Anmol* lives in a bustling slum of Ghatkopar in Mumbai. Born into poverty and abandoned by his father, this nine-year-old lives with his mother who is a Commercial Sex Worker (CSW) and the sole breadwinner of the family.
Sahaara runs an education centre in the area where the children receive help with their studies, are given a nutritious meal and are imparted values through sessions, songs, skits, and activities.
Our team met with Anmol during their visits to the area and invited him to join our centre.
In the beginning, Anmol was irregular to the classes and could be easily distracted from the task at hand and had no appetite for the food served at the centre. But as our team paid more attention to him and counselled and encouraged him, his interest in studies grew drastically.
Now he is a regular at our coaching classes and is doing well in his studies. His growing interest helps him to grasp things more quickly. His desire to learn is not just limited to studies but can be seen in extracurricular activities that are conducted. He enjoys participating in activities, games, skits, and dance that is organized.
He has also started eating well and his appetite has grown, because of which he is healthy and does not fall sick as often as he used to before. He maintains good hygiene by washing his hands before and after meals, a habit he learned at one of the hygiene awareness sessions held at the centre. We are happy to see Anmol learn and implement the values like gratitude, forgiveness, and punctuality, and encourage others to do the same.
We are glad that we could help Anmol have access to a better future by sowing seeds of good values in him and we hope we will be able to witness him grow into an individual who will not only be a doer of good things but an enabler for others.
*Name changed to protect identity.