Rotaract Club, SSCBS

Project Utthaan is an initiative of Rotaract Club, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies which zeroes in on the holistic development of the various slum communities in the proximity of the college.

What started with a mere glimpse out of the classroom window at the neighboring slum area, soon bloomed into a well defined and detailed project. As our curiosity about their lives grew, we began visiting the area and, little by little, we bonded with the kids over games and drawings.

After interacting with the residents in the community and conducting a thorough need assessment, we designed a simple yet detailed model that targets the following issues:

Two hour long visits to the slum community were conducted everyday (except Sundays). It was a proud moment for all when the average attendance of the children who gather to study under the team's mentorship increased from just 5 to 40.

The team members have also collected data from the slum dwellers to be able to understand the demographics of the community as well as to identify the necessary legal documents the families may not possess. Developing appropriate study material like worksheets and suitable activities for the slum children was undertaken by the team members in full swing. Research for developing a holistic curriculum is also under way.

The team has started gathering on-ground knowledge about the taboos and various other social issues that exist in the community and is devising appropriate methods to address the same.

The social standing of the team and its acceptance by the community has improved notably.