MUMBAI MOBILE CRECHES
Brief Overview
Mumbai Mobile Creches is a well established organisation that aims to transform child care arrangements and services, especially those on construction sites. Its missionis to support child friendly sites – where children are safe, healthy and educated. This is done by running demonstration centres of comprehensive child development, training community women along with other organisations in early child education and care, and linking with resource providing organisations to influence the policy environment. In the 42 years since its inception, MMC has developed and pioneered a model that supports the development of the very young child, frees young children from the burden of child care and helps children to enter and stay in school. Such an approach – which has the needs of the young child at its core – creates the foundations for healthy development and overall growth of our society.
MMC believes that stimulating care, development and education is every child's inalienable right, and provides the most powerful and profound tool to escape the cycle of poverty. The MMC programme is a proactive poverty alleviation strategyfocused on championing the rights of the child on the construction site. We focus primarily on the migrant child on the construction site because she is among the most vulnerable and invisible sector of the urban poor. Currently, the organisation reaches over four thousand five hundred children every year.
Aims and Objectives
The goals of MMC's programmes are multifaceted. The creation of centres on construction sites provides support for the young child and the foundation for integration into municipal school. Older children are freed from the burden of child care and child labour so that they can go to school and succeed in their studies. Consequently, parents are reassured knowing that their children are recipients of quality child care. MMC also provides guidance and support to parents regarding child rights and care, particularly in the context of the construction industry.
Our work has long-term impacts on the welfare of children in a number of ways. By serving children of the city's poorest and most vulnerable citizens, we lend support to universalisation of elementary education and movements for women's development. Our programmes support children during critical phases in their development, helping them develop the skills necessary to enroll in municipal schools. In these ways, MMC's programme uses education as a tool to breaking the cycle of poverty and allowing children the chance to grow up and find success in their lives.
Our Work
MMC has developed a comprehensive and holistic child care model; it incorporates various initiatives to help ensure the overall well-being and healthy development of the child living on the construction site. We cater to a wide age range, children aged 0-14 years, and are one of the only organizations to focus on quality child care and education preparation for infants and toddlers. Our work is not limited to providing education services - it extends to providing those resources and necessities that help facilitate effective learning and productive interaction with one's environment and peers. This includes but is not limited to nutritional and health services for children, training and advocacy work on construction sites, and community engagement at all levels. The following is a brief explication on the various aspects of our work on construction sites:
A. Education
Our education programme is the backbone of our programme for children of migrant labourers. We set up a crèche for those 0-3 years in age, a balwadi for those 3-6 years in age, and an after school support for those 6-14 years in age. For the youngest, an interactive programme that encourages physical, cognitive, emotional and social growth is implemented. School preparedness is a focus for the balwadi students, while skills necessary for integration into municipal schools are taught in the primary classroom. Programmes in all of the classrooms are based on learning models of engagement, intellectual imagination, individual initiative, and teamwork. Arts and crafts, song, dance, puppetry, and other creative means to learning are central to our curricula. Financial support is provided for those students enrolled in nearby schools but in need of assistance for school materials, travel, or tuition.
B. Health, Hygiene and Nutrition
We work hard to improve the health of the children living on construction sites and to maintain a clean, safe space in which they can learn and play. To reduce the incidence of malnourishment on construction sites, we provide them with three nutritious meals a day and vitamin supplements at the centres, taking into consideration the recommended caloric, vitamin, and mineral intakes to promote healthy growth and development in children. Those children identified as malnourished or with specific deficiencies are put on an enriched diet. Furthermore, doctors make weekly visits to the centres to monitor children's health, tracking their weight and providing them with necessary preventative, curative, or rehabilitative medicines. Lastly, the centres are regularly cleaned and swept and children are taught important hygiene practices to encourage healthy personal habits. MMC staff members are constantly keeping an eye out for any medical or health issues that may arise with the children in order to treat them promptly and effectively.
C. Community Outreach
For MMC, the work isn't finished when the centres close at 4:30 pm and the children return to their families. Community outreach and engagement is central to our work on construction sites as it helps raise awareness about important social, health, and family issues. Through chai paani meetings, street plays ("lokdoots"), parent teacher meetings and communal dialogue, important issues can be candidly discussed and analyzed. These issues may include best childcare practices, child nutrition, personal health and hygiene, information on government benefits, disease prevention, and much more.
D. Training
Since 1982, MMC has been conducting a year-long training programme, Bal Palika, to train women from low income communities to become teachers and caregivers. The training includes coursework and a practical internship at a MMC centre to provide women with a strong foundation in both the practical and theoretical aspects of child care. In 2007 we started training women living on construction sites as caregivers and we are proud to note that over 40% of all teachers at MMC come from the community. Over the past 30 years, MMC's training programme has produced over 1,000 teachers, many of whom have found employment at other NGOs.
E. Advocacy
As champions for the rights of children and families living on construction sites, advocacy work is central to fulfilling our mission and to securing the same fundamental rights for migrant workers as all other citizens. Our advocacy team works closely with the government to ensure that those schemes meant to benefit children on construction sites actually have the intended benefits, and to ensure that those policies that do not currently address the needs of migrant children are changed so that they do.
