The Musahar Project is giving a special group of children a reason to dream. We’re bringing a generation of “untouchables” a program designed to empower kids through creative education and good health.
The Musahar tribe is a community in Northeastern India traditionally known (and named) for their habits of scavenging for and eating rats. Over the last 50 years, they've been subject to terrible discrimination by their nearby communities and the governmental infrastructures meant to help them grow.
From birth, the children of the communities are subject to parents that put them in brick fields to labor while they use the little money they have on tobacco and alcohol, and any food they do get either comes from begging or not at all. Their literacy rates have stood at 3% for ages, and even when children attempt to take part in the school system that they have full rights to be a part of, teachers treat them in ways that discourage them from returning.
To counter these effects, the Musahar Project aims to take in as many uneducated Musahar children under 12 as possible to one village center six days a week. From morning to night, we provide them a setting to practice proper hygiene habits, learn the importance of good health, gain a foundational education in English, Hindi, and math, and gain confidence in interacting with people outside the Musahar community – those who have historically discriminated against them.
In the last two years, we have gained the trust of the families of 50 Musahar children, inspired them to attend the program every single day – sometimes even coming to the program site on days off out of a desire to continue learning – restored all children to full health with proper eating habits and regular doctor check ups every three months, and we've built awareness amongst nearby villages of the growing acceptance of the Musahar people in the Mankaiya village where the program is taking place.
A quick rundown of education-related milestones the children have accomplished:
+ Counting from 1 to 100 in Hindi + English!
+ Learning the alphabet in Hindi + English!
+ Doing up to the 16 multiplication tables + Knowing names of 50+ animals, foods, and parts of the body in English!
+ Eliminated slang language from daily speaking
+ Refined Hindi to speak outside of the village
And noteworthy:
+ Received the Gandhi Peace Award from Jammu and Kashmir government
+ Despite historic discrimination against Musahar people, the Block Development Officer distributed blankets and clothes to them by hand
+ Local community has begun treating Musahar children as their own, eating and working with them daily
+ Musahar kids have stopped begging habits
+ Musahar kids have begun spending more time communicating with local adults when they used to feel inferior and had little confidence
All of this progress has led to a growing interest from more Musahar families to send their children to join the program, which is incredibly notable, considering their opportunity cost is sending their children to the fields to earn money for the families. This progress is something that inspired a greater need for a strong infrastructure to support the growth of the children already in the program and the new children that will be joining later this year.
Right now, the space we use is rented and sensitive to rainfall (and the kids most cer- tainly don’t enjoy rain days as much as we did snow days). We use several home kitchens to prepare the food for the children. We’re ready to change this.
We want to continue the program for another two years to come with a stronger system. We want to expand for more students, more teachers, a steadier classroom location dedicated to the program, and forward-thinking infrastructure and resources.
[img]/images/user/1658_8832028235751476683.jpg[/img]
[img]/images/user/1658_18043990222162106492.jpg[/img]
[img]/images/user/1658_7951922157175955196.jpg[/img]
[img]/images/user/1658_11126065833613282060.jpg[/img]
[img]/images/user/1658_8616068254245027417.jpg[/img]
[img]/images/user/1658_11189441211890928730.jpg[/img]
14 MAY 2013