Last week was an eventful one for Atma with our partner-CHILDReach’s graduation, a pre-partnership workshop for New Resolution India and a team building workshop for Atma partner FMCH!! We also said yet another goodbye to our beloved founder-Hayley Bolding.
Check out the pictures below:
(L-R) CHILDReach Graduation; Farewell to Atma Founder Hayley Bolding
(L-R) CHILDReach thanks Atma for the partnership; RASCI workshop for FMCH staff
Pre-partnership Workshop for New Resolution India
The Foundation for Mother and Child Health India (FMCH) improves the lives of mothers and children by providing programs focused on preventative healthcare, education, and nutritional interventions to underprivileged communities. Founded in 2005 in Indonesia, FMCH believes that a child’s development in the early years of their life is a foundation for their future educational and personal development.
Malnutrition in children is the result of several factors, most of which fall under a lack of access to resources and education. A limited family income, poor knowledge of basic nutrition and hygiene practices, and limited access to medical support, safe water and proper accommodation all contribute to the issue of child malnutrition. FMCH’s mission is to tackle malnutrition in innovative ways. Through medical clinics, health talks, home visits and cooking and parenting classes, FMCH approaches early childhood development and health from multiple angles. By addressing health issues and malnutrition in pregnant women, infants and young children, and by teaching proper nutrition, they focus on the holistic development of the child and empower women to make smart health choices for their families.
Atma Partner Masoom is an NGO that focuses on illuminating Mumbai’s night schools. Night school students attend classes at night after working during the day, and must make do with fewer resources than regular students. Founded by Nikita Ketkar, an Unltd India Investee, Masoom exists to improve the classroom infrastructure and educational offerings in Mumbai night schools, allowing night school students to excel academically.
Click to learn more about Masoom and Atma’s other Partnerships.
“One of my high school teachers once said to me, ‘If you’re not doing something about it, you don’t get to complain about it.’ The most important thing I have learned over the past 4 years is that talk is meaningless. It’s not enough to complain about the problems we see in the world today, the only way to make change is to stop complaining and start doing. Action does not just speak louder than words, it is the only thing that will create change.”
Atma began with an idea. Mumbai has thousands of NGOs that are founded by passionate social entrepreneurs who have an incredible vision. However, most NGOs struggle with a lack of resources which prevents them from truly achieving their goals and effectively reaching underprivileged children and young adults in Mumbai.
Atma volunteers come from all over the world to undertake specific projects with measureable, concrete outcomes for Atma and our partner NGOs. The profile of an Atma volunteer is a proactive, independent professional who is an excellent communicator. The Atma volunteership is an opportunity to use professional skills in the development sector, which shapes the lives of thousands of children by laying a solid foundation in quality education.
Volunteering with Atma is a way to learn and engage with the NGO sector on the ground in Mumbai and offer concrete skills towards a specific project and goal. This results in a significant personal and professional development experience. Atma reached out to a few of our former volunteers to see how their professional development experience with Atma has changed their life paths.
Photo by Kainaz Amaria
These children are students at a progressive kindergarten called Muskan, run by Atma Partner Reality Gives in Dharavi. The Muskan School curriculum is based on the Muktangan method, focusing on child-centered programs and a very low student to teacher ratio to ensure the highest quality education for their beneficiaries.
After finishing her BA in International Business, Simran Daryanani began considering working in the field of development. She knew that her classroom studies could only take her so far, and was looking for an opportunity to use her skills on the ground and gain professional experience. Her search for real hands-on social sector experience brought her to Atma.
In April, Simran finished a six-month Atma volunteership. Simran assisted with organisational development at Atma’s newest partner, the Foundation for Mother and Child Health (FMCH).FMCH aims to improve early childhood development by providing underprivileged communities with health and nutrition education as well as interventions such as clinics and nutrition supplement programs.
Photo by Jacek Rezsko
At FMCH, Simran found a challenging volunteer opportunity: one that allowed her to truly work on the ground in the strategic planning and programs of an NGO.
Photo by a CHILDReach Volunteer
This boy is a student at Atma Partner CHILDReach school in Santacruz. CHILDReach is a school that focuses on meeting the needs of students with learning difficulties that range from dyslexia to disgraphia and ADHD.
Photo by a Masoom volunteer
This young man is studying from a Braille textbook at a night school supported by Atma Partner Masoom. Masoom works to improve the educational offerings at night schools in Mumbai.
“I wondered if I would encounter resistance from management when it came to the direction of the organisation,” said Viren about his initial Atma volunteership expectations.
“However, the partner organization founders Chris and Krishna were very supportive of the ideas I had for the future of Reality Tours.”
Photo by Bronwyn McBride
Atma works in collaborative partnerships with Mumbai-based NGOs working in education, supporting their growth through consultancy, trainings and advocacy, and with professional volunteers like Viren.
