Ladli social enterprise & working co-operative, street children, Improving and empowering lives

Ladli is a vocational training program for abused, orphaned and destitute children. For most of these children the alternative to Ladli is begging, child labour or prostitution. At Ladli they learn jewellery-making and skills such as tailoring and stitchwork. They also study other subjects, including English, Drawing and Dance. But the benefit to the children is far greater than the acquiring of education and employability, they also gain confidence, social skills and self-esteem. Ladli is a place where emotional damage and the stresses of extreme poverty can in some way be healed.

The first centre of vocational training under the name of "Ladli" was established for girls in August 2005; a centre for boys opened in February 2006 and eventually a village centre under the name of "Franklyn Scholar Vocational Training Centre" was opened at Jhag Children's village in August 2013. These centres are located in Jaipur & village Jhag in India, and are projects of I-India – a local, non-profit, non-governmental organisation whose donors include Unicef, Finland and the Government of India. Ladli is currently attended by about seventy five girls, fifty boys and over 100 women in total. We are expanding every day. We want to help more.

At present, half the children at Ladli come from I-India’s residential homes, the others live in the worst slums. Many of the childern come to the centre on a part-time basis after they have finished school, but some, especially the slum children, attend full-time. In the harsh reality of these children’s lives the choice is not between Ladli and school, but between Ladli and work, begging or exploitation. Because the kids are able to earn some money at the centre, their parents allow them to attend. These earnings, plus the positive development of the children, change the attitudes of families and communities, especially toward girls.

At Ladli children are taught in small groups of 5-8. They spend the day rotating through different classes, as well as having breaks for food and exercise. The centre is a safe and pleasant environment. The children are excited to come to Ladli; they laugh and have fun.

Jaipur is a city with a tradition of excellence in jewellery-making. The centre’s children possess remarkable aptitude and flair and the best of their high-quality, creative output is offered for purchase. The proceeds from these and other sales go to the children and towards funding the project. Nonetheless, Ladli still requires hefty subsidies and currently these come almost entirely from foreign individuals. All donations to Ladli go exclusively toward this project; there are no deductions for administration or any other expenses.

We have great plans for Ladli in the future. We want to formalise the curriculum and introduce diplomas. We want to create a job placement program to assist children when they turn eighteen. We want to more fully develop the centre for boys. And, of course, we want to help more and more children. In Jaipur alone there are hundreds of thousands of boys and girls living in shacks, tents or homeless on the street. With Ladli we believe we have a warm and winning recipe to help children regain their childhoods and secure their futures.

All we need is love (and some money, too!)

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