Community Service

• URBAN SLUMS
  Our work is centered at Sudhaar Camp, an urban slum in Delhi that has been adopted by Shanti Sahyog. The slum is inhabited by 850 families with more than a 1,000 school age children.

• ACCESS TO EDUCATION
  Since we believe that it is only through quality education that the children from the slums can break the cycle of poverty, we made a small beginning by sending 100 children from our adopted slum- Sudhar Camp to private schools like Deepalaya and S.K Convent School in the vicinity of our slum.

  Initially, it took long to convince the parents to send their children to school, since their meagre earnings through petty household work added to the family kitty. However, our counsellors were able to convince them of the importance of education and they finally agreed to send their children to school.

  We fund the school tuition fee, as also the private tuition (to complement and sustain the learning from school), school transportation to ensure the children attend school regularly, summer and winter school uniforms, text books and exercise books for the entire school year. Kalkaji E-block temple has given us a spacious room in their premises to hold private tuitions.

  There is a waiting list of over 900 (very eager to go to school) children!

• PRESCHOOL EDUCATION
  On 2nd April 2007, Dr. Mrs. Kusum Ansal, an eminent writer and educationist on our Advisory Board , inaugurated our Aanganwari - A Play School for pre-school slum children aged 2 to 4 yrs next to our Health Center in the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) premises in Kalkaji, New Delhi.

  Little children from the slums come here from 9 a.m. -12 noon to spend quality time with our aanganwari teachers and social workers. Students who are NSS (National Service Scheme) volunteers from nearby colleges – like Lady Sri Ram College - also assist the teachers in looking after and educating the young ones. The children are kept involved with educational toys like building blocks, puzzles and games. They are also taught the alphabet, counting, nursery rhymes, drawing and painting. These activities prepare them for entry into formal education. A free mid-day meal is also provided.

• ADULT EDUCATION
  The slum dwellers have access to twice a week adult education classes to enable them to read and comprehend basic yet important information relevant to their daily lives.

• HEALTH CARE
  On 11th of January 2007, MCD (The Municipal Corporation of Delhi) signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with our NGO – Shanti Sahyog thereby handing over their dysfunctional health centre building to us.  We renovated it with funds received from Ansal API under their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative. It was inaugurated by Dr. Kusum Ansal on 2nd April 2007. Mr. Sushil Ansal, Chairman, ANSAL API continues to support the functioning of our Health Center.

  At the Health Centre, we provide free preventive and curative health care - with a focus on women’s health. Our Health Centre caters not only to the 850 families that reside in our adopted slum - Sudhaar Camp - but also to those living in poverty and deprivation in and around Kalkaji. Patients now have easy access to a general practitioner, a dentist and a gynecologist.

  The activities at the Health Centre are:

  • Morning consultation and treatment
  • Special care on women’s health
  • Screening of films promoting an awareness of health related issues such as : AIDS, Family Planning, Personal & Environmental Hygiene
  • Adult counselling and education
    
    

  Free Medical Camp
  On 20th October 2007, a free Eye Camp was organised by Shanti Sahyog in the slums.
  
  
  A team of eight health care professionals diagnosed and treated the slum dwellers from Sudhar Camp and neighbouring dwellings for optometric, gynaecological, and diabetic conditions. 106 patients were prescribed and given free eye glasses and 10 cataract operations were performed in this Medical Camp.
  
  

  Medical camp report>

• COUNSELING
  Parents of the children are counseled to send the children to school instead of having them work long hours for very little returns. We also counsel the parents in life-skills, specially the women, who are often victims of domestic violence.

• VOCATIONAL TRAINING
  The women are taught tailoring, candle making and other handicrafts to encourage self -  reliance and build confidence.

  
  
  Vocational Centre
  Health center at the MCD premises in Kalkaji doubles up as a Vocational Centre in the afternoon where women are taught tailoring by a professional teacher,  ( cushion covers, bedsheets ), candle making and other handicrafts to encourage self -  reliance and build confidence. It was inaugurated on the same day as our Health Center on 2nd April 2007 by Dr. Kusum Ansal. Ansal API also donated 2 sewing machines to the vocational centre.

   
• ADVOCACY AND AWARENESS
  There is also screening of films promoting awareness of health related issues such as: HIV AIDS, family planning, general & dental hygiene. Our health services include mobile labs and eye/cancer camps.
  
  
• GANDHI CLUBS IN SCHOOLS
  Children learn nonviolent conflict resolution skills which foster fellowship and respect of the other.