5 NGOs Reshaping Girl Child Education in Mumbai
Despite being independent for over 75 years, the literacy rate of women in India is very low as compared to men. According to the 2011 census, only 65.46% of women in India are literate as compared to 82.14% of men. There are various reasons for this difference, the deep-rooted patriarchy being the major one. Poverty and education are interlinked. It’s the people living in poverty who don’t have access to education. This results in a lack of skills that are required for getting a decent job. This cycle continues and results in poor people getting poorer. The government has taken various measures to break this cycle and ensure the goal of universal education but even today, millions of children don’t have access to basic education. Mumbai is the most populous city in India. Being one of the megacities of the country, the population of people living in poverty is also high and as a consequence, there are many children, especially girls, who don’t have access to education. There are various NGOs in Mumbai that are tirelessly working to ensure education for every child. Here are 5 such NGOs. 1. Sakhi For Girls Education- The NGOs working for girl child education in Mumbai runs with the mission of providing quality education to every girl in Mumbai and the rural areas of Osmanabad. The main motto of Sakhi is to be that friend who inspires, supports and guides these girls by running community-based after-school programs.
The NGO was started by Arti Naik, who herself was a slum girl, with the aim of building educational capacities for other slum girls. The daily activities of the NGO enable these slum girls to build basic literacy and numeracy skills. The NGO has successfully educated hundreds of girls since its inception and pledges to make more contributions in the field of education. 2. Akshara Center- Akshara Center was established with the aim of empowering the women of the nation. Their team has been working relentlessly to ensure a society where all women are empowered and enjoy basic rights. The NGO has been providing scholarships to marginalized women between the ages of 14-20 years. These scholarships support these young women in completing their education. Every year around 200 women finish their education with the help of this scholarship. Akshara Center also runs the basic computer, English speaking, and tally courses. They also educate young girls in understanding their bodies by teaching them about nutrition, contraceptives, and sexuality. They aim to create a generation of strong and aware women who stand up for themselves and their rights. 3. IDEA Foundation- The NGO was established with the aim of dealing with educational and development issues of the underprivileged sections of society. The foundation runs 5 core programmes that help various sections of society. Their Udaan program focuses on educational sponsorship for deserving and needy children. UDAAN- It is a sponsorship programme that helps children from deprived backgrounds, with a special focus on the girl child, complete their education with the help of their social workers. Udaan aims at reducing the school dropout rate and promoting the all-round development of children. 4. Smile Foundation- Every year Smile Foundation benefits over 15 lakhs of children and families in India. They strongly believe that children are the future of the country and have taken various measures in different fields- education, healthcare, women empowerment, livelihood, child for child, special support programs, and disaster response, to improve the condition of marginalized children Their women empowerment program, Swabhiman was started with the aim of empowering the women of the nation by providing them with healthcare facilities, education, and support. So far, Swabhiman has been able to make a difference in the lives of over 5,60,000 women and girl children through its educational and healthcare programs. 5. Care India- Care India has been working for the last 70 years to bring holistic and sustainable changes to society. Their Girl Education program has been running for the last 25 years to ensure quality elementary education for girls from marginalized communities.
They want to ensure that every girl child gets the rights that she is entitled to. They aim to build strong women who are leaders and changemakers of the future world. Education is the key to empowering women in India. But sadly, education is still a distant dream for millions of girls in India. It’s high time that people stop treating girl children as a burden and start investing equally in girl and boy child education. Government authorities and other organizations need to undertake stricter measures to make sure that each and every girl gets educated. Apnalaya is an NGO that has been working since 1972 to empower the poor people in India. Over the last four decades, they have made significant changes in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Their relentless efforts in the field of education have helped many girls get access to basic education.