“From Mahadalit/Slums to School”

Objective:

Providing regular, quality education to never-enrolled, dropout, and academically weak children of the Mahadalit Mushahar community, aged 6- 18 years, and ensuring their enrolment and retention in government schools. Additional focus is on creating awareness about health and hygiene among these children.

Description:

Community Cultural Centers are actively run in Mahadalit hamlets within Khaira, Barhat, and Jamui blocks. The centers conduct classes before and after regular school hours to support children’s learning. Free textbooks and notebooks are distributed to students, especially those in classes 9 and 10, to prevent dropout. Activities such as sports, songs, music, and Baal Srijan Shala (children’s creative workshops) enrich the learning environment. The organization regularly engages government officials to foster and sustain educational efforts. Staff continuously motivate children and their families, ensuring consistent academic and personal development.

Key Challenges:

  • The literacy rate of the Mahadalit community stands at a mere 9%, with female literacy as low as 3%.
  • Only 11% of girls progress beyond class 8, and just 3% complete
  • Many families migrate annually to brick kilns for about seven months, living in makeshift huts that expose them and their children to extreme weather — temperatures as low as 3°C during winter and soaring up to 43°C in summer.
  • Children work in hazardous conditions alongside adults, suffer regular illnesses, and show signs of premature aging — many looking physically aged between 40- 50 despite their young age.
  • These families lack basic documentation such as Aadhaar and ration cards, with only about 20% possessing such IDs.
  • There is widespread indifference among parents about education, compounded by entrenched societal neglect.
  • Child labor and child marriage are rampant, with many girls relegated to domestic work and deprived of schooling.

Key Activities:

  • Operating educational centers to run supplementary coaching before and after school hours.
  • Ensuring enrolment and retention through active follow-
  • Distributing free textbooks and learning materials to rightfully prevent
  • Facilitating extracurricular activities to nurture holistic
  • Organizing regular meetings with local authorities and community
  • Engaging local stakeholders such as kiln owners and teachers to foster an education- supportive atmosphere.

Key Achievements:

  • A total of 118 Community Cultural Centers are operational, engaging approximately 4,750 children.
  • 1,716 formerly excluded children have been enrolled successfully into government
  • 270 children have passed matriculation, 112 have completed intermediate studies, and 13 have graduated over the past five years.
  • 875 students have received textbooks and supplies to ensure they remain in
  • 75 girls have been admitted to Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV).
  • Importantly, two daughters of former child laborers from the Mahadalit Mushahar community are the first from their community to become Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANM) — a landmark achievement reflecting transformational change.
  • A positive shift has been witnessed among families, local officials, and kiln owners who now believe in the potential of Mushahar children to excel academically if given an opportunity.