Who we are
Deeplaya is a non – government development organization working on issues affecting the urban and rural poor, with a special focus on children. It is because ‘Every child deserves a chance’ that the organization exists and works towards making that possible.
For the past 28 years Deepalaya has been working in the urban slums of Delhi and has also made inroads into rural development in the states of Haryana and Uttarakhand. Deepalaya has been collaborating with other agencies, both governmental and non-governmental towards making meaningful intervention in the policy making process in the State.
From the humble beginnings in 1979, Deepalaya has seen a continuous growth in staff, beneficiaries and fields of activities.
Furthermore, its support base has grown from a close circle of friends to an international network of individuals, corporations and agencies. As a consequence, Deepalaya supporters have established foreign outlets in various countries in order to make use of local tax-exemption facilities and extend the visibility of the organisation across borders.
To get to know Deepalaya more closely, you can read about our Mission and Vision, download some of our recent publications, or browse a list of feedback from sponsors, beneficiaries and affiliates.
Vision
A society based on legitimate rights, equity, justice, honesty, social sensitivity and a culture of service in which all are self-reliant.
Approach, Methodology And Stragegy
Deepalaya’s focus and entry point is the child. Unit of development is the family. Organization of community is the approach, through which empowerment, capacity building and social transformation are attempted.
Hence it is a long-term strategy for emancipating the whole community, through interventions at three levels i.e., the child, the family and & the community with extra emphasis on child specially girl child, street child and disabled child.
Mission
We at Deepalaya commit ourselves -
• To identify with and work along the economically and socially deprived, the physically and mentally challenged – starting with children, so that they become educated, skilled and aware.
• Enable them to be self-reliant and enjoy a healthy, dignified and sustainable quality of life
• And to that end, act as a resource to and collaborate with other agencies – governmental or non-governmental, as well as suitably intervene in policy formulation.
Publications
Over the years, Deepalaya has released various Publications, documenting its progress in different fields of work and its growing relationships with individuals and groups who share their spirit of reaching out to the marginalised.
You can view past issues of the newsletter, download various annual reports and see more special publications.
Deepalaya is reaching out to the marginalised in many ways.
We are working in more than 30 projects and our focus is distributed to the following areas:
Education
A quarter of a million of Delhi’s children, living in slums or on the streets, do not go to school.
Just an hour’s drive from Delhi, in rural Mewat, literacy is only 33%, and even lower for the girls. Deepalaya’s flagship program Education derives its rationale from these startling figures.
Over time, we have established 337 educational centres where 50,000 beneficiaries are educated through formal and non-formal education. Four formal schools – three of Deepalaya and the other in collaboration with the Narang’s – were established. Moreover, two schools were founded as Satellites. Deepalaya is accredited to the National Open School for both academic and vocational streams.
Mission
Our mission is to promote and provide qualitative education at affordable costs to children and communities, which are socially and economically deprived.
Furthermore this program helps to bring out the children’s latent talents, so that they not only acquire academic learning, but also vocational proficiency, personal character and societal values. They should become self – reliant and responsible citizens.
Strategy
The strategy is mainly based upon the micro planning with government schools
• Identification and survey of all government schools in and around the locations in which Deepalaya is working.
• Operation of a survey about the facilities (both infrastructure and human resources) available in these schools.
• Formation of pressure groups within the communities with parents, especially with mothers, to demand for better facilities and quality of education in government schools.
• Involvement of teachers with parents and attempt to bring them closer to each other for a joint effort towards overall betterment in schools.
• Creation of government and non government linkages with community pressure groups as well as schools so as to provide facilities like libraries, playground etc.
• Rapport building with concerned government authorities to facilitate the process of qualitative improvement in schools.
• Canvass for larger allocation of resources to establish schools to cater for universality of education for all.
Differently-able
Mentally or physically challenged children often face social stigma and ostracism. The problem gets compounded by poverty. Deepalaya strives to change this.
The program “Mainstreaming the differently-able” is aimed at developing positive attitudes among parents and communities. The agenda is to help the parents see their children not as “disabled” but more as “differently-able”.
Children with special needs are mainstreamed into the general education and healthcare system. Deepalaya is also providing special education and physiotherapy and vocational training to facilitate this process.
Mission
Our mission is to develop positive attitude among parents and communities towards physically and mentally challenged, though otherwise talented, and mainstreaming them to improve their quality of life.
Strategy
In this sector the methodology will be to limit the number of special need centres to the current level and to mobilize human and other resources to identify as many disabled persons from all 76 locations so that the issue becomes a focal point of intervention for each and every project of Deepalaya. In this approach the concept of “key personnel” will be vital:
• Key persons will be identified and trained from each project location.
• Key persons will be responsible for identification of disabled people from the respective locations.
• Key persons will talk to the sector team after identification and chalk out a plan of action, link with local resources, both governmental and non governmental, for possible rehabilitation.
• Key persons will initiate need based activities like therapies, income generation etc., counsel the parents and participate in advocacy rallies.
• They will also be responsible for the survey towards accessibility in government schools.
Health
Health is an important precondition of learning. Thus Deepalaya launched the Community Health program, focusing on preventive and promotive health.
Through various health related interventions, we have been able to reach out to 64,436 beneficiaries in 76 locations of Delhi’s slums.
To further these objectives, Deepalaya has established vital linkages with Government, semi-government and private institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Cancer Society, Delhi T.B. Association and the Delhi State AIDS Control Society.
Mission
Our mission is to establish effective and sustainable mechanisms in the realm of promotive, preventive and rehabilitative health. It is aimed at improving the demand and access to health services for weaker sections to become healthy communities. The focus is on services in the fields of reproductive and child health, AIDS, environment and population.
Strategy
The following methodologies and approaches will be used in order to achieve the objectives of the community health sector:
• Implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the activities by the sector team.
• Training of health workers from all locations, wherever there is direct implementation, and linking them with health institutions.
• Integration of the Social Enterpreneur’s associations with the health workers and health activities so as to ensure greater participation and continuation.
• Involvement of the mother’s group in identifying and training on reproductive health.
• Integration of the adolescent and youth in larger issues like environment and sanitation so as to make them responsible towards the society as a whole.
Gender Equity
Deepalaya strongly believes that women should have equal socio-economic, cultural and political opportunities as men.
At the formal schools, a successful attempt was made to achieve an enrollment ratio of 50:50 for both genders.
Working in the Mewat region of Haryana where gender discrimination is rampant, Deepalaya started a comprehensive program on Self Help Groups in 1999. The program began with five villages and three groups consisting of 48 members. Until 2005 it has covered 308 groups with 3216 women in all 84 villages of the Tavru Block. The movement is also being implemented in the slum locations of Delhi.
Mission
Our mission is to work towards gender equity in which women have enhanced socio-cultural, economic and political opportunities, enabling them to take crucial decisions which affect them and their families.
Strategy
The following methodologies and approaches will be used in order to achieve the objectives of the Gender Equity sector:
• Continuation of the process to provide market oriented skill training to women and adolescent girls.
• Commitment to help mothers of children, who are attending educational classes, and involve them in saving, thrift and credit, skill training and income generation activities.
• Integration of adult literacy with skill training and income generation or making literacy a precondition for skill training and income generation activities.
• Development of leadership within the communities and linking them with government and non-government facilities.
• Generation of awareness among common people through involving women from project locations and using IEC materials.
Institutional Care
In Delhi, over a lakh (more than a hundred thousand) of children are living on the streets, in need of shelter, care and a dignified life. Under the Institutional Care program, Deepalaya seeks to give some of these children a chance at the hostel in Deepalaya Gram, in village Gusbethi in the state of Haryana.
Deepalaya Gram today is home to over 80 children (both boys and girls) in difficult circumstances e.g. street and run-away children, victims of child abuse, children of lifetime convicts, HIV/ AIDS patients, sex workers, and other vulnerable categories.
The Gusbethi centre provides regular counseling, formal and vocational education and latent talent development. Above all, the children get individual love and attention, something which they have not got for a long time. They are also equipped with life-skills to set them on the path to socio-cultural stability and economic independence.
Mission
Our mission is to care, nurture and vocationally rehabilitate the runaway children. Moreover we support the severely mentally challenged with institutional care and provide the old aged a family-like atmosphere – so that they can lead a mutually supportive and emotionally satisfying life in a community.
Strategy
Runaway children
• Provision of academic education and vocational training.
• Enhancement of life skills for negotiation and leadership training.
Aged people
• Admittance through a due process.
• Provision of adequate preoccupations, necessary medical and other services
Mentally challenged children
• Identification and induction of the children.
• Provision of medico-social support and engagement in activities.
Deepalaya Board
Mr A J Philip
Mr T M Abhraham
Mr Y Chacochan
MR K V Thomas
Mr B P Thomas
Ms Elizabeth Issac
Dr Ruby Kurien
Mr J K Varghese
Mr P J Thomas
Mrs Grace Thomas
Dr Mrs Thankam Mathew
Mrs Mariam Mathew
Rtn T K Mathew
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Contact Us
Deepalaya
Deepalaya Corporate Office
46, Institutional Area,
D-Block, Janakpuri,
New Delhi – 110058.
Phone : 91-11-28520347,28522263,28525326
Fax : 91-11-28520546
Deepalaya School,
Kalkaji Extension
A14, Kalkaji Extension
Govindpuri,
New Delhi – 110019.
Phone : 91-11-29961029,26094595
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