DNA: Snehasadan Foundation – Painting the town red, literally: June 16, 2009

Andheri: There is one house in Oshiwara that has a brightly coloured, beautifully done walls and equally colourful staircase.

These are painted by the little children who reside there. “Children liketo express themselves, they need tobe shown the right way. They liketo paint, play with colours anddon’t mind getting dirty playing with paints. Hence as there was a need for renovation and we allowed the kids to paint the staircase and walls of the house in vibrant hues of their choice,” says Sangeeta, a social work consultant at Snehasadan.

The children, in question, are street kids who are with Snehasadan Foundation, which is a shelter for street kids. The NGO provides shelter and assistance and a better living for street children in Mumbai.

Over the past four decades, Snehasadan has been providing succour for almost 20,000 children and giving them a chance to escape life on the streets and have access to what they can call their own family. They are also given better basic education.

Many homeless children are spotted wandering at various public places in the city, especially at railway stations. Hence the railway staff also works in conjunction with Snehasadan in providing help to vulnerable children, as a railway station is one of the permanent catchment areas for such children.

“Our centres are located at Borivli and CST railway stations. Snehasadan employs well-trained social workers who work with the community to identify homeless children, assist in counselling and providing them a foster home at Snehasadan if the homeless child chooses to do so,” informs Sangeeta.

So along with providing them with basic education and livelihood, this recent activity of painting got them to do something creative and enjoyable as well. “This activity gave them a chance to do something beyond their academic learning and which enables them to have a great fulfiled experience,” says Sangeeta.

Artist Derek Monterio and fashion designer Lascelles Symons were also present and witnessed the kids having a riot of colours. They are planning to follow the same exercise with the other 15 homes as well, after checking the feasibility for the same.

How Snehasadan functions:

* The first Snehasadan home was set up in Andheri in 1962.

* Each house has ‘house parents’ who are a couple with children of their own who are reared together with the Snehasadan girls and boys each housing 25 – 30 inmates on an average in age group that range from five to 18.

* The organisation has 16 houses in all and each quarter of the Snehasadan home is run like a big family with a sense of kinship and belonging.

* It is estimated that there are 11 million street children in the country.

* There are two lakh street children in Mumbai alone.

URL: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_painting-the-town-red-literally_1265194