Improving learning outcomes for slum children

India has gone into lockdown since March 24^th 2020. With close to 2 months of lockdown, certain areas are gradually being relaxed. However schools will remain closed till 10^th of June as declared by the government, or maybe even longer as the situation demands. Calcutta Rescue started preparing itself long before the lockdown started in Kolkata. The Education programme was closed down a few days before the lockdown started keeping in mind the guidelines set by our central and state government. It geared up through adopting various strategies so that the vulnerable students are never left unattended:

• Staying engaged: Maintaining the engagement of children, particularly young secondary school students are critical. Dropout rates are very high amongst these children, and a long period of disengagement can result in a further increase. Going to school is not only about learning math and science, but also about social relationships and peer-to-peer interactions. It is about learning to be a citizen and developing social skills. Our teachers and vocational manager closely worked with the students on this. Students were given assignments over phone calls, WhatsApp or contacted through local helpers in the slum. They were over enthusiastic and completed it and got back to their teachers for correction.
• Providing dry rations: School feeding component of Calcutta Rescue provides the children with their most nutritious meal of the day. Malnutrition, stunted growth and low BMI are some of the very common issues faced by these children. Hence every child is served with 2 nutritious meals when they attend school. Since the lockdown we have been reaching out to these children and their family by providing them dry rations which includes rice, pulses, cooking oil, flour and potatoes.
• Addressing domestic violence and exploitation: Poor families are likely to take advantage of labour provided by children at home. This is especially the case for girls and young women whose duties include doing household chores, and caring for family members. This puts girls at high risk of dropping out when schools reopen. Also domestic violence has been on the rise ever since the lockdown started. Many students preferred their school to their shanties as they could stay out of the violence or discrimination being meted out to them. Our school counsellor has been dealing with several such cases, providing online counselling support not just to the student but also to the entire family. Children are encouraged to bring out their creativity through art work and write-ups.
• Addressing health and hygiene issues of slum children – To complement the above initiatives there is a need to inculcate healthy and hygienic habits amongst this population. Hence Calcutta Rescue strongly feels that these children need to be provided with a basic hygiene kit to safeguard them against the present scenario. Hence, sanitizers, face mask and sanitary napkins are distributed amongst students. Besides this multivitamins are also being given to students by our clinic doctors.

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