Project Udaan was initiated in the year 1997 to provide the street children with a platform for better living. Starting with a handful of children, today, the day care centre at Babulnath reaches out to nearly 3000 children from areas such as Charni Road, Marine Lines, Babulnath Chowpatty and so on. Udaan’s main objective is to bring these children from street to school. The day care Centre functions from 10.00 am to 6.30 pm on a regular basis. The rehabilitation process involves prayers, yoga, non-formal education, medical aid, nutrition, recreation, art, craft, spiritual education, moral education, general awareness, educational workshops, festival celebrations and counseling. SMILE also ensures admission for these children in Municipal schools. Children attending school receive help with their academics at the Centre and the project team constantly encourages and motivates them to progress towards a bright future. Those performing well are shifted to private/Govt. grant schools where the standard of education is higher. Children excelling in a particular field receive expert training. In addition, professional Dance class, Tuition class, Painting class is conducted for these children to well equip them for future growth.

Achievements:

Udaan project at Babulnath:

1.    SMILE started with two children in the year 1997. In a span of only eight years reaches out to more than thousand children.

2.    Over a period of years we have succeeded in moulding the children by – educating them, developing their personality, training them and giving them stage exposure. There is tremendous change in the attitude and personality of the children and they have developed leadership qualities.

3.    Tuition class project is very successful. The children have improved considerably in their results, study patterns, concentration levels and discipline. The parents too are taking keen interest in the education of their children as a result of frequent child parent workshops.

4.    We have developed a good rapport with the management and the children of BKM High School. The support from them is very good. The parents too are very cooperative. We have extended our efforts to this school by working extensively with the 10th std. students in addition to the children from the SMILE Sponsorship Project.

5.    We would also like to mention that we have been very successful in developing the personality of one of our special child Rajesh Varatia with speech and hearing impediment.  With SMILE’s intervention in terms of arranging for speech therapist, follow up, etc. has started communicating verbally without using sign language.

6.    He has become very independent, travels by himself, gives performances and is improving academically too. He has won several certificates in school. He gave his ‘manjira’ performance at the Christmas celebration at Oxford Book Store, Churchgate. We are very happy with his progress.

7.    Successfully institutionalized orphan children.

8.    Successfully repatriated migrant children back to their village.

9.    Admitted children in school.

10.  Shifted children from Municipal schools to Private / Govt. grant schools.

11.  Constant working with the parents have made them more co-operative now as compared to the initial years.

1.    SMILE Montessori is the first ever Montessori School for the slum children in South Mumbai.

2.    There has been a visible change in the behaviour of the Montessori School children in just a period of one year.

3.    Children who are stubborn and have behavioural problems due to their       family and social background have shown positive and drastic changes after our counseling sessions.

4.    The children become independent and their thinking ability is developed.

5.    Parents meetings / child parent workshops have brought about a positive change in the attitude of the family members.

6.    Our first batch of children have secured admissions in Sr. Kg. at good English medium, govt. grant schools of South Mumbai.

Project Utkarsh seeks to reach out to the needy women from various parts of Mumbai. These women meet once a month to attend several programs run by SMILE. Financial assistance is provided for the education of their children. Workshops are conducted for these women on confidence building, opportunities for self-employment, personality development, basic human rights to living, health education, vocational training, etc. The women are also provided scope to participate in recreational and social activities and festival celebrations. Counseling and emotional support is also provided for the women with the aim of making these women feel wanted and accepted. At present the strength of such women is 100 in numbers. Besides these regular members we have reached out to nearly 200 women from the lower sections of society.

Achievements: The women have become very independent. They are able to take their own decisions. They have become strong and can face any situation in life. There is an upward growth in their personality. Those benefiting from the vocational training classes have started earning a decent income.

Project Umang is a result of an extensive research conducted by SMILE on a sample size of about five hundred senior citizens to assess their problems. Umang’s chief objective is to identify and redress the problems of senior citizens at the root level itself, before it may develop into a bigger problem and even affect the health of the concerned person. The aim is to address issues of old age, loneliness and difference of ideas and opinions between the generations. Project Umang is a forum for Senior Citizens where they can gather together in a support group that participates in various educational, informative and entertainment programmes. This is also achieved by organizing and taking them on tours. At present the strength of such senior citizens is 60 in numbers. We have been successful in reaching out to more than 800 senior citizens through mega programmes organised by SMILE in a very unique way.

Achievements: The senior citizens feel blessed to have SMILE give them the love and attention that they stand most in need of in their twilight years.

This Project aims at helping our Special Children to enter the mainstream of life, almost on par with better endowed people by teaching them in ways in which they can learn best. More emphasis is laid on their ability rather than their disability. SMILE organised Indradhanush - a stage show for the handicapped children to give them a chance to perform and enhance their capabilities. It is noteworthy that SMILE’s child Rajesh Varatia, having a speech and hearing problem can do a ‘jugalbandi’ on the ‘Manjira’ with the ‘Tabla’ by simply watching the movement of hands. In 1997, SMILE had put him through a special training programme of speech therapy with a speech therapist and had changed his hearing aids. His hearing has opened up to 40%. He now calls out to his Mom. He can understand people and communicate with them without using sign language. Besides this, SMILE runs Sewing Class Project for the hearing impaired girls of Vikas Vidyalay School for the special children at Dadar.

Achievements:                           The girls benefiting from the sewing class have already started taking orders and standing on their own feet. Rajesh’s case is a great success as he excels in his academics and extra curricular activities with the intervention of SMILE. He has become very independent.