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Balwadi Project Team organises a Beneficiary Committee meeting
On 21st November 2013, The Mumbai Smiles Balwadi Project Team organized a Beneficiary Committee meeting at Mumbai Smiles’ head office in Andheri to assess the impact of the Balwadi project and offer suggestions and opinions on improvising the activities of the Balwadis
Members present included Ms. Alexandra Haglund Petitbó (General Director, Mumbai smiles),Dr. Nirmal Ahuja (Head of Health Unit, Mumbai Smiles), Vikas L. Gaikwad (Program Officer, Balwadi Project), Suresh Harke (Field Coordinator- Marol Area), Mahendrakumar Zende (Field Coordinator- Sangharsh nagar and Kanurmarg Area), Bapu Bhadke (Field Coordinator- Powai and Vikroli Area)
The agenda of the meeting was to obtain feedback from Beneficiary Committee Members on the Balwadi Project, to analyze the Project’s overall achievement and progress, to evaluate activities carried under Balwadi Project and to propose improvements and changes in various activities of the Balwadis. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Alexandra Haglund Petitbó
The meeting started with an introduction of all beneficiary committee members by Vikas Gaikwad. Post the introduction, Alexandra welcomed all the members. Subsequently, Dr.Nirmal congratulated the Balwadi team for its contribution to the project and emphasized on importance of child health care upto 5 years of age. A healthy discussion was held among all the members present. Eventually, parents of beneficiary members began sharing their experiences. Manisha Chavan, mother of a beneficiary member from Phule Nagar, Powai, shared her experience of her 2.5 years old daughter. Prior to enrollment, her daughter was very weak and did not eat properly. However, after enrollment, her weight improved and her growth is in progress. Shweta Bose, mother of Harshita Bose – a beneficiary of balwadi project, conveyed that her daughter teaches her alphabets, names of vegetables and fruits etc. daily. She further apprised that her daughter educates people in the community about hygiene and cleanliness.
The meeting finally concluded with Alexandra thanking everybody for participation. She believes that such evaluations are imperative as they enhance the confidence of the donor with respect to utilization of resources. Further, she informed that it’s daunting to establish a school in a different country, however, she justified that collaborating with other schools in the community can solve this problem. Dr. Nirmal Ahuja urged the members and beneficiaries to keep attending such events. He also emphasized the importance of educating children irrespective of their gender. Bapu Bhadke, (Field coordinator) and Vikas Gaikwad, (Program Officer Balwadi) finally gave their vote of thanks to all the members present.
