Project Description
Vikas Adhyayan Kendra is a secular non-governmental organisation, which was started in 1981 and is engaged in study and research, consultations, publications, campaigns, and some direct community work in the three western Indian states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
Jogeshwari, a western Mumbai suburb between Andheri and Goregaon, is the house of many families below the poverty line. Most of these families with a monthly income between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000, are not in a position to afford basic education for their children. Moreover, with the parents being uneducated, the understanding of importance of education is very poor. This is responsible for the large number of school dropouts and under-performers.
Syed Firoz Ashraf, founder trustee of a secular voluntary organization called Vikas Adhyayan Kendra, understood the situation and decided to work for the education of these children. He targeted the school dropouts and started teaching them at his house, with the help of his wife. He took pains to meet the parents of these children to emphasize the importance of education. There are about 300 children who are being benefited by the tuition classes being conducted at 8 centers. The classes for the junior classes are conducted by the senior, college going students while Mr.Ashraf, his wife and daughter helps them with their studies. Sometimes external help is required for the senior students. The girls who teach in these classes get to earn a modest sum of money which goes a long way in boosting their confidence and making them independent.
To summarize, this is the first step towards "breaking the shackles and chasing their dreams...."
Goal of WAH 2005 Proposal
Work An Hour 2005 will support the operational expenses of Vikas Adhyayan Kendra for 2005-06 so that the other sources of funding can be solely used for vocational training like tailoring, nurses training etc.
