Date: The onsite visit was conducted on 04 May 2010.
Carried out by: Anjali Madan (AM) and K.E. Priyamvada (KEP). They were accompanied by Gita Ranjan and Sadaf, members of Udayan Care.
Purpose of the visit: the purpose of this initial visit was to see the Home, understand the needs of the children and see how Taylor & Francis India Pvt. Ltd. (T&F) can associate itself with Udayan Care as part of its CSR programme.
Observations: The Sant Nagar Home for Girls is a residential facility which currently houses 12 girls aged 7 to 17. All of these young girls are orphaned or have been abandoned by their families. Udayan Care provides shelter, food, clothing, counselling, facilitates admission to leading schools of Delhi and coordinates volunteer activity to provide the children the opportunity to have as normal a childhood as possible. Upon reaching the age of 18, the children have to leave the home and are assisted in finding courses of further study or job opportunities, as well as hostels to stay in.
There is a mentor mother who lives in the Home and helps the children with their daily routine and homework. There is a cook who takes care of the nutritional needs of the children. Volunteers come to the Home in the evening to help the children with their homework or carry out other learning and development activities. The home itself was clean and had a homely atmosphere. There was a positive interaction between the children and AM and KEP. One of them shared her poems and artwork with us. Another told us about her experience at school. We also met a girl who had left the home after turning 18. She is independent (working with Nirulas) has continued her association with the Home and in turn is mentoring the young residents.
The young girls are friendly and seem open to learning. They are used to interaction with volunteers and so have no fear of strangers. It would not be difficult for people who may have no prior experience of teaching or volunteering to interact with the children.
The children attend school during the day, therefore the summer vacation for schools (June) would probably be the best time to send volunteers from T&F.
Given the size of the Home and the available space in its common areas, sending a group of 3-4 volunteers would probably be best.
The overall impression was that there was a genuine effort being made to help the children grow up in the environment of a home, as well as have a childhood with access to opportunities that would lead to their developing into independent adults.
Anjali & Priyamvada
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