Lavanya loves to shake a leg!

Three and a half year old Lavanya Shinde* hails from Reay Road, one of the innumerable poverty stricken slum pockets in Mumbai. Her father, Vikas, is a taxi driver and her mother, Sunita, is a housewife. Both her parents are illiterate. The family income is barely enough to make both ends meet.

Children like Lavanya, from Mumbai slums, face educational deprivation in terms of generational illiteracy, physical access to education and quality of education as well. Though Lavanya hails from such a disadvantaged background she can dream of a stable future with a good education because she studies at the Reay Road study center, run by Sahaara. Being close to Lavanya’s house, the balwadi is a potent vehicle for transforming her future through quality education.

Sahaara’s balwadi has a systematic curriculum wherein children are equipped in the following subjects over the period of a year: English and Hindi: alphabets and poems, writing skills, general knowledge (colours, animals, flowers, personal hygiene etc), colouring, games and activities such as counting and recognition.

Lavanya is a smart student who has good grasping and recall skills. She is a live wire who is energetic and lively in class! She is extremely talkative and loves to show a step or two always. She is very contented with what she has and enjoys sharing her toys and things with other children.

Your generous donation,The Cangiano Family, will enable Sahaara to provide a year of pre-primary education to Lavanya.

Thank you so much, The Cangiano Family, for your gift to Lavanya!

*Name changed to protect identity