What child has not ever dreamed of visiting a fire station?

At Door Step School, educational visits and excursions are part of our program. It concerns children of all ages: Balwadi children (3 to 6) and NFE children (7 to 18).

On Wednesday 21 May 2008, we inaugurated the new School-on-Wheels bus of Door Step School in our premises in Aundh, Pune.

Sports day was held at the Tata Grounds on 19th February 2008 in which 113 children from the NFE and Study class participated.

We have recently entered communities in ward "E" of Mumbai city that have established themselves on the vast lands under BPT juridiction in that area. Beginning in ward "A" in 1988, we have gradually been moving northwards and have just begun looking at educational concern of the underserved child population in ward "E".

The communities in ward "E" that we have commenced work with lie on the Eastern shore which offers a sheltered harbour and is therefore the base of the shipping industry. Whereas the main docks are not easily accessible because of intense security, adjacent wharfs on the indented coast line house communities, whose original inhabitants were involved in the trade of each wharf r "bunder".

The communities are inhabited by migrants from all over the country. The closest municipal schools catering to the schooling needs of the children here are a couple of kilometers away. A survey of 2 pockets, out of the 8 we intend to work in, shows a total of 1115 homes inhabited by 5350 people. On the 1622 children of school going age found through the survey, only 974 are attending school. Another 237 children were found in the age group of 3-5 years.

Though we entered the communities just in June 2006, we have already started 7 kindergartens for the 3-5 year olds and propose to start another 10 very soon. We have also started 2 non-formal-education classes and 4 study classes.

The need in this area is immense and Door Step School is always ready to meet this need, tailoring the educational programs offered to the requirements of the area it caters to.

This programme, now an annual feature, was held on August 12, 2006. In an effort to commend the efforts of children who were initiated into the process of education at Door Step School and have now completed High School and Higher Secondary this felicitation program is organized. This year we commended 25 youngsters.

Worth mentioning here is that the youth group comprising of Door Step School alumni in the community take up a major role in the organizing of this programme.

In India, Nehru's birthdate of 14th November is used to mark and celebrate Children's Day. This year we held several events for the children in Mumbai and Pune and enjoyed picnics, games and outings. This is a further use for the School on Wheels bus which we use to transport the children to and from such activities

A Health Workshop was held on 11th February 2006 at Transit Camp, T. L. Vasvani Marg, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai 400 005 from 2.00 pm. to 8.00 pm.

This workshop aims to address various health related problems faced by children and adolescent in the community. This will provide them a platform to discuss their problems and creating awareness in them. The programme for the health mela will also include putting up stalls on various health issues and performing a street play on HIV-AIDS.

This gathering had an audience of over 400 children and people from the community. Issues addressed included nutrition, TB, addictions, AIDS and reproductive health.