Project Brief: With Asha's funds, Aarti will implement a Family-Based care program for the economic orphans of Kadapa. These funds will support the children who live in the slums of Kadapa, who often have living parents but are struggling with extreme poverty. Aarti wil
Project Type: Formal Schools (description)
Primary Focus: girls (description)

Secondary Focus: to go to formal school

Area: Rural
Supporting Chapter Contact:
Stanford

Status: CURRENT
Project Steward: Pranavi Kethanaboyina
Project Partner(s): Dheershitha
Project Address: Vijay Foundation Trust - Aarti for Girls
Vijay Foundation Trust (Assn) D.No. 20/539-B
Opposite Municipal Stadium
Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh 516001
Tel: 91 8121801644
Stewarding Chapter: Stanford

'Children at Aarti Home are so lucky’ is a sentiment that we hear almost every day. The Aarti children have had unimaginably bad beginning in their lives. They are orphaned, abandoned, many of them abused in ways we cannot even fathom. How are these children lucky? The answer lies in poverty. We see children with parents who come to our school hungry. We see children who come to school with ill health and no hygiene. Worse, we see children who fall out of the school system. This led us to have a home care program for children from broken and poor homes. Over the last two years, we have provided additional care to 30 children in our school with three nutritious meals a day, uniforms and books. We found that these children, with a little care, had blossomed and had started to be more engaged in school.

With the statistics and our own experiences, we have launched Aarti Home-Based Care for children who, while having at least one parent, are still neglected due to poverty. This program is founded on the principle that the thing for the child is often to be with the parent. The child deserves a full life, wherever she lives. We want to support at-risk children in their homes. Our social workers identify the children at risk from slums and temporary housing. The environment is assessed for safety and the parent is coached and motivated to get the child into formal education with our bridge schooling program. This is a program specifically to transition students without formal schooling into the education system. The child is brought into an environment with security of food, clothing, medical and psychological care and education. We pick up the children at 7 am and send the children back at 5 pm after school and play. With this we take the children out of the cycle of hunger, abuse and addiction. With this program, we aim to reach 300 children in 2020. A small beginning for in the world where there are thousands of children in need.

What do the children get?
1. Social worker visits for community education, parent motivation and assessment of risks
2. Three nutritious meals – Breakfast, lunch and Tea which amount to 1500 calories
3. Education at Aarti English medium school – Aarti school is a government recognized
school with progressive education techniques. Last 10 years, Aarti school has had 100% pass percentage with last year average CGPA at 8.6. 3 children were sent to state level sports
4. Books – All text and notebooks, stationery and school bags
5. Health and Hygiene support – Practical training in health and hygiene, soaps, tooth brush and paste
6. Three uniforms and two other pairs of clothes (these would be refurbished clothes where possible)
7. Two pairs of shoes and socks
8. Transportation from and to their homes
9. Medical check ups and any primary health care
10. Psychological counseling

How do we assess the impact?
1. The children’s health and wellbeing through checkups
2. Education through grade based assessment
3. Safety and security through field and social worker visits

The costs will cover education tuition fees, transport to school (bus/vans), and meals.