Train and Educate Adolescents with Community Help (TEACH) run by ABHAS

1. Train and Educate Adolescents with Community Help (TEACH) run by ABHAS Primary Steward: Nikhil Ravi

2. Project Description • Location: Tughlakabad, Delhi • Area (urban/rural): Urban • Primary focus: Girls • Project type: Non-Formal Educational Centers • Amount requested (US$): 15215 • Purpose of funding request: Expansion of current project, operating expenses, linking to income-generation

3. Project Goals • Current Condition of Beneficiaries • Average monthly family income: Rs 2200/month • Female literacy rate: 42% (male: 70%) • Lot of girls drop out of school • Support family income • Take care of younger siblings • Short-Term Objectives • Mainstream drop out girls • Help never enrolled girls complete basic education • Capacity building through vocational and life skills programs • 5-Year Vision • Develop a replicable model for the empowerment of adolescent girls • Address social/developmental needs of adolescent girls • Partner with other organizations and expand program to other slums in Delhi

4. Project Background/Impact • Funded for last 2 years by Asha Stanford • Successes/Impact Thus Far • Girls Interest Center opened with funding from Asha • Classes to link drop out girls with National Inst. of Open Schooling (NIOS) – 50 girls • Vocational training – cushion making, appliqué work – 150 girls • Computer center – training in MS Office, multimedia educational CDs • Challenges • Poverty levels in community • Lack of awareness, backward thinking of parents • Lack of basic health/sanitation facilities • Only 2 MCD schools catering to over 2000 students

5. Organization Description • Action Beyond Help and Support (ABHAS) • Mission Statement: Empower women and adolescents by promoting their partnerships so as to help them lead a better quality of life by addressing critical issues of Education, Gender and Health • Founded: Oct 2002 • Projects/activities • Based in Kachi colony, Tughlakabad, and Kotla village, Delhi • Reached out to more than 1200 children through • 15 learning centers under govt’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan • Scholarship program providing academic support to girls • Children’s community library • Early Childhood Care And Development Centres for 3 to 6 year old children

6. Existing Infrastructure/Facilities • Staff • Full-time workers from ABHAS – 5-8 • Teachers hired for different programs such as • Linking drop out girls with NIOS (funded by Asha) • Computer center (funded by Asha) • Tailoring (funded by Asha) • Learning centers • Infrastructure • One Girls Interest Center in the colony (funded by Asha)

7. Curriculum/Pedagogy • Curriculum Currently Used • NIOS approved curriculum for the program linking drop out girls with them • Computer center: Govt. approved Certificate course in computers • Vocational training: Accredited with Jan Shiskha Sansthan, Ministry of HRD • Teacher/Student Ratio • NIOS: Currently about 1:25 • Computer center: Each batch – about 1:15 • Tailoring work: Each batch – about 1:15

8. Expected Outcomes/What After? • Expected outcomes • Linking girls dropped out from school get a high school degree through the NIOS system, access to higher education • Income generations for girls learning vocational skills, higher self-esteem • Develop education model to meet the needs of underprivileged adolescent girls living in urban slum communities • Address social/developmental needs of adolescent girls • Increased understanding on the rights of the girl child, women issues and laws. • Measures of Success • No. of girls enrolled for basic literacy, vocational trainings, and life skills development. • No. of girls identified and linked with open school • Performance of these girls in exams • Perception of families and the community

9. Original Budget Proposed for 2007 • One more Girls Interest Center set up • Additional NIOS instructor • New center for beauty culture and fashion designing • Salaries for • Instructors for beauty culture and fashion designing • Full time, teaching 3 batches with about 15 girls each • Existing instructors for NIOS, cutting/tailoring, computers • Training in Basic life skills and child rights • Administration • Total: $14670

10. Changes to Original Budget Proposal • Based on questions raised at project presentation at Stanford • Attaining self-sustainability • Form self-help groups for girls receiving vocational training • Train them in processing orders, quality control, marketing • Girls Interest Center also organized as placement cell to link • Tailoring courses with with export houses in Okhla Ind. Area • Beauty culture programs with beauty parlors nearby • Full-time coordinator for this • User fee from community once placement cell becomes functional • Cancelled plans for fashion designing course

11. Budget for Requested Funding: NIOS Program

12. Budget for Requested Funding: Vocational Training

13. Budget for Requested Funding: Others

14. Other Funding Sources • This program primarily funded by Asha-Stanford • Other programs funded by • Government of India’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: 15 learning centers • Room to Read, India: Girl’s scholarship program • USAID funded Reach India prog: Educational centers • HPS social welfare foundation: Community library • India Sponsor Foundation: Self-help group program • Plans for self-sufficiency • Major part of this proposal is focused on attaining self-sustainability • Coordinator to link girls with income generating opportunities • Organize Girls Interest Center as placement cell for jobs

15. Site Visit Report • Site visit conducted: 8th January 2007 • Visited Girls Interest Center at Kachi colony in Tughlakabad • Significant progress since project start • Girls taking classes for NIOS all highly enthusiastic about classes • Some girls taking classes in vocational skills already doing tailoring/mending work etc in their community • Teachers and ABHAS workers appear to be very sincere in their efforts • Interaction between ABHAS workers/teachers and the beneficiaries very positive • Increase in level of confidence and self-esteem

16. Site Visit Report ABHAS Girls Interest Center in Kacchi colony, Tughlakabad

17. Site Visit Report NIOS class in Girls Interest Center

18. Site Visit Report Cutting/ tailoring class in Girls Interest Center

19. Site Visit Report Outside the local MCD school

20. Site Visit Report Income disparity in the colony – a typical house as compared to the house of the local MLA

21. Site Visit Report Nearby school where ABHAS has a library program

22. Site Visit Report Lasting images…..

23. Strengths/Opportunities ABHAS is well established by now in the community Basic infrastructure has been set up Work so far has really affected the community positively Sincere and qualified group of workers Focus also on developing holistic life skills, education about child rights, creating awareness in the community Work done based on research and surveys conducted in the community Clear and realistic plan for the future Weaknesses/Risks Still many families resistant to sending girls to school Backward thinking still very prevalent Basic health/sanitation problems in the community Local government representative not actively supportive, though no opposition ABHAS core team still quite small SWOT Analysis

24. Steward Recommendation • Recommend funding the project for the next year in partnership with Asha-Silicon Valley • Advise ABHAS to try, in the coming year, to look out for other sources of funding • Tie-ups with other NGOs • Try to garner local governmental support • Focus on creating more awareness in the community so that the community can step forward to take up more of the costs • Keep a close track on the implementation of the income generation scheme, and the work of the coordinator for the same • Quarterly progress reports to monitor progress