The Swati project started in the year 1990, and has completed 30 years of dedicated and sustained work in the bastis (slums) of Delhi. Over the past 3 decades, Swati has touched the lives of thousands of slum dwellers, especially women and children, bringing them out of the systemic cycle of impoverishment and abuse. At Swati, we try to ensure that our outreach extends to each and every resident o
f our basti, and that the span of our work is broad enough to improve all aspects of their lives. Towards this end, we have numerous educational programmes for children of all ages (from age 3 onwards); health workshops; programmes which specifically focus on the health and well-being of pregnant women, young infants and new mothers; vocational training courses, campaigns on vital issues such as child sexual abuse, domestic violence, gender sensitisation, hygiene, sanitation, menstrual health, pre / post natal care, immunisation and many more. We also have a well-stocked library for the benefit of slum dwellers and a computer training centre. At Swati, we takes in children as young as 3 year old in our Balwari programme. Here, these very young children are introduced to early learning and basic education through the play and teach method. We also start imparting self-awareness from this young age, to help protect slum children from dangerous influences of their daily environment. Once the child reaches the age of 6, we endeavour to secure admission for it at a mainstream school. We carry out door to door campaigns to make sure every child of the basti attends school and there are no drop outs. Our Remedial Education Programme seeks to ensure that children of the slums studying in mainstream schools are able to obtain the requisite support to carry on with their education and match up to their peers, inspite of their disadvantaged background and circumstances. We conduct after school classes, and also focus on skill development for this purpose. Swati has a robust extra-curricular programme with a very wide range of activities to offer, from sports to arts & craft and theatre. We also take students on educational day trips and picnics. Our recreational and extra-curricular activities help our children in achieving an all-round development and to realise many of their hidden talents. Our vocational training and skill development programmes help to train the youth of our slums in a range of vocational activities, which transform their employment and self-earning abilities. Over the past 30 years, we have seen with satisfaction, our project grow, and the lives of many slum dwellers transform. There are many inspirational stories, which we share on this website. These are just an illustration of how, with a little bit of support in the right direction, every child has the potential to blossom. As we complete three decades, we take on a new resolve to continue to strive for the underprivileged basti dwellers and expand our outreach and impact even more, with the aid and support of all our institutional and individual donors, to whom we and all those whose lives we have impacted, are ever grateful!
