These are no longer just daycare spaces for children. These creches now play a significant role in a child’s nutritional, mental, intellectual and physical development.
The children at the creche enjoy their time surrounded by the love and care of the caregivers.
The staff at the Laika Ghar routinely check development for a child and also maintain a record of the readings. Apart from this, they are also taking important steps to create awareness of child nutrition and early childhood care and development among parents and guardians. The work of the Laika Ghar in Chhattisgarh is attuned to local realities and requirements. In doing so, the Laika Ghar has become an inspiration for the youth to join the social sector.
Azim Premji Foundation’s Creche initiative is collaborating with more than 25 partner organisations in Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. Caregivers are in charge of looking after the children in these creches. The supervisor oversees the work of caregivers. Seema Prajapati is one such supervisor. Seema completed her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Ambikapur Holy Cross Women’s college, Ambikapur before she started her career. Today, she is based in Dandagaon sector and looks after seven Laika Ghar. Seema says, “I had a desire to work in the field of social service from the very beginning. I wanted to learn something new. Chaupal Sanstha gave me this opportunity. I was sent to Bilaspur to get trained at Jan Swasthya Sansthan (JSS).”
Seema Prajapati, Shishu Ghar Supervisor
What motivated Seema to join the social sector? The answer is the number of social issues she saw around her, which led to a resolve to do something meaningful to change the situation. Maybe she had come across many families like the Sai family of Boro village in Dharamjaigarh block, Raigarh district. This remote Adivasi village has residents from Kanwar, Munda and Baiga communities, which depend on the forest and minor forest produce for sustenance. Access to social security schemes is minimal. Due to many such reasons, the underserved population of this village is grappling with malnutrition. The children of many families – like the Sais – are victims of this unfortunate condition. Seven-year-old Yuresh is so weak that he keeps lying down all day. Four-year-old Naresh is also malnourished. The youngest Alisha is only seven months old. The family survives on physical labour and forest resources for livelihood.
The malnourished Sai family represents a significant challenge—and a priority—for inclusion in the creche programme
It is interesting to note that Sais do not want to send their children to the Laika Ghar in the village. San Kanwar says that “the children cry” when she tries to leave them at the creche, and that increases the pressure on the young mother who, apart from taking care of the household, has to also graze two bulls.
San Kanwar’s answer shows that workers like Seema have to battle not just malnutrition but also social beliefs of and the lack of awareness among parents and guardians of children. Despite the reluctance, creche workers keep trying to communicate and counsel such families. The task of gaining people’s trust and building an affinity towards the creche system is far from easy. The nature of such work makes training an absolute must. Looking back at her own training, Seema recalls, “After the training, we were immediately sent to the field. We had to survey the villages and decide where to set up Laika Ghar. This was a new experience for me, because I had not spent much time in villages earlier. But I tried. My family encouraged me. My conversational style helped people connect with me easily.”
Initiatives like the Laika Ghar are important steps towards change, but one must factor in local conditions and the community needs to make these successful. When they started work on-ground, Seema and her team acquired learning on specific requirements of the task on hand. Gradually, the supervisor and caregivers succeeded in spreading awareness among the people.
“We feed the children four times a day and engage them in various activities that keep them happy. Apart from this, we record their weight and height. We help the Didis (caregivers) in their work and train them in how to take care of the children.”
– Seema Prajapati
The first sign of success was the fact that people started sending their children to the Laika Ghar. Very soon, families in the village started talking about the benefits of sending their children to the creche. This created greater awareness about the initiative. Seema says, “We feed the children four times a day and engage them in various activities that keep them happy. Apart from this, we record their weight and height. We help the Didis (caregivers) in their work and train them in how to take care of the children.”
The rural creche has made people’s lives easier in many ways.
Let’s share one success story from the Salba village of Surguja district.
Lalita Singh is very happy with the opening of the Laika Ghar in her village. Every day, she brings her child to the creche, spends some time with him, and then returns home to do household chores or goes for wage work or to the forest. In the evening, she comes back to take her child home.
We met Lalita Singh (29) who had come to drop her two-and-a-half-year-old son Rishikesh at the Laika Ghar. Lalita told us, “My son has been very happy since the time he started coming here. The children learn a lot of things here, and when they are here, we can also finish our household work or even go out. For example, we can work in the fields without a worry during the paddy harvest. The Laika Ghar has made things very convenient for us.”
Creche staff Meena Singh and Neelam Singh work with full dedication to take care of the children in this Laika Ghar. Meena says, “We come here at eight in the morning. We welcome the children after we clean up the place. We prepare nutritious food items for them, such as sattu ka laddu, eggs, khichdi and halwa. Also, we keep an eye on their activities.”
The fruits of the staff’s hard work are evident in the trust and confidence that the Laika Ghar now enjoys among parents and families of children. Earlier, getting the parents to agree to send their children was a challenge. Nowadays, many of them come to the creche on their own, eager to have their children looked after while they go about their daily work. In several places, secretaries and sarpanches were also roped in to generate greater support for the rural creches.
Seema admits that she did not like this work initially. She says, “I was not very interested in working with children, but when I understood and experienced it closely, I started liking it. And now, spending time with children and contributing to their development brings me immense satisfaction.”
“Earlier I was hesitant to work in villages, but now I have no problem. I have become friendly with people, and this work has become my favourite.”
– Seema Prajapati
Seema is now brimming with confidence: “Earlier I was hesitant to work in villages, but now I have no problem. I have become friendly with people, and this work has now become my favourite.” The Laika Ghar has not only changed the lives of children and their parents but has also made young women like Seema self-reliant and empowered.
This story is an inspiration for all those who want to do something in the field of social service. The creche has become a symbol of good nutrition and happiness for children, and a place of trust and belonging to parents.
About the authors
Purusottam Thakur is Resource Person, Communication Function, Azim Premji Foundation.
Mobin Jahoroddin is Assistant Professor, Translations Initiative, Azim Premji University, Bhopal.
Images by Purusottam Singh Thakur
