Goa Outreach is a project of Joy Home for Children and a registered trust in India.
Goa Outreach was started in 2014 when children approached the founder; Robert Lyon with the request for help. Robert had been working with children for the previous 10 years and was well known in the community, the work started by providing health and hygiene support for slum communities and then we began supporting children with full time education. In its first year Goa Outreach helped just 15 children, which then quickly grew and is now helping around 150 children with all their educational needs.
Our work concentrates on children’s education but encompasses health, hygiene and a safe environment for the children where they can come and share their problems and worries.
Robert was recognised with an award from Childline India (Goa) in 2017 for his continued effort towards the support and protection of children in the state.
Goa Outreach helps local disadvantaged children regardless of their religion, class, caste or gender. Many of these children are slum and street children who have arrived in Goa alone or with their families from neighbouring states in the hope of an easier and better life.
The children often end up working on the streets to support the family income; this is often in the form of Rag Picking where children, usually in small groups, walk around the streets picking up scrap (plastic, cardboard and metal) which is later sold at recycling centres. Others, usually girls are expected to stay at home to look after siblings, cook and clean, this is often expected of them from the age of 5 years or even less.
Other children can be found working the beaches begging, selling trinkets or other small items which they buy for 5rs and try and sell to tourists for a hefty mark-up.
The Girl Child
Girls are more at risk of being denied an education due to family customs and religious beliefs. With this in mind we first and foremost promote the education of girls. Girls are especially at risk of leaving education in their early teens when they become young women as families do not see any need to educate them further. This is a common issue as it’s believed there is no real need as many parents are already finding husbands for them and once married they will no longer their problem as these young wives are often given like property to their in-laws. Another reason is the fear that daughters will make friends with boys which is widely seen as detrimental to their family’s honour, girls have sadly been killed for much less and is still an issue in rural areas where many of our children originate from.
Education
Millions of children in India still do not get an education; this is often down to uneducated parents who either do not see the benefit of education or would rather have their children work to bring in money to help the family.
Goa Outreach promotes education and supports out of school children so they can be enrolled into full time education.
As of 2018 we are helping over 150 children with their educational needs. This includes providing school bags, uniforms, shoes, books, stationery, school and exam fees as well as keeping track of their progress and being in touch with their teachers.
Our support starts in 1st Standard (6 Years old) and continues up until they complete their education, for some this is 10th standard (16 Years of age) and others who are able can continue through college. Many companies now want a pass at 10th or 12 as a minimum for employees so it is very more important than ever to give the children a chance to escape the cycle of poverty which often governs their lives.
We currently help around 50 primary, 80 children in secondary school and 20 in college/university level. We are delighted that more children are able to do better and continue to further with their education although this does increase the stain on our funds so we are always looking for new donors and supporters.
Health Care
Slum and street children often suffer from long term health problems, which do not get the necessary treatment early on. The conditions in and around their homes exacerbates these conditions. Scabies, impetigo, conjunctivitis are very common and easily spread due to their cramped living conditions.
Infected mosquito bites also often go untreated resulting in more severe infections which leave scaring as well as the danger of contracting Malaria or Dengue Fever and other mosquito borne diseases.
Goa Outreach encourages prevention, by providing health/hygiene packs each month that contain, soap, toothpaste, brush and shampoo to promote cleanliness and we also supply mosquito protection to help reduce the number of bites the children get from mosquitoes.
This has a beneficial impact on the number of medical cases we have but burns and skin infections are still common.
Goa Outreach provides medical support by refunding medicine bills so that the children can get effective treatment; in addition, we look after simple medical conditions ourselves which is often just a matter of cleaning and covering open wounds.
We also provide dental and sight checks and treatment as and when needed.
Childhood worth remembering
Education is very important but we also believe that a childhood should be treasured and be full of laughter, love and friendship. This is where our centre comes in. The centre is used as a drop in centre and base where the children can come to talk, play and be part of the Goa Outreach family.
Goa Outreach Tagline : “Give children a childhood worth remembering”
