Deepalaya also works with a clear-cut vision towards elevating society. They aim to have a community based on legitimate rights, equity, justice, honesty, social sensitivity, and a culture of service in which all are self-reliant.
Deepalaya’s mission statement is to identify and work with the economically and socially deprived, the physically and mentally challenged – starting with children to become educated, skilled, and aware. The idea is to make sure that the children become self-reliant and enjoy a healthy and dignified life.
Deepalaya is a Delhi-based NGO that works towards developing urban and rural India, focusing on children. Founded in 1979, Deepalaya serves the urban slums of Delhi but also works hard in the rural parts of Haryana and Uttarakhand.
According to their website, Deepalaya’s mission statement is to identify and work with the economically and socially deprived, the physically and mentally challenged – starting with children to become educated, skilled, and aware. The idea is to make sure that the children become self-reliant and enjoy a healthy, dignified, and sustainable quality of life. While at it, Deepalaya also makes sure to work with other agencies – governmental or non-governmental. They also suitably intervene in policy formulation.
Deepalaya also works with a clear-cut vision towards elevating society. They aim to have a community based on legitimate rights, equity, justice, honesty, social sensitivity, and a culture of service in which all are self-reliant.
Deepalaya has several projects under its umbrella. One of them being schools. We are talking about the Deepalaya School Kalkaji Extension, an unaided, recognized co-educational, senior secondary school affiliated with the CBSE. The school has been around for over 17 years. While Deepalaya focuses on children, they especially throw light on girl children, street and disabled children.
Next is the Deepalaya School, Gusbethi, a formal educational institution recognized by the Haryana Board of School Education (HBSE). Started in 1998, the school has completed more than 20 years of service, providing a sense of self-reliance through education in the Mewat district somewhat neglected area with very few resources.
One of the most popular projects under Deepalaya is Project Steady, which focuses on reducing drop-out rates in young school girls, primarily caused by safety issues in and around Delhi NCR. Because of this, Deepalaya started a self-defense program specifically aimed at girls. As part of these classes, girls will learn skills to protect themselves when they face dangerous circumstances.
The next project worth mentioning is their Early Childhood Care and Education Centre Learning programs that start right from the time a child is born. According to their website, “to improve literacy rates in the country, it is imperative to expose children to a culture of learning when they are young.
Deepalaya’s Early Childhood Care and Education Centre was inaugurated in collaboration with Infogain India Private Limited for this very purpose on 16th May 2018.”
Deepalaya also established vocational training centers, also known as VTCs. Their centre provides job-specific technical training for work in a specific career.
These centers primarily focus on providing students with hands-on instruction, which eventually landed them a recognized certification, a diploma, or a certificate. Young adults obtain marketable skills from these centres and finally find suitable jobs. Once again, the program aims to make people self-reliant.
Deepalaya also introduced community healthcare initiatives. They believe that healthcare facilities need to go above and beyond the upper-class community.
According to the workers at Deepalaya, only the semi-urban and rural settings do not have accessibility to primary healthcare check-ups and follow-ups, awareness of lifestyle disorders, counseling about menstrual healthcare, and availability of medical infrastructure. This is where Deepalaya steps in to restore healthcare as a universal right by targeting the grassroots. This is why they launched the Community Health program. This multi-faceted project focuses on establishing sustainable practices and spreading awareness regarding preventive and primitive health among the rural masses.
Deepalaya works with an extensive team of members, including Chackochan as the president, followed by George John as the chief executive. Chackochan Y is a founder member, and it was in his drawing-room, Deepalaya School began with five students, including his daughter and a teacher. He retired from the Health Ministry. He has held posts like Treasurer, Manager of Deepalaya School, and member of the Executive Committee.
With Deepalaya, you can get involved in different ways - get involved in their CSR activities, volunteer, get a job, or find an internship. If you want to support a child’s education, you also can sponsor a child or donate money, which all goes towards the betterment of the children taken care of by Deepalaya. For something more rewarding, they have the shop at Deepalaya option where you get to shop the paintings made by the children. These are all season’s greetings which are perfect as greeting cards for special occasions while supporting the organisation.
Visit their website to learn more: https://www.deepalaya.org/
Photos Courtesy of Deepalaya/Facebook