Introduction

LENS Foundation started its engagement with Samarpan Foundation in September 2018, which works in the Shastri Park area of Delhi. Approximately 8,000 residents, families of rickshaw pullers, farmers, and daily wage labourers, live under a bridge situated close to the Yamuna River. Although the bridge provides some respite from the extreme weather conditions, the community lives in makeshift homes with no sanitation and little availability of drinking water. The children are their families are deprived of basic amenities like housing, food, and education. They live in little slum dwellings under the metro station bridges. Following the various construction norms of the government, the school is run with a temporary setup as concrete construction is not allowed in the area.

The objective of the project is to get children off the streets and into the formal education system. Classes are conducted based on the grasping power and level of general knowledge that a child has when he or she joins the school, which is determined by a basic eligibility assessment. The pupil-teacher ratio of 1 to 30 (teacher to pupil) is high in the beginning and gradually decreases as the children advance to higher levels.

Project Highlights

Crèche:

It was observed that a number of children would not attend school as they were tasked with taking care of their younger siblings while their parents went to work. In order to take care of these young children and also ensure that their elder siblings could attend the study sessions, a crèche was opened in the project. Due to this addition, the school had seen great success in terms of the number of children enrolled.

Theatre for students:

Creativity among children and youth remains a focus of LENS Foundation. When learning is added to creativity, students tend to show great interest. To make learning fun and inculcate creative expressions in children, LENS Foundation encouraged students to attend weekly theatre classes held at its Shastri Park learning centre, which were conducted by a trained theatre professional. These classes started in September 2018 and were attended by older students enthusiastically.

Distribution:

From time to time, LENS Foundation accommodates the needs of community members and students at the Shastri Park centre. Since winter is severe in Delhi. The foundation ensured that students and their families kept warm. It distributed blankets and thermal wear to students and their families at the peak of the season every year. It also gave materials useful in school like school bags and shoes to students.

Nutrition:

A kitchen is run in the school where the children are provided with one hot nutritious meal, to ensure basic nutrition. Children are provided with these meals daily along with special treats during celebrations. The BMI of each child is measured quarterly to measure the Nutrition Aspect. LENS also provides support to medicate students with properly prescribed medicines, and de-worming medicines so that they could be free from any disease or ailment.

The sample menu for a week was as follows

Skill Enhancement: Workshops, Training, Capacity Building

A training program workshop allows the strengthening of skills that needs improvement and brings all people to a level so that they all have similar skills and knowledge. This helps reduce any weaknesses within, and people can achieve their desired goals once they understand the processes.

LENS Foundation lends support to organizing different skill development training and workshops with the help of partner NGOs to create awareness and skill development.

LENS initiated several trainings and workshops for teachers, students, and community members on the subject of teachers training, quilling workshops, Good touch- Bad touch for children and domestic abuse, awareness on voting rights, cooking and serving, health & hygiene, water, sanitation, etc.

To promote the implementation of environment-related activities such as waste management, water sanitation & hygiene, and to create a better environment, LENS lends support in organizing various awareness programs on environmental issues at various intervals of times.

Field Trip – Oh! Max

All the children along with teachers and school staff spent a wondrous day at Oh! Max. Oh! Max is an indoor wonderland. Children admired the replicas of the architecture of the world and learned their history. Their grins reflected their exuberance as they experienced the Sea ball pool, Mirror maze, Adventure Park, Chocolate factory, and many more