Many thousands of children in Delhi and surrounding cities live in appalling slum conditions and are deprived of even the most basic education.
The Bhuapur slum in Delhi is a garbage dump and home to more than 5,000 rag-picker families, who survive by sifting through the rubbish all around them for items they can sell to make a tiny income.
The families – most of which have migrated to Delhi to escape poverty – live in squalid conditions and survive, without water, sanitation, proper shelter, health or education services. As families struggle to get enough food to survive, many children must work as rag-pickers to earn money for their families.
Education is a low priority. But without it, the future for these children is bleak. Without it, the cycle of poverty and deprivation will never be broken and the children face a lifetime in the slums.
Phia Foundation is helping to bring some hope to this community with our Jugnu project. Our three education centres in Bhuapur act as ‘bridge schools’ for 150 children of rag-picker families, providing a basic education which enables them to enroll in mainstream schools.
In the first year of the Jugnu project, 40 children from the centres have already gone on to attend government schools in the area.
At our centres, we also provide books and teaching aids, train community leaders to run the schools effectively and work with parents to stress the importance of education. We also provide clean water and healthy food for the children every day.
With a growing demand for similar facilities in the slums of Delhi and NCR, Phia Foundation plans to open new centres to reach out to 300 of the most excluded and deprived children, giving them the chance to go to school, learn and fulfill their potential in life.
We believe all children deserve the best start in life.
