Supporting children back into education in India

They work with children who are out of education and working children to connect them with schools and ensure their retention. Alongside this, they also support parents and communities.

With the support of PHF, Samagra Seva have been able to reach out to 2,200 children who were either out of school, attended school occasionally, or were child labourers, many of whom worked in brick kilns. Over the last two years, the organisation helped to enrol those children in school and provide with them with the resources they need to pursue their education.

To support the programme, Samagra Seva team members visit local villages daily, meeting with the children, their parents and school teachers. They also liaise with district and block level officials regularly to connect children with the school. Samagra Sewa also supports people in local communities and pupils’ families to secure livelihoods through a variety of means – like providing them with sewing machines, helping parents to cultivate mushrooms, and ensuring families are aware of relevant government support schemes.

So many families experience poverty and the local literacy rate is only 9%. Many girls don’t attend school, and only 11% girls studied after 8th class (approximately age 14) but with help of PHF, today 70% of girls have connected with the school and few have earned Matriculation certificates and graduated with Intermediate and B.A. qualifications – raising their aspirations and improving life chances for themselves and their families.