Creche

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Bhagar Creche

120 children of the age group 2-6 years have been provided shelter and support by the Bhagar Creche for their all round development.

Achievements

  • Education: 22 classes were conducted during this reporting period and 77 children on average attended the crèche. The classes were held in the creche for three months. Worksheets and demonstrative videos were provided to the guardians when the classes were not running in the creche. Home visits were conducted to monitor the children’s educational skill development and hygiene practice at home.
  • Recreational Rights: 54 children celebrated Daughters’ Day. The celebration was organized with small groups of children. Many of the mothers also participated in the celebration. 80 students celebrated Hindi Diwas. This was organized with small groups of children, adhering to Covid protocols. Most of the children speak Hindi as their first language and this event taught them about the significance of the language. The birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi was celebrated in Bhagar, and the children celebrated the day with great excitement while maintaining social distance.
  • Accessing Government Schemes: 5 community awareness camps were conducted by the teachers and attended by a maximum of 72 people. These camps focused on Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (Government of India saving scheme to encourage parents to build a fund for the future education and marriage expenses of their daughter), child marriage, health and hygiene, Right to Education and identification of children with special needs.
  • Overall Growth: Improved educational level, psychological & emotional status, physical health status and extra-curricular skills of the children.

 Success Stories

  • After the first phase of complete lockdown in June 2020, the HOPE teachers visited the communities and noticed that the people were still not aware of the precautionary measures against Covid-19, especially the importance of wearing facemasks properly and hand hygiene. The crèche teachers provided awareness on Covid-19 and the importance of washing hands. Facemasks were distributed during awareness camps to promote its usage. Presently, the guardians are wearing facemasks whenever they leave their homes and encourage their family and children to wash their hands frequently.

Chitpur Creche

HOPE identified 40 children between 2-6 years of age in Chitpur, in 2020-2021, who were without parental care for prolonged periods of time as both parents are daily wage workers. To stop child labour and provide education to these young children, HOPE initiated the creche in Chitpur Slum.

Achievements

  • Education: 40 children acquired knowledge in reading, writing and numeracy. Due to Covid-19, the children could attend the creche regularly. However, worksheets were provided to the guardians to practice at home. The guardians cooperated with the HOPE teachers to ensure the children’s education continued throughout the year. 9 children were enrolled in formal school in the last quarter. 19 children made significant progress in reading skills. 9 children can recognize and say rhyming words, retell a simple story after listening and recognize the beginning, middle and end of the story, describing how a character in a story feels and create their own story. The children can identify English, Bengali and Hindi alphabets, colours, fruit, animals, flowers and vegetables.
  • Recreational Rights: Celebrations included Independence Day, Teachers’ Day, World Literacy Day, Children’s Day, Christmas, Republic Day, Saraswati Puja, Holi etc.
  • Accessing Government Schemes: 7 community awareness camps were conducted by the teachers and attended by a maximum of 65 people. These camps focused on Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (Government of India saving scheme to encourage parents to build a fund for the future education and marriage expenses of their daughter), child marriage, health and hygiene, Right to Education and identification of children with special needs.
  • Overall Growth: Improved educational level, psychological & emotional status, physical health status and extra-curricular skills of the children.

 Success Stories

  • The HOPE teachers informed the parents of the benefits of the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme and motivated them to avail of the scheme before their daughter turns 10 years old. As a result, 17 guardians have already registered under the scheme. The HOPE teachers supported the guardians to complete all the necessary documents. The mothers of the registered child took the initiative and understood the need to support their daughters. Now they regularly save money for their daughter’s future.
  • The HOPE teachers held several camps, meetings and home visits to inform the parents of the importance of education. Announcements by key community stakeholders were made to create a better environment for the children to study between 6 to 7 pm. These efforts showed positive results. 39 parents of the children of Chitpur Creche showed their interest and understood the value of time to be given to their children. The parents of the Creche formed groups on social media where the parents shared their work and videos.

Kasba Creche

30 children of the age group 2-6 years belonging from the Kasba slum area were identified by HOPE Kolkata Foundation and placed in the Kasba Creche for their holistic development.

Achievements

  • Education: Out of the 30 children mentioned in the table above, 14 children were enrolled to formal school in January 2021. 12 children can recognize and say rhyming words. 14 children were enrolled in formal schools during the 4th quarter.
  • Recreational Rights: On 12th June 2020, Anti-Child Labour Day was celebrated with 81 children in Central. Father’s Day was celebrated on 21st June with 81 children from Central. The children were encouraged to make cards for their fathers with personalized messages. World Yoga Day was organized in Central on 21st June with 81 children. Covid-19 protocols were maintained including social distancing, sanitizing regularly and wearing face mask. The teachers shared tips on how to keep a healthy body and mind through yoga. Other celebrations included Ganesh Chaturthi, Literacy Day, Raksha Bandhan, Durga Puja, Children’s Day etc.
  • Accessing Government Schemes: 26 parents opened bank accounts during this reporting period.
  • Overall Growth: Improved educational level, psychological & emotional status, physical health status and extra-curricular skills of the children.

 Success Stories

  • Shubham (name changed) is 4 years old and was enrolled in Kasba creche in 2020. When the creche classes started in August 2020, he lacked confidence and was not willing to enter the class. The creche reopened in March 2021 and Shubham attended with great enthusiasm and participated in all the class activities. He participated in play sessions eagerly, and can make eye contact confidently.
  • As the creche was closed during lockdown, the HOPE teachers distributed worksheets and videos to ensure the children continued their education. The children learned the process of planting - from seeds to the full growth of a plant. The children planted a tree, and they learned about the importance of trees and plants. Through this activity, the HOPE teachers encouraged the children to develop an interest in science and nature, the skills to solve problems and make informed decisions in scientific contexts.

Panditya Creche

37 children of the age group 2-6 years belonging from the Kasba slum area were identified by HOPE Kolkata Foundation and placed in the Panditya Creche for their holistic development.

Achievements

  • Education: Out of the 37 children mentioned in the table above, 15 children were enrolled in formal school in January 2021. 47 classes were conducted during the reporting period and 37 children attended the creche.
  • Recreational Rights: On 12th June 2020, Anti-Child Labour Day was celebrated with 81 children in Central. Father’s Day was celebrated on 21st June with 81 children from Central. The children were encouraged to make cards for their fathers with personalized messages. World Yoga Day was organized in Central on 21st June with 81 children. Covid-19 protocols were maintained including social distancing, sanitizing regularly and wearing face mask. The teachers shared tips on how to keep a healthy body and mind through yoga. Other celebrations included Ganesh Chaturthi, Literacy Day, Raksha Bandhan, Durga Puja, Children’s Day etc.34 parents opened bank accounts during the reporting period and 10 parents opened Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana bank account for the education of their daughter.26 parents opened bank accounts during this reporting period.
  • Overall Growth: Improved educational level, psychological & emotional status, physical health status and extra-curricular skills of the children.

 Success Stories

  • Krishan (name changed) is 3 years old. His mother is a domestic worker and his father is a driver. He suffered many health issues and did not attend the creche regularly. After several meetings, Krishan’s mother understood and started to maintain the hygiene of her child. Now Krishan is healthy and studies eagerly. It was observed that within the last three months, he did not suffer from any illness. He has gained weight and his BMI is normal.
  • Isha (name changed) is 3 years old and enrolled in Panditya creche in January 2020. Initially, Isha did not participate in any of the creche activities. As the creche closed during lockdown, her mother became anxious and restricted Isha from playing with other children. Within a few weeks, a change was observed in her behaviour. Now Isha actively participates in all the creche activities. She can recite many rhymes and do dot joining activities.

Panchanantala ICDS

Panchanantala ICDS supported 585 mothers and children altogether to help children attain Pre-school Education, Nutrition of mothers and children and Health Education.

Achievements

  • Education: Online sessions were also held with the Community Volunteer Groups to ensure they are present during online classes, support the children and discuss different themes through joyful methods.
  • Recreational Rights: Celebrations included Independence Day, Teachers’ Day, World Literacy Day, Children’s Day, Christmas, Republic Day, Saraswati Puja, Holi, Rabindra Jayanti etc.
  • Accessing Government Schemes: District Programme Officer, ICDS Cell Government of West Bengal and Child Development Project Officer made visits to the centre. During this period, 3 visits were conducted. This helped to improve the functioning of Panchanantala ICDS.
  • Overall Growth: Improved educational level, psychological & emotional status, physical health status and extra-curricular skills of the children.

 Success Stories

  • The ICDS centre remained closed as per the Government Covid-19 directives. HOPE understood the problem that would arise without the project’s intervention and the children would be deprived of early childhood education. Online sessions were planned for the children, and the ICDS workers were supported to conduct early childhood education and prepare worksheets. As a result of these strategies and with immense support from the community people and parents, the children continued preschool education throughout the pandemic.