Smile Foundation in partnership with Digambarpur Angikar has initiated a Mission Education project for the slum and street children of 24 South Parganas in West Bengal. The emphasis is also on women empowerment and child development programmes by providing them technical and vocational training. Girls form 50 per cent of the total beneficiaries.

About the Project

The Digambar Non Formal Education Centre is providing slum and street children primary education, study materials, nominal health, hygienic and nutritional support, life skill education, art, craft, games, sports as well as recreational facilities. Children here are taught in a joyful environment and special effort is made to change their mental setup and behavioural pattern. Thus effort is made to upgrade the emotional and intellectual capacity of the children, improve their knowledge, general awareness, etiquettes, manners and thus mainstreaming them into public schools. Afternoon classes are also conducted for domestic maids and basic education classes including knitting/stitching classes are also being provided. Besides providing basic education, the project also aims at ensuring a literate community by creating a strong awareness among the people to solve their local problems through local resource mobilization. For the purpose, various art and cultural programmes are organised for community involvement. The study centres are located at Jadavpur, Baghajatin, Garia, Dhakuria Narendrapur, Sonapur, Subasgram and Malikpur.

Target Group

Children up to the age of 14 living in urban slums, shanties, railway platforms and pavements, children of SC/ST and other socio-economically weaker communities. About 300 children are getting directly benefited from the project, of which, 50 per cent are girl child from poor families.

About the Partner

Digambar Angikar is based in village Digambarpur of South 24 Parganas in West Bengal. The organisation works with the mission to reach out to the underprivileged section of society to make them self reliant by providing them support through efficient and readily available management information system, technical and vocational skill etc. Digambar Angikar is also involved in many projects like eradication of early marriage, dowry, trafficking of girls, child labour etc. It has tied up with Capart, Government of West Bengal, Central Social Welfare Board, Indo Global Social Service Society, NABARD etc for financial assistance. Through its programme Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme, it provides education, health care, nutrition and recreational support to 125 children of low income working mothers. It provides capacity building and orientation training for formation and management of self help groups, micro credit management etc. Women of BPL families are being provided orientation training for access to micro credit and its management techniques, group management etc. About 480 women of BPL families have been empowered by the organization and now have the capacity and skill for income generation.

Special focus

•   50 must be part of the total children targeted
•   Maximum focus on children living in railway platforms, shanties, pavements and those from deserving social   communities
•   Basic technical and vocational training for girs