Women Education India: Dreams Are Not Just Restricted To One Gender!!

Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, once said, “You can tell the state of a nation by looking at the status of the women there”. How true his words are? Women play a significant role in a country’s economic development. Better living condition for them can escalate nation’s growth rapidly. More so as women are mostly untapped resources and their potentials generally remain unexplored.

Education, especially women’s education is the key element that lacks particularly in India. If one closely observes the status of women in India, one would find their position is daunting and pathetic. As per the recent stats, female literacy rate in India is still 54.16 percent, which is quite low. No one can turn blind eye to the fact that women have a much lower literacy rate than men. Far fewer girls are enrolled in the schools, and many of them are drop out. Even if girls are encouraged to receive education, greater challenge remains, the learning provided to them is too little to prepare them for 21^st – century job markets.

Education of women is significant in improving living standards of the country. Higher literacy rate of women helps in improving quality of life both at home and outside as education cannot be just linked to employment but affects others aspects like fertility , hygiene etc.  Studies show lower women literacy rate results in high levels infant mortality, poorer nutrition, lower earning etc.  

In India, there is great disparity amongst different states regarding female literacy rate. States like Kerala has female literacy rate of about 86 percent, whereas Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have 55-60 percent. Furthermore, the disparity of female literacy rates across rural and urban areas is also too high.

NGO Support 

Many NGOs are working to uplift status of Indian women in many ways. Women education is one such pivotal aspect for which several NGOs are working aggressively. Education not only stimulates female empowerment but also fortifies the process of changing prevalent misguided mindsets and derivative of socio- cultural factors towards the girl child and women in general.

One such NGO working in this direction is SPARSH, which strongly believes that dreams are not just restricted to one gender and females should also get the opportunity to realize them. Its mission is to emancipate women and to motivate them to acquire new skills. 'Project Shakti',  one of our initiatives aimed at providing girl child education in India that will empower them, and save them from poverty and exploitation. Presently, around 50 girls are being given free evening classes under this project.

Ahead With Autism

Autism is just another word for many parents till their child gets diagnosed with it. Their immediate response to the shocking news is – ‘absolute denial’. They enter into the denial mode and further they decline to accept the child’s present health condition. They begin to feel anxious and depressed and some parent may even feel angry and resentful; others totally feel helpless and defeated. They start worrying about the child’s future and his ability to live normal life. Living with autism pose several new challenges for the person afflicted with it and along with him - his parents, family members and friends.

Identifying Autism

Behavioral characteristics: For onlookers it’s not easy to figure out if the child is autistic. Instructions like ‘be quiet’ or ‘behave properly ‘holds very little meaning for an autistic person. Petty day to day task such as going to park or shopping may present difficulty for parents and friends. Some of the behavioral characteristics of  autistic children are – delayed or no response to stimuli , repetition of certain words or activity, use of reversal pronoun such as ( calling ‘you’ in place of ‘I’) etc.

Diagnosis: For identification of any disease proper diagnosis is essential. One of the major hurdles faced by parents of children with autism in India is to obtain an accurate diagnosis. Presently, there are no sure shot medical tests for Autism. A general diagnosis is based on observed behavior and psychological analysis. Moreover, they are to be to be done in the presence of team of specialists consisting of a pediatric neurologist, a psychiatrist, etc. Also, team may include an audiologist, to test if there is any amount hearing loss, a speech and language therapist to determine language skills, an occupational therapist to evaluate motor skills.

Understanding Autism               

Autism, also known as pervasive developmental disorder (PDO) majorly affects social interaction communication and reciprocity, ranging from mild to severe.  Autistic disorder begins early in childhood and it starts becoming apparent from the age of two or three and becomes noticeable as the child grows. Basically, Autism results because of neurological problem affecting the brain.

Curing Autism

Autism unlike other developmental disorders does not have a proper cure. There are varied therapies and programmes meant for healing Autistic persons. It is important for the parents of autistic children to be informed of issues related to the disease. Parents and family members should seek advice from professional team of doctors for their child’s treatment. They must address and communicate their concerns to counselors from time to time.

Raising Children With Special Needs

Parents raising children with special needs face significant challenges from time to time. For some it may be equivalent to nightmare. The moment they discover that their child has a disability or a chronic illness, their immediate response surfaces in the form of sadness, irritation and confusion.  It takes a while for parents to accept the news. Their next biggest challenge is to cope up with demanding parenting tasks.

Generally, parenting is regarded as joyful, rewarding but exhausting experience. It becomes a double ordeal when you need to cater to the requirements of a special child. You face hardships like frequent trips to hospitals and pharmacies; your juggle visits to doctors and therapists etc. Along with that the parents need to learn to deal with their emotional highs and lows with regard to their child.

Create A Loving Environment

It is important to create safe and loving environment for the child where he feels secure and loved. Parents must at any circumstances avoid nagging, lecturing or bribing the child. Rather, they should motivate the child to make wise decision about food and medication. Also, families nurturing special children need to be resilient, flexible and open-minded.

Manage Your Stress Levels

It is natural that families raising children with disabilities often experience a higher stress levels. But, it is advisable for parents to keep a tab on their anxiety and anger as it may lead to negative impact on the child. You may seek help from counselors who can guide you appropriately. Parents need to help their child cope well with challenges, comply with medical requirements and live a hope-filled life.

Reach Out To The Community

The utmost fear what many parents feel is that they along with their child would be marginalized from the mainstream society. It is important to relieve yourself with this concern and try to reach out to the community.  Chances are, there may be some activities and support groups for children similar to your own, which will benefit you in huge way. Try and speak with other parents and see if you can sit down together. This will help you to provide essential information. By helping the community to know your kids you will create deeper understanding and acceptance for them.

Be Informed 

It is vital to be informed about your child disability or illness. Read as much as you can about it. Do extensive internet research about it and collect information about latest therapies and medication available. Several parents are successful in gleaning knowledge about their child's illness just by internet research. At times other families are a great resource.

Therefore, parents of children with special needs face gauntlet of added obstacles which can be resolved by proper guidance and counseling. It is therefore no secret that special needs children indeed need special parents!!

Born To Be Free Movement





This Independence Day, we aim to salute our nation by supporting the cause of needy and deprived children through ‘Born To Be Free Movement’. The main objective of the movement is to garner mass support; by making you a proud member of Sparsh.  

Lend a BIG hand by paying a SMALL amount of Rs. 251, which is nothing but a token of your compassion and humanity to the children. You will be amazed to see, how this small contribution can bring a big change in their lives.

So, if you have innate desire to help and wipe tears of misery then JOIN US!! Become a MEMBER of Sparsh! Contact: 7838654146 or visit the nearest Mother’s Pride and Presidium branch.

 Every member will be given a Sparsh membership card and a booklet to inspire and bring in more members to strengthen the cause.

Your dedication, support and efforts will be acknowledged through appreciation certificates, star badges and trophies. Also, your name will be specially mentioned on the Sparsh website.

You can get associated with Sparsh in the following ways :

Become a TRUSTEE!

SHOP FOR A CAUSE!

ADOPT!

DONATE!

VOLUNTEER!

SPREAD THE WORD!

For further details Contact: 7838654146 or visit the nearest Mother’s Pride and Presidium branch

Work For A Cause Not For An Applause

Many of us are leading a mechanized life, working round the clock hysterically; in a bid to establish an existence which fits perfectly with our societal mores. But, somewhere deep down inside, we all harbor a secret ambition to work for a cause or to make a meaningful contribution to our society. Sadly, we don’t do so, as we all are so engrossed in earning our steady paychecks and other benefits, that we don’t take step in this direction.

Eventually, we learn to ignore this persistent little tug and with time we kill it. But everyone, at some point of their lives, does realize; how important it is to work for achieving the goals of humanity. And after this realization, one can’t think of any reason, why shouldn’t one work for it or work towards it? Think, about the cause or the issue that has always been close to your heart. Maybe you’ve always wanted to work for the betterment of underprivileged children, women empowerment or elderly. You can always opt for a cause or a purpose that kindles your passion and faith. Your true passion for the cause can bring a sense of peace and satisfaction that you may not derive from your daily job. Rewinding and relaxing is important but it is as important to work for a noble cause as it truly brings joy to you and to others.

Sparsh, an NGO promoted by Marvel Group comprising of Mother’s Pride, Presidium, Adiva and The Knowledge Tree can help you realize your suppressed-goals i.e. to work for the betterment of humanity. Sparsh was born in the year 1996. Since then, it is dedicatedly working for the empowerment and welfare of all sections of the society- women, children, elderly and especially the physically & mentally challenged. The thrust area of the Sparsh is empowerment of mentally and physically challenged children.

Sparsh is currently working on various projects, where you can lend your hand and volunteer in the programs. One of them is 'Savera Special School', a school for destitute children with special needs. It is an institution of love, where these children get the right to life with respect and dignity. Another significant Project is – ‘Project Shakti’ that aims to empower girl child by providing them quality education. In addition to this, other special initiatives of Sparsh are ‘Touch of Heaven’ and ‘Love in Wraps’, where products made by the underprivileged are marketed and the revenue generated is used in making them self reliant and productive members of the society. Other varied projects of Sparsh are –Masti Ki Pathshala , Employment To Persons With Disability, The Being Training , Make A Difference etc..

       
So, what are you waiting for, give your innate desires wings to fly. Just go for it! Join Sparsh!!