VOLONTARIAT INDIA
Children
CHILDREN
The education and the care given at a tender age of a child, in the crèche and then at the nursery, form an integral part of their basic education and, in many ways, determine their education throughout the rest of their lives. This kind of structure exists also in Puducherry as well, but always expensive, so only the high and the affluent class can afford it. So Volontariat opened and runs crèches and nurseries for the poor.
Creche and nursery at Shakti Vihar
At Sakthi Vihar, Volontariat accommodates, on its large space, yearly, 140 children from almost 0 to 5. The crèche is divided into two classes depending on the age level, low and high, each section having about thirty children. Then, they are sent to the nursery which, again, is divided into two groups: LKG (the 1st year) and the second group UKG (the 2nd year). Each group has about 40 children. Every year around 30 to 35 children enter into the first year of the crèche, at the same time the children from the UKG leave for the primary school (1st standard).
Aware that the problem of misery is not only confined to the outskirts of the town, but also within it, Volontariat managed to use a piece of land, in the heart of the town, to start a home (Souriya Home) to welcome street boys (see it on the website). Therein a crèche began in 2001 and welcomed 25 to 30 kids whose parents reside mostly on the pavements and the platforms of the streets. The children receive the same care as those of the children at Shakti Vihar.
KG class at the Libraray
The children of KG are more formal: they learn Tamil and English alphabets, have initiation in calculation, development of their memory by learning songs and stories.
The Volontariat has always and still encourages a formation based on infant care for the “teachers” and “attenders”, so that they don’t work on a routine and leave them on their own, but to train them to discover joy in gaining knowledge.
Each week, an outing to the farm of Tuttipakkam is organized for the nursery classes, by rotation. The children enjoy the calm of the nature (at that time, the children of Nila Illam are away at school), its greenery, the animals at the farm and they can even have a bath in the little swimming pool, if weather permits.
Evening classes
The evening classes are an important service to the sponsored children because it supports the instruction received at school and helps children who live in huts, often without light and with noisy relatives or neighbors, to complete their lessons and homework. So Volontariat employs part time teachers, coming from various institutions. These teachers are selected from the applicants, for their competence and their understanding of child psychology, some of them are ex-sponsored students of Volontariat.
At the center Sakthi Vihar, around 700 children benefit from this programme every evening. For this large number of children to be accommodated, the classes are conducted in two batches: the younger children are held from evening 5.00 P.M. until 6.15 P.M. and the older ones come from 6.15 to 8 P.M. Every one receives a glass of hot milk and a snack before starting the class. Then they go to their respective classes, where one of 17 teachers recruited for this purpose is ready for them.
It is mostly a tutoring programme, but is also an occasion when they gather in the schoolyard or in the classroom, to be open to the world, to think and to question.
At Dubraypeth, many families whose children are sponsored by Volontariat are living. It is difficult for many of them to go to Sakthi Vihar to attend the evening classes and to come back home at night. So as there is a number of these children on that case, Volontariat opened a place at the first floor of the main building of Atelier Shanti, empty at that time. Two classes are run with the corresponding teachers, living themselves in this area. All children receive a glass of milk and a snack before the class starts.