Description
It’s hard to learn if you can’t afford exercise books and pens. How can you practice maths or master spellings? For Dalit children in Patripul, India, poverty like this disrupts their learning every day.
Today, you can change that reality for three children in Patripul. Give three children a gift of essential school equipment which will last them for most of the school year. Now, with the support of our partners, they’ll be able to learn at school and build skills for a better future.
Why school equipment?
Education is officially free in India, however, even without official fees there are still costs. Parents must provide all their children’s learning materials – exercise books, pens and other stationery essentials – and many families struggle to pay for these items. This creates another huge barrier to learning for marginalised children. It’s hard to learn effectively if you can’t write anything down.
Transforming lives in Patripul
Three GCare Centres in Patripul, a slum in Kalyan, near Mumbai, support around 250 Dalit children with a safe space where they can learn. As well as education, they receive a nutritious snack. GCare staff advocate for children’s needs at school and home, ensuring they go to school rather than out to work or to beg, and that when they do get to school they are treated fairly by teachers.
After a decade of advocacy, staff in local schools know that when a child is under the protection of the GCare team, they must treat them fairly – for example, let them participate in lessons, not force them to clean the toilets, and they must mark their books – all common forms of discrimination against Dalit children.
To ensure each child can succeed in school, the GCare team provide them with gifts of essential school equipment each year. Your gift will provide three children with school equipment including four notebooks, exercise books, pens or pencils and a maths set including a protractor, ruler and pair of compasses.
The GCare team also intervene to meet other welfare needs – food parcels, a safe home after eviction, medical treatment or hygiene supplies. Resources are few but the ingenuity and commitment of the GCare team is endless!
A piece of the puzzle for a better future
Education is by far the best tool for breaking the poverty cycle. But succeeding in education is complex: the right tools are a part of the puzzle By purchasing a gift of tools for three children to succeed in school, you’re helping them make the most of their education.
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Give Tools for Transformation to bless children in Patripul this year. It’s a great alternative gift with real impact.
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