Tasmiya Khan loves to sing!

Approximately 2.8 million are sex workers in India and they are a highly marginalised, vulnerable and unreached population. They face severe stigma, experience commoditisation of personhood, are forced into poverty and entrapped in debt. Children residing in red light areas also face inhuman consequences. They face physical danger, vulnerability to violence and sexual exploitation.

Three year old Tasmiya Khan* hails from Turbhe red light area, one of the innumerable poverty stricken red light pockets in Mumbai. Her father, Noor, is a painter by profession and her mother, Anisha Begam, is a house wife. Both her parents are not educated. The family income is barely enough to make both ends meet.

Children like Tasmiya, face educational deprivation in terms of generational illiteracy, physical access to education and quality of education. Due to social stigma and poverty associated with red light areas, the children are enrolled in schools,further compounding the present and future challenges of children like Tasmiya.

Though Tasmiya hails from such a disadvantaged background she can dream of a stable future with a good education because she studies at Turbhe study center, run by Sahaara. The foundational pre-primary teaching provided at Sahaara’s balwadis enables Tasmiya to step into a bright future through enrolment in a good school.

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.

Tasmiya is quiet by nature and has a hunger to learn more and more from the teacher. She enjoys playing with colours and is always ready to help out the teacher! She is sociable and shares her toys with other children. She loves singing sessions and thoroughly enjoys games.

Your generous donation, Michael, of a year of education, will enable Sahaara to provide a year of pre-primary education to Tasmiya.

Thank you so much for your generous gift to Tasmiya!

*Name changed to protect identity