Ongoing Projects

Education, changing the world one child at a time

At PEHL, We believe that education is key to a better future. We are supporting education of underprivileged children at destitute homes. The standard of education at local municipal schools is very poor with respect to both infrastructure, resources & learning. We have noted that nearly 30% of secondary level children are at alphabet recognition stage in learning.

Since the academic year 2016-17, our services have been extended to nearly 250 children. Over time, more interactive and activity-oriented approach is being utilized to help strengthen their basic concepts, increase attendance, show more interest in class and perform better.

Impact assessments are routinely conducted to map the effectiveness of the academic programs and keep updating the methodology. From the academic year 2015-16, PEHL has also incorporated audio-visual support and “Smart Class” technology in the Supplementary Education program.
PEHL conducts several workshops and educational trips for the children at these children for out-of-class learning experiences. Annual program to felicitate the children with good year round performance is conducted to motivate these children. We celebrate Birthdays, festivals and National days with the children.

Supporting the Children at Private Schools at Lucknow:
Over an entire year of working with children at Rajkiye Bal Grah (Lucknow), 3 students showed immense improvement. After meeting the authorities, it was decided that these children could be given a better academic future and therefore, were enrolled into a nearby private school, Pink City Convent Academy. They were tutored by PEHL’s teachers during the year and facilities in term of books, fees, dresses were funded by PEHL. These students performed extremely well and received a double promotion for the coming academic year 2016-17. The number of children supported by PEHL for education in private schools has risen to 10 in 2016-17 and at present 30 children are enrolled for academic year 2017-18.

Our team of dedicated teachers has been working with these children at 5 State run homes for destitute and orphan children since 2011.

Urban Disability Screening Programme
Screening programmes to pick up disabilities in underprivileged community were conducted by the team of PEHL Services in slums of Lucknow in collaboration with the National Social Service program in Uttar Pradesh and TISS, Mumbai. We have trained the student volunteers in Lucknow University for screening of early childhood disability in the nearby urban / rural
communities. Multiple meetings and training was conducted with KKV, KKC, Jubilee College students, teachers & Anganwadi workers to discuss the feasibility of the programme and what kind of support they could provide us. 543 children were screened from 26 Anganwadi areas.
Several children identified with delays in growth were provided medical and nutritional support and monitored for improvement till the problems were solved. Intervention was also provided to these children after screening. During one of these camps, Nisha was bought at 3 years of age with delay in walking and was found to have a fractured arm and congenital cataracts in both eyes, She has undergone treatment for these medical conditions along with early intervention sponsored by PEHL. Nisha is now a normal, healthy and playful child.

Awareness programs
During our interaction in 2011 at Lucknow, it was seen that the awareness about various developmental problems was very low among the teachers, schools, doctors and community. We have reached out to about 3000 teachers and 25000 students in 30 schools. Several programs and workshops are being conducted in and around Lucknow. The awareness programs are conducted free of cost. These programs were well received and appreciated. PEHL has also collaborated with Pediatricians in Lucknow & UP for creating awareness for the developmental disorders through various lectures, CMEs and workshops. Regular workshops and lectures are conducted at Mumbai also.

Child Development Clinic
A Development clinic is run by PEHL at Lucknow since 2011 and provides consultation, evaluation, testing and intervention for all developmental disabilities. More than 500 children have benefitted from this clinic. The clinic is run by Developmental Pediatrician, Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist & Speech Therapist.

Child Abuse Awareness Programs
Today, children are suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect. According to a UNICEF report, in India, two out of every three children are physically abused. 53% of children have reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. Every second child has reported to have been a victim of emotional abuse. About 70% of the abused children do not report the matter to anyone. The gravity of the situation demands that the issue of child abuse be paid attention to and well-directed initiatives be taken to protect and empower the children.

Child Safety Program is an comprehensive module, which trains parents, teachers as well as students for identification, reporting and action on child abuse. In addition, self defence classes are also conducted with the girls to teach them basic safety techniques. We were able to reach out to over 3000 children across 3 states in underprivileged schools and destitute homes in Mumbai, Lucknow & Vijaywada last year. At present, the program is conducted in three languages – Hindi, English and Marathi. Separate programs are conducted for parents, caregivers, teachers and support staff to enable recognition of child abuse and formulate protocols for response.

Child Safety Programme workshop with Childline volunteers:
Since Childline responds to calls related to children in distress,which includes both normal and children with special needs, workshops are conducted with them focussed on handling children with special needs like hyperactivity, communication disorders and severe behavioural problems, identification of child abuse among children in special circumstances. The emphasis is how to communicate and comfort the children. We have also conducted numerous workshops in community for creating awareness in community about this menace.

PEHL partners with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan to assist in final inquiry of child abuse cases across the schools run by sangathan in west zone. PEHL has also assisted in resolution of such cases in other schools in Mumbai also. Several meetings with all stakeholders and appropriate legal action is suggested during such inquiries.

URBAN COMMUNITY PROJECT
PEHL in association with BPCL works with the urban community at Mahul, Mumbai, with focus on Health, Education and livelihood. Medical camps are conducted during the entire year along with health talks for promotion of health. Cataract patients are also supported for operations. Support for higher education along with felicitation of bright children is done annually. A library is also maintained to promote reading in the community. Many youngsters and adults visit the library and read, borrow books & newspapers. PEHL also organises educational trips for children and adolescents. Regular monthly talks on various topics like Banking, Waste Management, Child Abuse are being conducted for the community. Overall development of community is possible when all the people work together. Home visits as well as visits to Bank , BMC to help community are done by our community workers We are also supporting the community for medical insurance through Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana & Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana.

LIVELIHOOD
PEHL is instrumental in formation, maintenance & promotion of Self Help Groups which aim at financial independence of the community women. 4 groups are already functional and 2 more are in the registration process. All groups are actively working and our team is helping them with various possibilities about building their business. All groups are doing the same business like providing snacks, food items, masala, papad etc. All females are housewife and they seem reluctant to work outside the area. We are working on marketing by preparing pamphlet for each group with details of the item, (quantity & price) and that pamphlet would be circulated in various society notice board with the proper permission. We are also planning a website for them to sell their products online

Uttarakhand – Kedarnath Floods
In 2011, the Kedarnath valley in Uttarakhand was ravaged by severe floods, causing gravedamage to the shrine and hundreds of surrounding villages. The flood water then accumulated in plains of Laksar, giving rise to a host of illnesses in the local population. In association with the Gayatri Parivar, PEHL Services led two teams to the flood affected areas, treating 650 patients in the first series of camps in affected areas around Guptkashi and Uttarkashi and another 2500 patients in the second series of camps in Laksar district.

Nepal Quake: Healing & Hope
PEHL conducted extensive quake medical relief work at Nepal with a 25-member team, along with relief medicines worth several lakhs. This was probably one of the most comprehensive teams of doctors headed for relief work with physicians, general and orthopaedic surgeons, pediatricians and a psychiatrist along with two support personnel. We treated over 3000 patients over a period of nearly three weeks in the worst affected Sindhupalchowk district and our work was widely appreciated and recognised by the media and the community.

Chennai Flood Relief
Following the severe and unprecedented floods that caused massive destruction and loss of life and property in Tamil Nadu in December 2015, PEHL Services conducted a series of medical relief camps in and around Chennai and Cuddalore district, treating over 2500 patients and working in tandem with several agencies doing sterling work for helping normalcy return to the lives of people who were affected. Our team reached Chennai on 9th December 2016 and worked up to 16th December 2016.

Sponsoring Treatment of Individual Patients
PEHL also supports individual patients for their medical needs, such as Nikita, a spunky 12-year old with a malignant bone tumor of the femur, who is now in remission after a limb-saving surgery and chemotherapy, and Shashank, a one-and-a-half year old child with cerebral palsy carried into a PEHL center with severe spasticity, who is now walking normally with home-based therapy at age three.

Conducting Medical Camps at Destitute Homes
Doctors and support staff from PEHL conduct regular medical camps for children and staff of the destitute homes we work with. Medical conditions are identified, treated and followed up till the child is cured.

PEHL is providing comprehensive medical care at two tribal village clusters, one near Uran and the other near Shahapur in association with Rallis India. We map the socio economic and health status of the villages and conduct personal interviews with the community to understand how they presently avail health services. Quarterly medical camps at two villages are conducted in these villages. We also appoint two health workers in each village and conduct intensive training programs for them. Regular visits of the Project coordinator and village health care workers are being conducted. Regular follow up of the patients is advised and assisted, and further treatments organized for those identified with medical or surgical problems.

Training of Community Health Workers
Health workers are appointed in each of 2 village clusters to take care of follow up and provide proper support to the community for health issues. Multiple Training sessions are held. The overall objective of the workshop is to build the capacity of the community health worker in the health sector for improved decision-making and better management of health services.

Rural Health Camps
Quarterly camps are being conducted at each of the village clusters. This includes registration of the patients, filling up the information in the patient record card, recording their weight & height and blood group. Our doctors counsel every patient personally regarding the health related queries they have and treat their exising medical conditions. We provide medicines to the patient on the basis of requirements free of cost and organize further treatment at government or trust hospitals for those identified with conditions that need further treatment. The medical information of each person in the village is tabulated and maintained in a database to monitor the progress. Health talks on various issues such as hygiene, nutrition and how to avail various government schemes are also conducted.