Transform the Lives of Children in Gujarat, India

GlobalGiving evaluators Dan Sheridan and Hannah Sainsbury visited Shaishav in August and have written the following blog about our work...

Hannah Sainsbury and I have just finished our visit to the Bhavnagar headquarters of Shaishav on our whirlwind trip around Maharashtra and Gujarat. Shaishav was our third project to visit around this part of India as part of our work with GlobalGiving UK.

Shaishav’s aim to help kids from poorer backgrounds help themselves by educating them about their own rights as children and providing them with the support needed to succeed throughout life has been incredibly successful so far. This confidence and responsibility is installed through their youth groups, Balsena and Tarunsena, which the children take charge of with as little interference from Shaishav as possible. The impact of this is incredible to see as children as young as six debate with others over the organization’s policies. These rules and regulations are often more innovative than anything that I could have come up with, such as the membership fee which has been fractionally raised for all so as to allow children unable to afford it to join.

One of the first things we were shown was a Balsena council meeting in which representatives of each of the 52 Balsena groups dotted around the city, came together to discuss and debate current and future policies. This was an excellent showcase of the confidence these kids now have and of the respect they show for one another, as all the arguments were listened to before being decided upon by the Council. Our guide for the day was beaming with pride as she translated for us the arguments over the proposed increase in the amount that can be deposited in the Balsena bank.

The children wore their pink Balsena scarves with as much pride, each group having their own individual scarves with their group names emblazoned upon them. The kids warmly told us how they were learning plenty of new skills that would help them later on in life, such as computer and leadership skills, before asking Hannah and I some pretty probing questions on how GlobalGiving could help Shaishav and Balsena.

Equally as impressive were the many Tarunsena members we met. They had graduated from the Balsena group and were continuing to help out their communities through activities such as organizing Blasena meetings, social work and campaigning for better child rights. Many of these young adults are juggling their voluntary commitments with their studies, a great reflection of their commitment to Shaishav, their communities and the children they work with.

Throughout our visit, it became clear that the enthusiasm, experience and generosity of the staff are the foundation upon which these confident youngsters are able to excel. Over the years their passionate assistance and commitment has been the cornerstone upon which the remarkable developments within these children and their communities has been able to grow.