Outreach
Rather than expecting highly marginalized children to access formal programs on their own we run pavement schools for street-connected children and pop-up classrooms in informal settlements. From April-October, there are hundreds of transient families living in tents in the Kullu Valley. The adults send their children out onto the streets to either beg, sell balloons, or man a set of scales which passers-by can use in exchange for a few rupees. All the kids working on the street are under ten and some of them are as young as four. Older children and adults work as rag-pickers scouring the bins and alleys for anything that can be cashed in at the scrap yard. Our out-reach workers forge relationships with the families and work their classes around the children’s schedules as it’s important not to deprive them of their means of subsistence. These children are sweet, funny, and very respectful to their teachers. They are eager to learn and many request homework so that they can practice in their tents at night. Most of the parents are illiterate and, the mothers especially, ask if we can teach them as well. We would love, with your support, to employ another teacher to run both an adult literacy program and a kindergarten for these communities.
Closing the Learning Gap
More than half the teenagers in this migrant settlement area don’t attend school regularly. They are left unsupervised for long hours while parents work and are growing up with few safe spaces, trusted adults, or visible pathways to dignified futures. The risks are serious: school dropout, exploitation, substance abuse, unsafe work, grooming, gender-based violence, and involvement in gambling or crime. The government schools that serve them are grossly underfunded and often the teachers don’t even turn up. Young people are led to believe, both directly and indirectly, that even if they excel in their studies, they will never get a good job because they will always be discriminated against. They are encouraged to leave school early and live hand to mouth for the rest of their lives. Generate Love trains and employs local teachers who, having grown up in these communities, understand the negative pressures holding these children down. They provide a home work club; a children's library; and free tuition in English and IT. These are not just academic inputs; they are gateway skills for further education, vocational training, and future employment. We see immediate change in the young people who access our services: children improve their school performance, gain confidence in learning, and are better able to remain in or re-enter education.
Cultivating Confidence & Joy
Even when children excel at school they can face great resistance from their parents and communities who believe that by crushing their off-springs’ dreams they are saving them from a future of disappointment. This can lead to poor mental health and feelings of profound worthlessness. Generate Love counters this downward spiral by providing a broad array of uplifting activities: dance projects; music lessons; drama club; storytelling circles; yoga and positive psychology; arts and crafts workshops; trekking camps, games and sport; and, most simply, by celebrating our students’ birthdays and successes. Amid a community forged from fun and laughter, we see children develop self-esteem, social confidence, discipline, friendship, aspiration, and a stronger sense of possibility. In our experience, Cultivating Joy is not an “extra”. It is central to the change process.
Mentoring & Scholarships
Generate Love provides scholarships for the young people that, against all the odds, win a place at university or vocational college. We cover their tuition fees, books, equipment and basic living expenses. In exchange we ask them to perform fifty hours of community service per year - which usually involves harnessing their talents for the benefit of our younger service users. While mentoring children – who naturally idolize them – our scholarship students develop a sense of pride and an identity built on giving rather than receiving, which we have seen is essential for developing true self-confidence. By running workshops and activities , they also practice leadership, public speaking, problem solving, advocacy and behavior management. Skills which go on to benefit them in both their professional and personal lives. We've had fifteen of our service users make it to university or college so far but we expect many more in the forthcoming years due to younger generations witnessing their achievements, financial success and, in several instances, opportunities to work abroad.
If children and young people from marginalised communities are reached where they are, supported with foundational education, surrounded by trusted mentors and role models, and given opportunities to build confidence, joy, skills, and pathways into further study, then they are more likely to stay connected to learning, pursue meaningful futures, and help shift the cycle of intergenerational poverty in their communities.