Education for All with Mumbai Smiles

We all know that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. We, at Mumbai Smiles try to inculcate this thought in communities where we conduct our projects. We work in a team to create different educational opportunities for all our beneficiaries.

Smiling Bus is one of the projects aimed at providing access to education for all those children who are deprived of this basic right and necessity. Smiling Bus is for children from families where there is a lack of awareness of the importance of education. At the same time this is for those who want to learn but need motivation to overpower their weaknesses and adverse situations.

PC: Celia Zamora, photo captured before pandemic

These kids are often street dwelling communities where there is a lack of access to clean potable water, electricity and food. Their parents are often jobless or earning just enough to be able to arrange for a single meal. As a result of which, awareness and practicing of basic hygiene takes a backseat.

Our Smiling Bus team organizes different activities under the LSE (Life skill empowerment) project for these kids and encourages them to attend schools which are located near their communities. However, due to the unhygienic appearance, these kids are not acceptable in their schools.  Children who have better living conditions do not want to study with these kids and hence these kids avoid going to school feeling humiliated. Also, due to the lack of education and guidance they are addicted to drugs at very early age.

Considering their situation, Mumbai Smiles have decided to find a very interesting solution. We are planning to create a library in the Smiling Bus for these kids and provide educational guidance according to their age groups. This would lay the foundation for those kids who have a desire to study and want to appear for various competitive exams by pursuing education in flexible manner.

PC: Celia Zamora, photo captured before pandemic

While creating access to education in some communities through our mobile libraries, we would be encouraging our LSE beneficiaries who are children of VHT (Victims of Human Trafficking) and street children living near Deonar dumping ground and studying in Shivaji Rao Bapu Sherge High School, who want to study but do not have conducive atmosphere and lack the financial capacity to pursue education. We would be collaborating with some boarding schools which are located outside Mumbai city but can provide required education to these children. Mumbai Smiles would take care of all the expenses for their education and living in the respective hostels.

We hope to help as many children as possible as they are the only hope their families have to live a better, healthy and meaningful life.