It was our first year – a mix of accomplishments, lessons learnt and ways to move forward with your continued support! Here is a brief glimpse of our journey so far with the concept, ‘Adopt a Community’……
Trilokpuri
Our second community, Trilokpuri and Chilla Village slums in east Delhi is where we were able to accomplish more concrete projects, mainly due to being in Delhi and availability of resources.
Children’s Learning Centre
- Summer Camp held in June in Chilla Village starting with a ‘Paint for a Cause’ competition.
- Learning Centre established in September in partnership with ABC…Campaign focused on overall development of low income slum kids. 15 kids currently enrolled.
- Participated in a marathon organized by NGO Prayas on Children’s Day.
- 6 students from different colleges interned with us.
Our next steps are to increase classes and conduct more activities like reading sessions, practical science and engage with parents and larger community.
Summer Camp, Chilla village, June 2016
Ibtida, Women’s Empowerment Centre
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Sewing class and lecture by designer Renuka Savasare
26 women trained in sewing. “I never thought I would ever stitch my own clothes,” said 41 year old Nargis.
- In 4 months empowered Shahnaz, the trainer to become first entrepreneur from our Centre. She now runs her own training center with 5 donated machines.
- 11 women participated at International Peace Builder’s workshop; a learning experience, meeting women from 16 different countries and a first time exposure outside Trilokpuri for some.
We shall continue to identify more women with leadership qualities and help them become self sustained and look to partner on women’s health and nutrition.
Mewat
We started with community research in Kaman, Mewat, Rajasthan ranking among the lowest literacy rates in the country, especially in women.
Field assessment with Aakar Foundation experts on rain water harvesting
Accomplished so far:
- A video documentary on the region highlighting key issues.
- Held chaupals(focus groups) on education with an assessment by Diganter, a well known NGO.
- Focus group with women to understand most important needs and dynamics within the community.
- Partnered with Aakar Foundation specializing in building check dams to raise awareness of rain water harvesting through a film and conducted an assessment of the region to identify areas for building check dams.
- Network of local youth keen to bring about change, organized on Whatsapp now.
- A good understanding of the challenges – cultural, religious, geo-physical and political.
Going forward, our goal is to form a local team, prioritize based on research so far the first project for implementation with realistic goals and funding.
We appreciate your support and look forward to more community collaboration, development and empowerment! Follow us at Facebook and Twitter.
Yasmeen Fatimah
Founder and Director