby prevented from joining the labour force. The Balwadis are managed by the local Bal Dost Manch of parents (See last section) who collect a token fee from the parents of the children who attend. Local women are trained by Shaishav as Lokshikshaks (Education Animators) to teach at the Balwadis.  The purpose is to make the Balwadis sustainable in the long run.

Education Programme

Shaishav runs nine Community Education Centers (CECs) targeting children from 6 to 14 years. Here child labourers and non-school going children are motivated and prepared to attend school. The centres are not a permanent solution, but rather a stop-gap arrangement for the children, paving the way for them to enter formal school education. The children are equipped with basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills so they can be directly enrolled according to their age and level. In collaboration with the Education Department, Shaishav wants to make facilitation so non-school going children can appear directly for the final exams in each standard. The number of school going children is now increasing, and Shaishav therefore provides separate support classes in the communities. These children are often first generation learners and close follow up is needed to ensure retention in the school. In these classes extra support is given to children with special needs.

The centres are run by local Lokshikshaks who use a variety of teaching-learning methods. The children are educated in curricular subjects as well as creative activities, life skills and values for their holistic development. They are also brought on exposure visits to government offices, hospitals, the police station, factories etc. and resource persons are invited to share about different topics with the children. At present, about 300 children come regularly to our centres.

Each centre has a Balsamiti (Children’s Committee) with representatives in the Central Balsamiti. These active children receive trainings in leadership camps and are involved in planning and organising activities such as cooking days, picnics, festival celebrations and sports days.

During the summer vacation which lasts for two months, Shaishav organises Vacation Camps in the communities to prevent school going children from starting to work during the break. At the end of these camps we undertake intensive enrolment drives for non-school going children. Until now Shaishav has admitted more than 4,500 children to school. Many of these children were previously child labourers who have now left work and most of them have continued to pursue their studies.

Work with the Community

Since we started our work, Shaishav has collaborated closely with the communities where we intervene. Through our experience, we have realised that weather a child attends school or not depends a lot on the parents. In many families, education is not regarded as a priority in the daily struggle for survival. Motivation of the parents is therefore a central part of our intervention in communities. To involve the society on a larger scale, Shaishav has initiated the formation of a Bal Dost Manch (Collective of Friends of Children). This is a citizen’s platform of parents, community leaders, local corporators and industrialists with area specific branches in the city (See Setu programme). The members of the Manch provide administrative, financial and logistic support for the Balwadis and the Community Education Centers and render their skills and knowledge. The Manch also sensitises the parents to the importance of education and assists in the enrolment of children to school.

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