Chauras

The program endeavors to break down the barriers between formal education and children of migrant construction site workers.

Overview

The laborers working at construction sites usually migrate from one site to the next one, from one state to another, just over a period of few months. Often, they carry their families and move together as a nuclear unit. As a result, their children are almost never enrolled at a school or if enrolled then they eventually drop out when the access breaks.

Most of the government schools follow the local language of the state as a medium for instruction and teaching. Hence, if a child is enrolled at a government school in West Bengal and the family shifts base to neighboring state – Bihar or Jharkhand, then the child struggles to cope with the new language.

IIFL Foundation felt the need to bridge this disconnect between children and literacy by initiating Chauras – A learning center-cum-crèche for children of migrant construction workers, operational near the construction site.

Our impact

2

Location (centres)

200+

Beneficiary families

Age group

3 months to 14 years Age group of children beneficiaries

Education

Basic primary education Provided through the program

Process

As a starting point, we interacted with the migrant construction site workers and their respective employers to understand their requirements and limitations.

The primary requirement was to provide a place of safety for the children when the parents were at work. The secondary need was to get an instructor who could teach the children. The combination of the two requirements led to the inception of 'Chauras' – A place of safety and learning for the children of migrant construction workers.

Chauras operates from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm throughout the week and provides basic functional education to children along with nutritional meals. The age group spans from the youngest being three months old to an adolescent of 14 years of age.

Teachers and volunteers address issues and discuss topics such as community sanitation, attendance of the children, crèche, school admission (mainstream), personal hygiene and health.

IIFL Foundation has successfully established Chauras at two locations – Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and Kamshet (Maharashtra). Children attending Chauras hail from the states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Orissa, Karnataka and Maharashtra.