Help underprivileged children enjoy fun activities by Saath (Initiatives for Equity in Development)

Help underprivileged children enjoy fun activities

Impact

Learning disabilities are no match for Alfeena’s spirit today!

Alfeena had a difficult life from the day she was born. Her birth mother abandoned her at the hospital. But Kausar Sheikh, a woman from a village in Gujarat called Juhapura decided to adopt her.

But Afreena’s life did not get a lot easier. When she was 10, her teachers realized that she had several learning disabilities. She could not express herself and it became hard for people around her to understand her. This made her withdraw into herself.

Her teachers at Balghar met with her parents and told them what was happening. They expressed their worries and asked her parents to join them in guiding her. The constant efforts of the Balghar tutors and her parents helped Afleena develop both mentally and physically.

She has now grown from a shy, fearful and insecure child to a jovial child. This has been possible because of the learning activities she was given. Her teachers say that Alfeena has a sharp mind and learns well with practical learning. She is in the third grade and with continuous practical learning will go on to finish her education with flying colors.

Poor children like Alfeena often do not have the right guidance they need to learn differently. You can change that. Your donation will them a chance to realize their true potential.You can give with confidence because every program on our platform is GIVEASSURED.

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About The Program

What the beneficiary gets
Remedial Education
What you get
Tax Exemption
Periodic Reports
Program Description

SAATH runs Balghars that provide pre-school education and nutrition support to underprivileged children from the slums of Ahmedabad. The curriculum has been specially designed with the help of expert child psychologists in collaboration with teachers to improve and strengthen the quality of pre-school education components.

They are taught in the Montessori method which includes a lot of fun learning activities. When everyday living is a challenge, fun takes a backseat. It is very important for children to engage in fun events for holistic growth. Fun learning activities help the children from slums adapt faster as they do not have the exposure that regular kids have. These activities help them develop social confidence.

Donations made to this program support the cost of fun and learning activities for children. Donate to this program and help children enjoy the little celebrations.

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About The NGO

Saath (Initiatives for Equity in Development)
Saath (Initiatives for Equity in Development) Logo
Saath (Initiatives for Equity in Development)

Saath (which in Hindi/Gujarati means 'together, co-operation, a collective or support'), is an NGO in India registered as a Public Charitable Trust and is based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. They closely work with the vulnerable communities and empowers the socially marginalized by providing them livelihood linkages, imparting skills leading to employment, health and education facilities. The focus areas of Saath are livelihoods, skill development, health and education, rights, urban governance, financial inclusion, rehabilitation and resettlement and other community development initiatives.

Saath envisions inclusive and empowered communities and individuals.They aspire to make human settlements equitable living environments where all residents and vulnerable people have access to health, education, essential infrastructure services and livelihood options, irrespective of their economic and social status.They have received several accolades for its programs, internal systems, organizational ethics, best practices in resource mobilization and sustainability models, the latest one of them being the - India NGO Award 2014-15 in the Medium category.

In the last 27 years, they have rendered their services to several slum residents, migrants, minorities, children, women, youth and vulnerable people in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra (Mumbai) and have touched the lives of more than 5,00,000 individuals.

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founders
Founded in 1991
NGO Leadership

Chinmayi Desai

areas of operation
Area of Operation
Area of Operation

Anganwadi | children

location of work
Location of Work
Location of Work

Gujarat

awards
Awards And Recognitions
Awards And Recognitions

2017: Commitment to Transparency & Public Accountability

last audited
Last Audited
Periodic Compliance Checks by GiveIndia

Renewals FY 19-20

reporting
Verification Visit Reports
Verification Visit Reports

Verification Report 1

Verification Report 2

Verification Report 3

Verification Report 4

Verification Report 5

Verification Report 6

Program Updates

Program Updates

22 September, 2023

An update on the program you are supporting

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

Total number of beneficiaries impacted was 342 out of which 48% were females, in Juhapura area in Ahmedabad


Challenges faced and next steps

The children celebrated Eid, Raksha Bandhan, �Independence Day, Diwali, Christmas Everyone got snacks and chocolates during these celebrations. The program has been expanded in another area in Ahmedabad called, 'Vatva'. Three new centers are coming up there.


Stories from the ground

When Hamim joined Balghar, he was 3.7 years old. Initially, when Hamim came to class, he couldn't adjust. Also, he was not participating in any activity. Teacher's knew he has hearing program but were not aware that he had struggle talking as the treatment was very expensive and his parents couldn't afford it. Teachers started to give special attention to Hamim. The gadget Hamim wore helped teachers teach him action songs, alphabets, numbers, exercises, and more. Although the available toys are at the center, the other kids and Saath�s teacher have become her greater support to adapt to the new environment. He now takes part in the events and enjoys drawing. He understands what teachers and his friends say but can speak very few words. His parents have started his speech therapy. Hamim�s parents are at ease to send him to the center regularly without any concern, and even for the teacher, the clear next step is to focus on his age-appropriate learning.


5 December, 2022

Help underprivileged children enjoy fun activities

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

Saath founded in 1989, is an NGO in India registered as a Public Charitable Trust and is based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Saath closely works with the vulnerable communities and empowers the socially marginalized by providing them livelihood linkages, imparting skills leading to employment, health and education facilities. The focus areas of Saath are livelihoods, skill development, health and education, rights, urban governance, financial inclusion, rehabilitation and resettlement and other community development initiatives.

Started in 2004, Saath’s Balghars are affordable preschools for the urban poor that address the basic growth and development needs of children like: basic education, health, nutritional and recreation. Balghars are preschools for underprivileged children providing them a nurturing and educational environment to study ahead.

Saath has 7 Balghars in Juhapura. Since 2004, 3,794 children have passed through Balghars and after passing they have been enrolled in formal schools.

Activities undertaken:

­ Eid celebration- Teachers discussed the importance of this festival that Eid is a time to share happiness. Children greeted each other ‘EID Mubarak’ with love and affection. Children enjoyed having Sheer kurma made by teachers.

­ Raksha Bandhan celebration- Teachers made children understand the importance of Raksha Bandhan. Rakhi tie ceremony was performed between children. Children exchanged chocolates as a gift of Raksha Bandhan.

­ Independence Day celebration- All the children were given flags and chocolates on Independence Day. Teachers made children sing patriotic songs on this day.

Next six months goals:

  1. Open two more Balghar centers in Juhapura and Vatva area
  2. Plan two health camps 3 Celebrations for Navratri, Dashera, Diwali, Christmas & Newyears
  3. Assisting Parents to enroll these children to formal schools

Challenges faced and next steps

Challenges faced and next steps ­ Appropriate teacher-child ratios are one of the main aspects of a high-quality early childhood program. We have on average 35 children at the center every month against 1 teacher. Due to a lack of resources, the idle teacher-child ratio (20:1) is not maintained at the center. ­ Due to a lack of resources, we are unable to rent a bigger center for the Balghar program. ­ As Balghar is a self-run program of Saath, we required support to rent a bigger center so that various indoor and outdoor activities can be undertaken with the children.


Stories from the ground

Name: Zaid Muddasir Shaikh Age: 4 years Zaid lives with his family of 4 members in the Sankalitnagar area in Juhapura of Ahmedabad city. His father is an auto-rickshaw driver and his mother is a housewife. They came to know about Balghar through their family members whose children are already studying in Balghar. On talking to his mother, the teacher came to know that Zaid cannot speak even though he is 3 years old. At the time of birth, he was a healthy child and in 3 years his physical growth is also good. At Balghar, Zaid used to talk sign language with his friends and teacher. Teachers started involving him in various activities like group prayers, rhymes, storytelling, etc., which helped him to develop his speech. The teacher made him sit in a group and talk with his friends. In six months, Zaid has shown considerable improvement in his speaking. Now he can read all the charts displayed at Balghar. His parents are very happy to see his improvement.


23 May, 2022

Help underprivileged children enjoy fun activities

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

We were able to celebrate the major festivals in this year due to the little ease in COVID infection spread. The children were made to perform art and craft activities, learning activities, play activities. Fancy dress competition, greeting cards making etc. was carried out at the Balghars.


Challenges faced and next steps

  • We are unable to find bigger centres with larger spaces due to high rate of density of the houses in community.
  • Parents are fearful of sending their children due to the virus.
  • We must make extra efforts to arrange the students and perform the activities as we must maintain social distancing.
  • Due to loss of employment many families have broken and become impoverished due to the lack of resources. Family problems have led to a negative mental impact amongst the children. Parents are unable to provide their children nutritious food on a regular basis.
  • The teachers actively involved people from the community during camps and events organized by the other programs of Saath. So that they may avail its benefits.

Stories from the ground

Name: Ghanchi Nabil Wasim Bhai Age: 5 Years Nabil was an obstinate child when he joined the centre. He was malnourished also. He did not like to participate in the class room activities and therefore he kept crying. Teachers were concerned about his behavior therefore they visited his house. While interacting with his mother they came to know that he remained sick for a long time after the birth. Thus having a problem in gaining weight. Nabil belongs from a poor family. His father works at a provisional store, and his mother is a helper at one of the Balghars. Gradually the teachers started implementing innovative techniques to gain his attention. They focused on his holistic development.

Nabil enjoys coming to the class now. He grabbed the opportunity of becoming a Santa Claus during the Christmas celebration.


1 October, 2021

Fun Activities during the Pandemic at Balghar

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

Activities at Balghar• Education• Nutrition Support• Health Checkup• Exposure Visits• Outdoor extracurricular activities• Celebrations of the Festivals• Enrolment to formal educationMilestones Achieved:• Ongoing activities focusing on the holistic development of child• Health Check up of all the children• Growth Monitoring and Nutrition Support• 250 households surveyed under the covid awareness campaign• Distribution of sanitisers to the parents.• Sensitization of the parents for COVID vaccination.• Children were fed fruits, eggs, and milk once in a week. They are given healthy take home snacks sufficient for the child.• They received freedom to play, eat, and study as the centres reopened.Major Events• Sensitization of the parents towards educational needs of the children during COVID through door-to-door parents teachers meeting in the community.• 250 households surveyed under the covid awareness campaignAreas Covered• Juhapura- 7 BalgharsNumber of People Impacted• 1500 IndividualsHow were they impacted?• Direct reach through door-to-door meetings and household survey for COVID awareness.• Children attending the Balghar


Challenges faced and next steps

Challenges in Funds/ Carrying out operations• Due to COVID on one hand we had to divert the efforts and funds for immediate relief and on the other hand we had to run our regular programmes amidst the pandemic. Challenges due to COVID• People from the community lost their savings.• Many were indebted due to the loss of employment and COVID related hospitalisation.• Families did not have sufficient food to eat and felt difficulty in sustaining.COVID related hurdles at the centre• Summer activities were not held.• Lack of staff as teachers were infected by COVID at some point of time.• As teachers belong to the same community as the children at Balghar, they also faced financial crunch at home.• The teachers were fearful to do home visits.How did you overcome the challenges?• Immense care was taken once the balghars were restarted. Social Distancing, masks, hand sanitisers etc is compulsory.• Parents Meetings are held in small groups and door to door method.• Children are given the snacks at home rather than allowing them to eat in class.Note: The fun activities like celebration of different festivals, exposure visits, sports day etc. was not carried out due to the COVID 19 pandemic.Plan of next six months.• Group meetings with the parents.• Exposure Visits• Celebration of festivals• Teacher Training• Health Check-up


Stories from the ground

Story from the ground:Name: Shaikh Razin ShukriyaanAge: 4 YearsEmployment of Father: Tempo DriverFamily: 4 MembersRazin was admitted to the Balghar in January 2021. He was weak and malnourished at the time of his joining. He used to keep on crying as he did not like to attend class. His mother and sister used to sit outside the class to concentrate on the activities at the Balghar. The teachers visited Razin’s house one day and met his mother. They talked about Razin’s health and his malnourishment. It was known then that Razin was a healthy baby at the time of birth. But he suffered from a high fever when he was seven months old, and due to this fever, he had an epileptic fit. Since then, his growth has decreased. The teachers suggested a list of food items that could be fed to Razin at home to improve his health. The teachers paid extra attention to Razin’s diet at the Balghar. Gradually after six months of care, Razin is out of the malnourished category and has become normal. He enjoys coming to the class now, and he has become interactive and participates in all the activities. He aspires to become a police inspector after growing up.


23 March, 2021

Fun during pandemic

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Due to the lockdown caused by pandemic our regular classes are functioning differently to support the children and address their needs. Since July, 2020 our teachers goes to the community where the children live and forms small groups of children and undertakes activities in their respective homes, by following strict social distancing and making sure that the children wear masks.
Independence day was celebrated by doing flag hosting in the labour colony. Children were standing a distance, they sang national anthem. Children good cookies and hygiene kits as goodies.
During Janmashtami festival children were called to the center and precautions were taken that every one wore mask and were seated in the open. Teacher dressed one student as Krishna and then everyone plays and sang songs. Lunch was served to children and everyone enjoyed and had lot of fun as after so many months they got together.
Diwali was also different this year. Due to the rise in cases in the city we cancelled all our plans for celebration, however we wanted children and families to enjoy the festival and spread positivity and smiles. We gave rations to the children and made sure that they and their families stay safe and celebrated Diwali at home.
The children celebrated Independence Day, Janmashtami and Diwali with the guidelines of new normal.
Several meetings have been conducted with the parents and the community on how to take care of the children during this time and ways to provide them nutritious diet with the available local and inexpensive food. They are also informed about immunization and vaccination of the children. Focused Group Discussions are conducted in the community on a regular basis to understand the perspectives of parents towards a given topic and promote them to take their decisions towards the betterment of the child.
Role play, story-telling and activity-based learning has been carried out through door to door visits and learning in small groups. Story Telling and Enacting is another major aspect where the children can speak and understand the concept of education through activities. Through these activities the students can grasp the concepts easily. The children are also made to perform art and craft activities like drawing, painting, origami, clay modelling, structure making out of glass etc. This helps in developing the fine motor activities of the children. Activity based games are also played during the extra-curricular session which allows all the students to participate and engage in the activities and learning. It is seen that such activities are improving the bonding, learning, and experiencing a new way of education among all the students.



5 July, 2020

Learn with some Fun

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Learn with some Fun




A typical day at the center starts with prayer then with songs and rhymes. Teacher teaches them how to read and write Alphabets, Numbers. Then they play some outdoor games and after that they have their snacks.


We had organized Nutritional awareness session for the mothers of our students. The session was conducted by head of the paediatrician department of VS Hospital. Doctor urged mothers to provide nutritious food to children for strengthening their immunity and discussed daily schedule for children.


Children celebrated Holi on 9th March 2020. The children who were colourfully dressed to their best ability danced and snacks & sweets were distributed to the students while the teachers also attended the functions. Water gun (Pichkari) was distributed to all the children for Holi. Overall the children had a gala time.



19 November, 2019

Kids engaged in diverse activities

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Kids engaged in diverse activities








22 July, 2019

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Program Update


A typical day at the center starts with prayer then with songs and rhymes. Teacher teaches them how to read and write Alphabets, Numbers. Then they play some outdoor games and after that they have their snacks.


There is parents – teachers meeting every quarter where parents are given updates about their child’s physical, mental and behavioural growth.
In the month of February, we took children from Balghar to Kankari Bal Vatika (Zoo and Amusement Park). Children played the colour game in open ground and information about various plants was given through games. Children were fascinated to see different kinds of animals and birds, after their meal they were taken to the ‘Mirror House’, which amused them so much to see their body shape changing. While going back home they took a ride in toy train.


Story from the field


Aneeza Rafiqbhai is a 4 year old daughter of a domestic maid and a rickshaw driver. During the community visit for admissions for academic year 2018-19 our teachers of Balghar met her parents and convinced them to send their daughter to school.
When Aneeza came to the Balghar in July 2018, she was very nervous she used to cry a lot. Teachers immediately noticed that she was very weak and was suffering from malnutrition.
The teachers first focused on her health. Teachers also counselled her parents and told them Aneeza’s nutritional requirements. At first she was only interested in playing with toys in the class and would immediately start crying if asked to study. With constant care and attention, the teachers improved her attention towards learning and her health started improving as well. Now, in a few months there has been a lot of change in her. Her weight has increased and she is much healthier now and has started enjoying studies as well. She now sings in the class, writes in her own slate, counts from 1 to 20, reads charts and takes part in all the other activities.
Her teacher says, “The biggest change has been that she now helps other children as well in the class and is always happy to study”.


What is the expected total number of beneficiaries in this program for FY18-19?240
What is the number of beneficiaries/ benefits provided in this program, Year-To-Date2700
Village/City/State where project is locatedAhmedabad
Total Budget for the project for FY18-191800000
Total Expenses for the project YTD22000000

28 February, 2018

Celebrations galore at the SAATH

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Christmas is again the time of celebration with decorations and many visitors. The children were taken out for lunch to restaurants to celebrate the special day.


Diwali is the time for festivities. A lot of donors visited the centers and distributed food and sweetmeats to the children. The students were taken to visit the Amul Dairy in Anand. The children were explained about the importance of Milk and the products that are made from Milk such as buttermilk, yogurt, preparation of milk from Powder etc


Hygiene Kits were distributed to the students by a Canadian visitor in the Rajyash Riverium Center. The children were taught about the importance of Hygiene and how to keep them themselves neat and clean.


Medical camps were conducted in the centers at all the CFS centers in last six months. Children who were diagnosed malnourished were given supplements and children suffering from some illness were referred to govt. Hospital



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