Chandigarh: Every Child Counts (ECC) survey is one of many initiatives organized by the Door Step School (DSS) periodically. The aim of the survey is to identify children aged between six and 14 years who are not enrolled in schools. Partnering with DSS, the volunteers of Pune DC’s CSR club -- Sparsh – A Healing Touch – visited labour camps in various construction sites around Pune city. These camps are home to a huge number of migrant labourers who live with their families. There are numerous cases where the children of these labourers are not sent to local schools or are denied admission due to a variety of reasons.
The teams collected data of these children in the labour camps and motivated parents to start sending them to school. Under the Right to Education Act, every child aged between six and 14 years is entitled to receive free education in government schools. The teams covered 10-plus sites, 100-plus families, and shortlisted more than 25 children to enroll in schools. Priti, a volunteer, said: “We are excited that these children will soon start school. We will continue to work on this initiative to get more underprivileged children into school.”
Arpan, the CSR wing of Infosys, Chandigarh, is trying to improve the health of the disadvantaged through a program called Jagriti. Arpan conducts weekly awareness drives called ‘chaupals’ in Shastri Nagar. The motive is to ensure that malnutrition and other health-related ailments do not hamper the education of students in the Arpan Education program. This program has improved the overall attendance in the classroom.
Programs covering menstrual hygiene, home hygiene, disease prevention such as malaria, dengue, etc., were conducted and impacted 100 plus families. The slum areas development program resulted in the placement of mobile toilets which benefited 2000 plus families. A three-month-long program was held to sponsor economically weaker sections with LPG cylinders and fuel systems. Over 15 families were benefitted from LPG connections
Regular awareness drives have been conducted about various government schemes such as Ujjwala Yojana, vaccination programs. Another feather in Arpan’s cap was the creation of the Shakti Club -- Women Club in Shastri Nagar. For the last six months, its focus has been to create awareness on menstrual hygiene and the safe disposal of sanitary pads. The Jagriti initiative was powered by over 30 volunteers.
