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RAMAPIR NO TEKRO |
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Slums are the product of broken down village life. The irregularity of rain, prevalence of unemployment, the caste system, the appeal of city life, and a lack of facilities are some of the factors that lead people to migrate from their villages to urban spaces. These spaces are congested, unhealthy, and lack basic health and education amenities. The residents of these spaces consist of migrants—often landless laborers who came to the city in search of employment.
At the time of India’s independence, 90% of the country’s population lived in villages while only 10% occupied civic spaces. Today, India’s cities host 26.1% of its population, and urban centers are growing at exponential rates.
Ramapir No Tekro, also known as the Tekro, is the largest slum area in Ahmedabad, and is located directly across the street from Manav Sadhna. Home to approximately 150,000 residents, the slum consists mainly of people falling under the classification of Scheduled Caste who are originally from villages around Gujarat or potter families from Rajasthan. The entire development is considered an encroachment because the land is owned by the government and is therefore temporary; however, people have been living in the Tekro for over 50 years. Today, through government attention, most of this slum area has electricity, water, sidewalks, and a gutter system. However, due to problems with addiction, health issues, superstitions, backward traditions, high-interest loans and illiteracy, many slumdwellers continue to live in the same cycle of despair and poverty. They earn their incomes by driving rickshaws, rag picking, cleaning homes, shining shoes, and working as potters or day laborers.
By promoting values, education and awareness among the children and women in this slum area, we hope to eradicate many of the challenges the Tekro residents face so that they may become more empowered to change and uplift their standard of living.
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| Fitness Center | Festival | Library | Scout Programme |
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Scout Program
In 2010, Manav Sadhna started a Scout Program for the children who live in the Ramapir No Tekro. This program is supported by two organisations; Taj Global Understanding and Bharat Scout and Guides.
Troop 1992 is comprised of 30 dynamic youth from the Manav Sadhna project area and meetings are held weekly. Kiran Solanki, a local youth leader, currently has been appointed Scoutmaster for the Troop. The Troop meets every Tuesday at the Manav Sadhna Community Center. Troop 1992 was designed to utilize the platform of scouting to serve and promote leadership opportunities, educational enrichment, and exposure to those children in need. Having been in existence for over 100 years, scouting is a tested program, which is recognized globally.
Goal:
There are two main goals of this Scout program, which are to teach children self-dependency and self-development. Through involvement in various activities, the children will use and develop upontheirtalent, experiences and strength to achieve these personal goals. This type of personal development will provide an opportunity for allowing the children to become better human beings, good people to their community,and build upon their confidence. Together with this and their talents and skills they will be able to build a happy and successfully future for themselves.
The Scouts program offers children an opportunity to attain talent medals through numerous talent tests. This will motivate them to become the best at what they do and get professional state and national awards and recognition.
Object
Scoutactivityisdeeply connected with the children’s future in many different ways. The fundamental objectives of this programare the following (1) provide childrenwith inspiration to live better lives;(2) serve their community without having expectations; (3) learn what it means to have freedom, braveryand leadership; (4)provide various activities such as Yoga,to help children become physically and mentally strong andalert, whilst maintaining their body fitness.
Scout Activities
This program uses4 fundamental areas which build the basis for the children’s learning and curriculum. This includes service, health, good character and art. The curriculum is prepared per age group and standard.
Currently, 30 childrenare involved in this Scout Program. Every Tuesday evenings, all the Scout boys meet at the Tekro community centre. Here the children start with the official Scout flag hoisting ceremony and then get involved in different activities. This includes;learning signs for hiking, tricks with sticks, team building, leadership training, yoga, martial arts and a range of sports (i.e. basketball, games with sixth sense and dance with yoga). Theobjective of having various activities, allow the children to learn how to get pure happiness without any instruments.
In recent months, Manav Sadhna’s Scout program received an official charter and was given recognitionfrom the Bharat Scouts & Guides organisation. This means the children of this Scout’s program canparticipate in national events. By the end of 2011, it is envisaged that the children willtake part in numerous outdoor activities such as camping and high adventure programs.
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Fitness Center
The fitness center helps to empower individuals and allows them to escape cycles of addiction and poverty. Addiction to alcohol and tobacco is a pressing problem in many slum areas and it is a prevalent issue in the Tekro with dire repercussions on families. It not only leads to liver problems, lung cancer, and weakened immunity for the user, but also is detrimental to his or her family. As income is used to purchase alcohol, school fees go unpaid, family members are unfed, and children of users are forced to earn a daily wage to support the family. They become part of a vicious cycle, emulating their parents and spending their money to feed the very same addictions. As nutritious food becomes unaffordable, large sums of family finances have to be spent on health problems. Many alcohol and tobacco users thrust their families into instability as they do not have steady incomes an turn to their spouses to support their addictions, often leading to domestic violence.
The Tekro Fitness Center is able to act as a refuge from a society that encourages alcohol use, an education center where an individual can learn about the benefits of staying healthy, and a space that all members of the community can use as their own. It houses exercise tools and machines for community members to utilize and is used for body development and training, self-defense sessions, and to promote recreational activities. Currently, the gym has 40 regular members.
The Ramapir No Tekro Community Center was inaugurated in the spirit of community development four years ago. As a model for improving slums from within, the Community Center continues to be the venue from which the Tekro community is able to work toward its upliftment and promote communal harmony to lead to universal goodness. Manav Sadhna helps to host a variety of health, education, sanitation, nutrition, and community development programs for the community at the Center.
Ghodiyaghar: Daycare Center
Recognizing the daily hardships that women in the Tekro face in balancing taking care of their children, performing household duties, and often having the added responsibility of bringing home an income from odd jobs, Manav Sadhna has introduced a day nursery in the Community Center. As Manav Sadhna’s philosophy is grounded in value-based education, this nursery is the first step in instilling the important Gandhian values of love, respect, service, and justice into the community. The daycare environment fosters the healthy development of each child and embeds an excitement and curiosity within it to learn and grow. The value of togetherness becomes a way of life for the child at an early stage. The nursery also provides proper nutrition to better mental and physical growth. Caretakers provide motherly love, guidance, attention, and basic education through joyful activities and promote cleanliness, good personal hygiene, and sanitation by example. The daycare provides Tekro women with the freedom earn an income without fearing for their children’s welfare and future, and is free of cost. Currently, 17 little children come to the Ghodiyaghar every day when their parents go to work.
Festivals
Festival celebration at the Community Center is an important way to build community solidarity and to foster bonds between the community and Manav Sadhna. Throughout the year, the community gathers at the center to celebrate many of India’s holidays. Manav Sadhna sees every festival as an occasion of joy to celebrate with vigor and enthusiasm. Festivals like Christmas, Eid, and Diwali are observed with equal zeal, and are used to encourage children from all castes and all religions to celebrate in unison. National and cultural holidays such as Independence Day, Republic Day, Janmasthmi and Uttrayan are also bring the community together at the center.
Dustbin Project: Every month our Anganwadi Kitchen uses over 40 tins of oil and ghee (clarified butter). These tins are collected, cleaned, painted, and then distributed as trash bins to the Tekro community. One bin is given to one family. Painted on the bin is “Give me trash!” By promoting trash collection in the community, we hope to reduce the amount of litter in the small chaalis (alleys) and to create sanitation and hygiene awareness. This year, 385 dustbins were distributed, and approximately 1200 total dustbins have been distributed in the community.
Library
It says that good books are the true friends of human. Books are the source of information and
wisdom. Manav Sadhna runs a small library in the community centre to enhance children’s reading
habits. The library is equipped with various types of books of different languages. We have more than 2000 books and also various types of magazine which increase the IQ level of chidren. Students of Bal Sanskar and Tution class using the books routine. The students also use the library for the reading purpose.
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