STEM-DIGITAL LAB IN SLUMS #SMARTSLUMS

Sonam A 12 year old, never stepped our of her home, never had friends, never knew the world beyond her family. With a large family of 4 brothers and 1 sisters, she was never introduced to the outside world. 1st day at Protsahan and she just wanted to run back home. No communications skills, hair all messed up, sitting in…

Aanchal The little bundle of joy, Aanchal is the naughtiest of the lot at Protsahan. And it’s not hard to figure out when she has a mischief on her mind. Her smiles gives it away. The Happy Face of Protsahan, Aanchal loves studies and also loves irritating her teachers. She loves English and wants to become an English teacher when…

[slideshow] Finally the long awaited Delhi Twestival (Twitter Festival) 2011 is here at Ramada Plaza, 19, Ashoka Road (half a km from nearest metro station: Patel chowk).  Months and weeks of hard work will be out there… not just for you and me to see…but for all those little eyes of little girls from Protsahan… whose lives might just never be…

Say No to Open Defecation – Filmy Expressions and Walkathon! Project Partners: UNICEF India Execution of all campaign workshops by: PROTSAHAN India Foundation September 29, 2013 Gosavi Basti slum cluster in Pune (at Karve Nagar) is an interesting place, because its resident children and communities comprise some of the most enthusiastic migrant populations you will ever meet. Every Sunday, when…

An educated girl has direction, she has hope. She will become a mentor to other girls, she will CHANGE THE WORLD. My second week of internship at Protsahan India Foundation opened new doors and issues, especially those related to the education of girls. Among the hustle and bustle of the city, and the cobwebs of our society we fail to…

“Still I Rise”: A powerful live opera piece by girls of Protsahan Girl Champions bringing gender and caste issues to the forefront at Alliance Francaise, New Delhi led by Kalaripayattu & Japanese Theater maestro, Meera George. The title “Still I Rise” was taken from Maya Angelou’s poem, and the piece was a celebration of the “unsung heroines” from Kerala, who…

Manisha Some plants grow themselves and some need to be nurtured. Manisha has to be nurtured. Manisha was a slow learner and does not act like the other children. Termed as ‘pagal’ by her peers in the village, Manisha used to stand for hours in line to fill buckets of water and everyone pushed her away, giggled and laughed at…

Protsahan with support from LMB Productions and in collaboration with UNICEF India, worked with children in Pune to spread awareness on the issue of Open Defecation (OD) and make India OD-free.  “The community toilets in our slum clusters are not clean at all. They are extremely dirty with flies hovering around. Didi, we should together create a film to teach…

Anganwadis play an essential role in providing basic child care, early childhood education, health care and nutritional care services to the last-mile communities. It has an extensive network across the country with 13.87 lakh Anganwadi centres and mini-Anganwadi centres functioning at the community level. Apart from fulfilling their primary role, AWCs also serve the important purpose of helping women in…

Parenting today is not just about sending children to school with a healthy tiffin, ensuring their homework is complete, and they excel in sports so that they have a shot at the best colleges in a reputed university. It is a far more complex task than it used to be, because parents also have to prepare their children against any…

In Part-1 of the series, we spoke about some of the salient features of the POCSO Act, 2012, and tried to simplify it enough for everyone. In Part-2, lets take a look at why we need a special Act like POCSO to address the issue of Child Abuse in India. A lot of times, the argument has been made that…

Protsahan Girl Champions from the community share their experiences and lend their voice for a research article on “Improving menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in India” in The Lancet, talking about access to menstrual hygiene for girls in the slums. The article delves deep into the taboos and myths surrounding menstruation, and how girls have started outgrowing these as access…

Soni “Iske gaalon me to tube light hai. Dekho kaise chamakte hai jab vo jasti hai” (Her cheeks have tube light in them. See how they light up whenever she laughs). Soni’s friends get excited when asked what do they love about Soni. They say she always laughs and there is never a dull moment in her life. Soni lives…

At Protsahan India Foundation, creating art isn’t an extracurricular activity; it’s survival. Within the urban slums of Delhi, teenage girls pick up brushes not just to paint but to reclaim their own stories. They look to the fierce beauty of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and the resolution and resilience of Indian teachers and social reformers Savitribai Phule and Fatima Sheikh…

Reblogged from another Protsahan blog: “Yes. I am passing days fighting my emotions everyday. Yes, I’m a warrior of self created blindfolds. Yes, I’m trying to find my way. Yes, I’m tired of thinking and trying to make the best out of my life. Maybe, I’ve forgotten the importance of feelings, the importance of emotions and the importance of human…