Project Dishari initiated

TF's Dishari project aims at improving quality education and child protection in the residential centres for out-of-school and high school level children of South Bastar - Dantewada district. This UNICEF funded project has been started since August 2011.

The main objectives of this project are:

• Improving quality of education in prota cabins (bamboo made residential centres for out-of-school children) and KGBVs (Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas).
• Improving child protection and child rights in these centres.
• Improving the participation and engagement of children in the teaching learning process.
• Developing child tracking system for the children who are getting enrolled in the various residential centres.

Dishari office in Dantewada city

Till date the Dishari team have visited 5 porta cabins and 2 KGBVs.

A focus group discussion with children in Porta Cabin of Hetapeta

The activities conducted till date are:

• Dishari Team had under gone though a training programme in  Kolkata. The training was conducted by TF training team and Path Welfare Society.
• The team members CEO of Zila Panchayat Shri P. Dayanad and District Project Co-ordinator of RGSM (Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission) Dr. H.R. Sharma. They have extended their full support to the project team and facilitated the initial visits to the targeted residential centres.
• The team had conducted meetings with the BRCs/CRCs and teachers. We tried to explain them about our project and our intervention area.
• In each and every porta cabin the team interacted with the children and tried to build  rapport with them. One of the major objectives of the project is to facilitate the process of participation of children in teaching learning and child protection related systems and procedures.
• The team had also conducted Focus group discussion (FGD) with teachers and children separately.

These initial visits will lead to preparing detailed strategies towards meeting the objectives and preparing document with non-negotiables which would signed by TF, UNICEF and the district administration.