Don Bosco Navjeevan and Smile Foundation have launched an education initiative for the street children titled ‘Shishu Shiksha’ [Child Education] in Chandigarh city. The target children will be from the slums, streets and resettlement colonies of the union territory of Chandigarh.

Under the ‘Shishu Shiksha’ programme, six Education Centres have been set up in different parts of Chandigarh, which will provide education, basic healthcare and nutritional support to 300 underprivileged children.

About the project

The ‘Shishu Shiksha’ Project is an initiative aimed to provide right opportunities in terms of formal education to the children who are deprived of it so far. The objective behind the initiative is to bring such children out of deprived circumstances, who will in turn not only build a dignified future but also be a part of the prosperity of city of Chandigarh in long run.

The initiative has a systematic process to identify non-school going, drop-out and pre-primary children in the age group of 5 to 14 years for enrolment in the education centres. The enrolled beneficiaries are then integrated smoothly to non formal educational [NFE] programmes through persistent, coherent and cohesive systems with the children finally getting mainstreamed into formal schools.

The initiative also has provision for retention of school going children in the formal educational system through systematic regular and periodic follow-up visits to schools, monitoring of the children’s performance, regular counselling on issues related to education, support to child for medical assistance and nutritional aid.

‘Shishu Shiksha’ project aims to mainstream 300 children from low socio-economic strata into formal education and in the process transform their lives for the better.

Fr. Sebastian Jose SDB, Execuitve Director of Don Bosco Navjeevan says, "Our association with Smile Foundation will help us achieve bigger results and this support will add to scalability. I know that SMILE has already been working with Don Bosco sister concerns in Bangalore and Kolkata. We are looking forward to achieve excellence with the needy children of Chandigarh."

About the partner

Don Bosco Navjeevan established in 2001 in Chandigarh is a subsidiary of the reputed Don Bosco chain with centres all across India. With a strong infrastructure and adequate facilities, Don Bosco qualified itself as an obvious choice for Smile Foundation’s implementing partner for Chandigarh.

The organisation has primarily been working for economically deprived and disadvantaged children in the age group of 5 to 18 years.

Don Bosco Navjeevan has been trying to make a difference in the lives of these children by first empowering them with the power of education and later helping them to get mainstreamed into civil society. The organization has previously received supports from a host of national and international organizations such as European Commission, Don Bosco France etc.

'Graduation Day’ in Chandigarh

Smile Foundation celebrated ‘Graduation Day’ of its Balwadi students with its renowned partner Don Bosco Navjeevan on April 14, 2009 in Chandigarh. 

The day is also as occasion for the children to celebrate as they have now completed one year of grooming at the non formal centre and are ready to attend the formal school. Children celebrated the day with lots of talent shows and reflected their creativity and extracurricular talents.

 In 2007, Smile Foundation and Don Bosco Navjeevan launched an education initiative for the street children titled ‘Shishu Shiksha’ (Child Education) in Chandigarh. 

 Three hundred children from the slums, streets and resettlement colonies of the union territory of Chandigarh are enrolled in the centre.  

A 100% mainstreaming of these children in government schools have been achieved, leading to brighter and empowered future.

Project Outcome

The prime objective is to mainstream 300 street children into formal education system by the end of the endeavour.