BW Mothers Day Special: For Mumbai Slums, Everyday Is Mother's Day
It is Mother’s Day on 14 May 2023. Every year there is so much happening for the day, but is it really enough to appreciate the hard work, sacrifices, and dedication of a mother? For the mothers of Mumbai Slums, these things may not matter, but there is someone who is making everyday a mother's day.
The mothers from Mumbai slums are underconfident, illiterate and economically disturbed living a struggling life. The majority of them are even victims of domestic violence and other household tension. The reason for same is female illiteracy, even though the literacy rate of Indian women has grown over the years, and at present, it has jumped up to 77 per cent, according to the latest World Bank India report, 23 per cent of the total illiteracy often significantly marks girls discontinuing their education due to early marriage, the report added.
Amidst such scenario, Aarti Naik, a social activist and founder of Sakhi, a non-profit organisation is uplifting the mothers from the north eastern slums of Mumbai. Naik works for girls’ empowerment in the slum community and even focuses on upliftment of the mothers in slums. The pandemic disrupted her work for a while. But after Covid, her ‘Mothers Audio School’ received a great response. This social initiative is empowering and educating mothers with basic reading, writing and oratory skills.
Mothers Audio School
Naik created this space for Mothers to build their basic language skills, teaching them weekly oratory lessons in Hindi and Marathi language. Currently, 25 mothers from the slum community are part of this audio school which aims to develop the mothers’ oratory along with their writing and learning skills. The best part of this school is that it runs a YouTube channel through which the mothers’ voice reaches over five thousand rural students thus building confidence among the homemakers.
Slum Mothers At Audio School Along Daughter’s
Likewise, there are many small ventures implemented at Sakhi for the mothers’ well-being. The monthly culinary competition is the most appreciated by the mothers wherein mothers’ creativity is reflected. Some other initiatives include providing special aids to the mothers like giving monthly foodgrains, sanitary pads, kitchen appliances, etc. The focus is to provide ease in the their everyday lives so that they can concentrate on their personal development.
Image: Top Rankers, Mothers Holding Excellence Certificate - Best Audio Storyteller, Naik In Center
Image: Mothers Culinary Competition, Naik In Center
Image: Distribution Of Sanitary pads And Kitchen Appliance, Naik In Center
