Sambhav

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We came to know about Prashant and his group when one of our team members was visiting a slum in Bhubaneswar. Since few months, we have been in regular contact with this group. What attracted us most was the diversity of working area and zeal for the work that Prashant has in spearheading this project. It is really commendable and astonishing to see that he is tackling a huge work-load without any external support. In the last three months, we have minutely analyzed his activities and come to the conclusion that Prashant and his team is serving the society with utmost dedication and selflessness.

1.1 Slum Education & Kids Library

Location: Sailya Sai [Slum at Bhubaneswar]

Population: 30,000 out of which 10,000 are children (5-15 years).

Only one government school is functional under the “Sarva Shikchha Abhiyan” project having 70-80 students. Statistics clearly depict the big difference in the requirements and the actual facilities available for children. So, Prashant started some projects last year to bridge this gap in education facilities. He is currently working with a school in that area.

Slum Education – Work Done So Far:

· Selected 30 teachers from the community. Most of them are women facing livelihood problems.

· Proper teacher training conducted by Pratham [an NGO]

· About 600 students have been inducted from the community.

· Every teacher spends 3-4 hours per day.

· Salary: Rs. 200 per month per teacher*

[* This salary seems very small, but we (Sambhav Team) have seen the happiness it has given to the women as it provides them with livelihood and also a sense of glory for doing something good for the society, since most of them are from that slum only. So for them it is like educating their own kids.]

Our Future Plan:

In the beginning, Prashant didn’t have any proper place for the school. But the community has given him a piece of half acre land to build a school. Now, our agenda is:

· Build a pakka school

· Set up two batches of students: 1st-5th & 6th-10th.

As of now, Prashant doesn’t have any proper channel to generate funds. He has been collecting it randomly and mostly from his friends. However, with the number of students increasing day by day, it is becoming very difficult to obtain funds. Currently, to fulfill immediate requirements we are looking for financial help from different sources. You can also contribute towards this cause and enable Prashant and his team in educating the slum kids.

Kids Library:

With the lack of proper education system at Sailya Sai, most of the kids spend their time in wasteful activities. Being a slum, this often entails many activities like drinking, smoking. Thus,

Prashant has plans to open a small Kids Library & Entertainment Centre [KLEC] which will:

· Stock books on course subjects and other topics

· Involve efforts to create a positive environment where a kid can sit, read, learn and gain some knowledge

· Include extracurricular activities like carom and chess

· Have screening of a children’s movie each week

· Conduct painting classes by local artists

Currently, Prashant and his team are searching for infrastructure to start this initiative. You can help us by contributing old books, comics etc. You can also send us informative audio-visual content which will be used as a learning aid for kids. You may also suggest any movies, cartoons or documentaries which you think will be helpful in introducing different aspects of life to them.

Opening a library and school goes a long way in helping children become a good citizen as well as equips them to live an independent life and assert their rights. We request readers to help Prashant and his team in whatever way they can.

1.2 Work with Drug Users & HIV+

It is really surprising that along with the above activities Prashant has also taken up the cause of rehabilitating the socially isolated. He works very closely with drug addicts and HIV+.

Prashant along with his team carry out regular counseling sessions for drug users. He talks to them about the bad effects and way out of this unfortunate addiction. Most of the time, these people are thrown out of the house by family members due to their drug addiction. His team contacts the family members and tries to persuade the drug user to get himself enrolled in a de-addiction centre. Counseling and caring for them is a difficult and complicated task – because a drug user who has successfully recovered from this addiction is always at risk of a relapse, as a result of the environment surrounding him.

One of the major problems they face is the impatience shown sometimes by the family members. In many cases, family members want immediate results and this can be counterproductive. The drug-victims should not be pressurized in their deaddiction phase. So, Prashant wants to start a de-addiction centre where his team can counsel the addicts, and at the same time provide them with an ideal environment for kicking this habit.

Being a HIV+ often means that the dependents of the affected are also treated as outcasts, with no logical reason. Prashant and his team not only help these socially isolated people but also provide aid to their dependents to sustain their livelihood.

Currently Prashant doesn’t have any proper setup for counseling. He used to do it in temples or public places like park. His team is now looking for a proper place that drug users & HIV+ can have as a haven. Where they can come, sit, talk, and entertain themselves without any shadow of “untouchability”. A place where these people can unwind for some time before they return to the wind and grind of the society.

Sambhav is highly inspired by the work and dedication of Prashant and wants to contribute towards this cause. We had a round of discussions to try and come up with a way forward, and we decided to start a group called “Sahayog” for his help. Sahayog’s members are Mamta, Prashant, Gobind, Anand, Vinit and four others (to be nominated by Prashant from his team).

Work Division:

1.   Prashant and his group are involved in the ground work. They are doing all of the above mentioned activities dedicatedly and shall be continuing with the same.

2.   Mamta, Anand and Vinit will pool in efforts for advertisement, planning, resource management, fund raising and other related jobs.

3.   Gobind has to locate NGOs that would be helpful. We will try to establish contact with them and seek their help. He would also try to loop in government projects involved in similar work.

We are closely evaluating the possibilities and evolving the way to make Sahayog as self-sustainable and scalable as possible.

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