Wings Mobile School (School on Wheels)

- A Unit of Udavum Karangal

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1. About Udavum Karangal

2. Migration and Migrant Communities

2.1 Construction Industry and Laborer's Migration - Overview

2.2 Socio-Economic Problems resulting from employing Migrant Labor

3. About Wings Mobile School

3.1 Wings – Overview

3.2 Wings – History

3.2.1 Feasibility Studies

3.3 Wings – Objectives

3.4 Key Wings Statistics at a Glance

3.5 Benefits of Wings Mobile School for Builders

3.6 Challenges overcome by Wings Staff

3.7 Main Activities of Wings Mobile School

3.7.1 Project Implementation

3.7.2 Healthcare

3.7.3 Education

3.7.4 PTA (Parent Teachers Association) Meetings

3.7.5 Celebrations

3.7.6 Fun-based Programs

3.8 What Builders Provide

3.9 What Udavum Karangal Provides

3.10 Wings Mobile School Program Impact

3.11 Road Ahead

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1. About Udavum Karangal

Udavum Karangal is a registered, non-governmental, non-religious and non-profit social service

organization, established in 1983 by Sri S. Vidyaakar with the objective of serving people in distress,

orphans and destitute with their mission statement as "To provide unique and dedicated social service

to people of all ages who have been deserted by society - irrespective of their religion, race, community,

caste, creed, language or social status".

Udavum Karangal's service activities include:

• Residential Care: Providing free food, shelter, and clothing through operations of 14 units.

• Educational facilities through schools that operate in Chennai and Coimbatore.

• Healthcare with a combination of in-house services and a network of institutions and

professionals.

• Community Development programs.

• Uplift of people living below poverty line.

• Disaster Management Programs.

Udavum Karangal has touched the lives of 21,000 children - with over 5,500 children from poverty-

stricken families have received the gift of education from them. 7,697 psychiatric patients have received

short-term and long-term care so far - with many restored back to their families.

A few of the awards and recognitions obtained by Udavum Karangal are given below.

Award for the Best Social Worker 2004 - Government

of Tamil Nadu

Citation for services provided for the Tsunami Victims -Denver Sister Cities 2005.

Citation honoring Udavum Karangal -

Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Award for Best Institution 2002 - Government of Tamil

Nadu

2. Migration and Migrant Communities

2.1 Construction Industry and Laborer's Migration - Overview

The construction industry in India is the second largest industry after agriculture with an estimated 35

million men and women (about 16% of the Indian working population) employed in construction

activities in India. Construction activities occupy a very significant portion of India's development and

modernization programs especially during the last three or four decades. Hence there has been usually a

heavy demand for laborers and for reasons of cost-cutting, laborers are transported both within states

and between states for such projects - typically working for a mere 60 to 80 rupees of daily wages.

2.2 Socio-Economic Problems resulting from employing Migrant Labor

Most of the high capital-intensive, long duration projects such as Metro Rail (Mass Transit Systems) for

instance employ families of migrant laborers who settle in these sites for months or years with their

children there. The plight of these migrant laborers is practically invisible to the common people in these

areas though we often move around near them daily in various urban locations. There seems to be very

less ways to help them or participate in the well-being of their children or alleviate the problems faced

by these workers given the migrant nature of their lives and their insecure work contracts. Thus, even

well-meaning people (a small portion of the unconcerned majority of urban dwellers) are unable to

assist them in any manner. The children of these workers have minimal chances of accessing formal

education. Many end up as rag pickers, some resort to begging or stealing and a few get addicted to

drugs.

A few of the common socio-economic/rights issues faced by migrant laborers' families are outlined

below.

• Identity crises result often with these workers and their children as they lead dislocated lives away

from home-villages most of the time. Some suffer harassment and exploitation at the hands of

subcontractors many a time.

• They are forced to work on minimum or less than minimum wages with no job security at all. No

secure or safe toilet-wash facilities for workers or children are available.

• Workers’ families face language problems due to moving from site to site to different states.

• Children lead isolated lives here with none or minimal education or recreational activities. These

children also get into child labor eventually to support parents’ workloads. Moreover, parents give

house-keeping jobs to children and elder children have to be at home supporting younger ones

while parents are working on site, so chances of their attending school become very less!

• Construction sites are hazardous places to move about even for adults - what to say of small

children who deserve a safer and a better environment to grow up!

3. About Wings Mobile School

3.1 Wings - Overview

In order to provide these children the precious gift of education and steer their young minds and hearts

towards the direction of education, to break the vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy, the mobile school

concept was developed during the early 1990s. Apart from the educational programs run by builders'

initiatives for these children, a few other organizations have been successfully reaching these

marginalized children of construction workers through mobile schools and crèches. A few of these are

listed below.

Udavum Karangal, with three decades of excellent service to the disadvantaged in society extended

their services in 2011 to address this issue and to serve these women and children through the Wings

Mobile School project.

3.2 Wings - History

The Wings initial concept was developed from discussions held between Pappa S. Vidyaakar and Bart

Marijke and Bart. Both are social workers from Netherlands. They are well-wishers of Udavum Karangal

and involved for many years.

Mobile Schools

Door Step School, Pune &

Mumbai

Pratham, Pune

Mobile Crèches, Delhi

Moving Schools, Goa

Jagruti, Dwaraka

Inception of Idea - Marijke and Bart along with Uma and Maliga visited the construction site of the

Tsunami fishing village in 2006, Chennai. Later on, on return back to Pappa’s Office, Marijke started

discussing about the situation of Construction workers and the plight

all started thinking about realizing a

Vision of a Mobile School was presented to the Helping Hands Foundation in Venray and SOS Meerlo

Wanssum-Villages. These organizations supported the vision and

expenses for the project for three years. Wild Geese

Netherlands supported this initiative with a premium of 55% on the amount that was sponsored by

Helping Hands Venray and SOS Meer

Uden with some other artists sponsored a considerable amount. The fixed assets

teaching equipment, was supported by Wilde Ganzen

3.2.1 Feasibility Studies

A feasibility analysis was done by

Research, Mumbai as a project as part of their course requirements. The output of this study was given

to Helping Hands Foundation in

presentations to interested institutions and funding agencies.

As part of the feasibility study which was carried out in two phases, the first phase involved visits to 5

major construction sites and direct interactions with 50 construction workers that revealed the nature

of the lives led by these workers and their receptiveness to this program.

that:

• Most of the workers are migrants from states like Andhra Pradesh, Or

• These workers leave for work in the morning leaving the older children behind to look after the

younger ones in the labor shed.

• Though access to municipal schools or to schools run as part of the government’s ‘Sarva Shiksha

Abhiyan’ program were available in a few places, most of these children

to distance, different medium of instruction and non

• These children and their parents showed great interest and were eager to be part

school program.

A survey of these 50 construction workers revealed the following findings.

Marijke and Bart along with Uma and Maliga visited the construction site of the

Tsunami fishing village in 2006, Chennai. Later on, on return back to Pappa’s Office, Marijke started

discussing about the situation of Construction workers and the plight of their children. Since then, we

all started thinking about realizing a school on wheels.

was presented to the Helping Hands Foundation in Venray and SOS Meerlo

Villages. These organizations supported the vision and sponsored variable operating

expenses for the project for three years. Wild Geese – an international funding agency

Netherlands supported this initiative with a premium of 55% on the amount that was sponsored by

Helping Hands Venray and SOS Meerlo-Wanssum. In addition, a friend / a local artist Ms. Miekevan

Uden with some other artists sponsored a considerable amount. The fixed assets –

teaching equipment, was supported by Wilde Ganzen - an international funding agency.

A feasibility analysis was done by 3 1st year M.B.A students from SP Jain Institute of Management &

Research, Mumbai as a project as part of their course requirements. The output of this study was given

Hands Foundation in Venray and SOS-Meerlo-Wanssum-Villages and also used for

presentations to interested institutions and funding agencies.

As part of the feasibility study which was carried out in two phases, the first phase involved visits to 5

d direct interactions with 50 construction workers that revealed the nature

of the lives led by these workers and their receptiveness to this program. It was learnt from this study

Most of the workers are migrants from states like Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, etc.

These workers leave for work in the morning leaving the older children behind to look after the

younger ones in the labor shed.

Though access to municipal schools or to schools run as part of the government’s ‘Sarva Shiksha

am were available in a few places, most of these children are not able to

different medium of instruction and non-availability of transfer certificates.

These children and their parents showed great interest and were eager to be part

A survey of these 50 construction workers revealed the following findings.

Marijke and Bart along with Uma and Maliga visited the construction site of the

Tsunami fishing village in 2006, Chennai. Later on, on return back to Pappa’s Office, Marijke started

of their children. Since then, we

was presented to the Helping Hands Foundation in Venray and SOS Meerlo-

sponsored variable operating

n international funding agency in the

Netherlands supported this initiative with a premium of 55% on the amount that was sponsored by

Wanssum. In addition, a friend / a local artist Ms. Miekevan

mainly a bus with

an international funding agency.

1st year M.B.A students from SP Jain Institute of Management &

Research, Mumbai as a project as part of their course requirements. The output of this study was given

and also used for

As part of the feasibility study which was carried out in two phases, the first phase involved visits to 5

d direct interactions with 50 construction workers that revealed the nature

It was learnt from this study

issa, Bihar, etc.

These workers leave for work in the morning leaving the older children behind to look after the

Though access to municipal schools or to schools run as part of the government’s ‘Sarva Shiksha

are not able to join due

availability of transfer certificates.

These children and their parents showed great interest and were eager to be part of the mobile

The languages spoken by these workers were Telugu, Oriya, Tamil, and Hindi (in decreasing order). The

expected period of stay of these workers at a site was between 2 to 4 months for half of these workers

which was the maximum period of expected stay.

The second phase was the interactions with 7 leading builders in Chennai and proposition of this

concept was done and details to them were shared which was approved by most of them. The support

from builders’ management for this program and involvement was requested in this phase.

Distance and logistics of operating a huge bus to service as many sites as possible per day were key

factors in choosing construction sites (which were located about 40-50 Kms from the start point at

Thiruverkadu). Hence, nearness of the site to the home base of the bus was a key criterion in selecting

sites. The builders although supportive were not that forthcoming initially as they saw no tangible direct

business gains out of this program. Udavum Karangal’s Wings Team motivated them to see their

workers’ children’s welfare in a broader light. Eventually, due to this motivation, many builders started

giving refreshment to the children and so Wings were able to limit their food giving to teachers alone in

order to induce a sense of self-supporting tendency in the builders so as to take as much financial

ownership as possible.

After facing several such challenges, these efforts bore fruit in October 2011 as the Wings Mobile School

- the first of its kind in Chennai and its neighborhood!

3.3 Wings - Objectives

The main objectives of the Wings Mobile School Project are outlined below.

• To provide educational opportunities for children of construction workers, who have no access

to schools, by serving them in their present environment - by removing the most common

difficulties preventing them from enrolling their children in some form of schooling - including

language constraints, and other constraints of the unpredictable, financially insecure work

pattern of their lives.

• To provide Montessori and playschool opportunities for children of construction workers.

• To help increase these children's self-esteem by teaching them that they are valued members of

their community.

• To provide nutritional and vitamin supplements to under-nourished children by supplying green

vegetables, fruits and cereals to these children.

The prime objective of a mobile school is to reach out to the children of construction workers on the site

and to get them involved in the learning process. The following activities serve as tools to achieve the

above stated objectives:

Curricular Activities Extra-Curricular

Activities

Basics of

Native

Language

Basic

Mathematics

Basic

English

G.K.

(General

Knowledge)

EVS(Environmental

Science)

Fun

Games

Arts and

Crafts

3.4 Key Wings Statistics at a Glance

Duration 30 Months (October 2011-Present)

Children Benefited Total (2012-2014): 612

2012:

2013:

2014: Over 129 (As of 05/2014)

Children Age Group 2 to 12 years

Locations Various locations within Chennai (Tamil Nadu)

Staffing 1 Project Coordinator

(Handling site supervision and overall coordination activities)

6 Full-Time Staff comprising of 5 Teachers (handling Tamil,

Telugu, Hindi, Marathi and Odiya) and

1 Driver (handling all transportation functions of Bus)

Duration of course 3 months minimum (may extend to a year at times)

Funding Agencies 1. Foundation Helping Hands, Venray, The Netherlands

2. Foundation SOS-Meerlo-Wanssum-Villages, The

Netherlands

3. Wilde Ganzen Hilversum, The Netherlands

4. Funds of Udavum Karangal Trust

5. Individual donors (Builders and Flat buyers on sites)

3.5 Benefits of Wings Mobile School for Builders

The consent and support offered by the builders is invaluable in implementing this program. Major

builders and promoters in Chennai were approached and their support requested. The benefits of a

mobile school from the builders' standpoint were put forward to them to elicit support. Some of the

benefits for the builders are outlined below.

• Increased productivity from site workers due to increased focus in the work.

• Mobile school helps avoid accidents resulting from children playing near the construction site.

• Helps in increasing workers' loyalty to the company and reduces turnover rates.

• Can be included as part of the activities of the company's Corporate Social Responsibility

initiatives.

• This school offers an opportunity for the company to do something for their workers' well-being

with very less effort.

3.6 Challenges overcome by Wings Staff

• Had to tackle the fears of parents at first that children may be taken away from them if they

attend school!

• Faced non-cooperation from builders at first as they thought schedules and project plans may

be delayed/upset by these programs

• Builders at first were not that much bothered about these children’s situation or their basic

needs.

• In some sites, Wings staff were not allowed inside due to fear that competitors may know their

building plans through such programs

• Wings staff faced differing views from within builders’ management on offering support to

Wings program

• Lack of support from government licensing authorities initially for several months due to the

unconventional body and the novel purpose of the Wings Bus.

• WMS Staff dynamically had to adjust with the fact that children of workers may have to leave in-

between education program because of end of contract with builders or due to completion of

the construction project itself. New children of new construction workers are at times brought

in by builders in-between a running Wings program. These children have to be educated with

lesser time available. Wings staff had to adapt their planning and execution to deal with child's

situation and time available.

• To develop public interest and increase trust regarding this concept, audio-visual programs were

shown to parents, children and builders as well which improved the overall response to Wings

concept and its importance.

3.7 Main Activities of Wings Mobile School

3.7.1 Project Implementation

• Planning: A survey is made on the first week of every month for all sites to determine

demographic details of the workers with the following details of children documented: Name,

Age, Gender, Mother tongue, State of origin, Parent's Name, and Mobile Number.

• Monitoring and Evaluation: Staff Meetings are held as and when needed. Updating the details

of activities to the building promoters and developers is done as and when needed.

• Report Writing: 23-24 timetables/registers are maintained with up-to-date details of sites,

locations, total children enrolled and all project details (such as bus trip charts, monthly plans,

yearly plan for the school, builders list, teachers' weekly lesson plans, etc.)

3.7.2 Healthcare

• Sanitation and hygiene instructions are given to both children and parents. They are taught the

importance of washing hands before having food, and importance of taking bath regularly to

maintain good health.

• To take care of mental and spiritual health, families are taught to offer prayers to God and to give

thanks to God for all that has been given to them.

• The Health education program is conducted jointly by Wings and Udavum Karangal Staff. For 3

months, Wings staff personally washed all children's feet, hands, and faces. After 3 months, children

were guided to do washing by themselves. Seeing them, the parents also started practicing these

cleanliness habits themselves! Before coming to class every day, children are made to apply oil and

made to comb their hair neatly. Wings staff are approachable to all parents and encourage them to

come to them with problems.

• Medical camps were also organized occasionally by Wings staff and by builders sometimes.

3.7.3 Education

Syllabus Covered: Academic Subjects taught include Telugu, Hindi, Odiya, Maths, EVS (Environmental

Science) and GK (General Knowledge). Extra-curricular activities include Drawing, Singing, Dancing,

Crafts, Physical Education, Yoga, Meditation classes.

Method of Teaching: Basic Montessori education with play, audio-visual techniques, classroom teaching

is provided. Approach is a “gradual and dynamic” one with first 3 months of oral instructions only with

audio-visual assistance after which actual implementation of all learning techniques commences.

School Timings: Monday-Saturday (9.30 AM to 6.15 PM) (except on Fridays with 9.30 AM to 5.15PM

ending an hour earlier for bus cleaning work). Children are given 10 minutes of calm exercise (yoga or

meditation on alternate days) at the start of class daily.

Staff Training: Teaching staff are given teacher training by Udavum Karangal's Sri Ramakrishna Vidya

Niketan high school staff once a month. Topics covered in staff training are: how to interact with

children, drawing and crafts, subject teaching methodology. Teachers prepare a weekly lesson plan and

execute weekly as per plan. Teachers also provide 2 detailed reports to Udavum Karangal management -

for the periods January to May and for June to December respectively.

Examinations: Both oral and written examinations are given; Exams conducted in May and December

typically. A weekly test and monthly test are conducted to assess children's progress. All exam/test

questions are adapted by Wings Staff based on the child’s duration in the program.

Fostering Teamwork and Improving Morale: To teach children about national leaders and to build team

spirit, children are divided into 3 groups having names of national leaders (such as Jawaharlal Nehru). To

improve motivation of children, prizes are awarded for the first, second, third and fourth rankers overall

at the end of the program. A certificate is given for all enrolled students to show participation in the

program that will assist them later in life. Monthly Test Rank-holders are also awarded a stationery kit as

prize.

3.7.4 PTA (Parent Teachers Association) Meetings

Meetings are conducted once a month. Various educational issues as well as family problems are also

addressed during these meetings. Office-bearers are elected from parents with roles and responsibilities

assigned to each office-bearer. Various topics such as toilet usage, grooming, and protection from

seasonal diseases, sanitation and hygiene, good heart care, cancer prevention, TB (Tuberculosis)

prevention are also discussed in these meetings. Other personal issues such as violation of human

rights, safety and privacy violation issues are also given appropriate guidance and counseling during

meetings.

3.7.5 Celebrations

Various celebration activities and events are conducted on special days such as: national festival days

and public holidays. A Fun-day program (for 2 days), a Talent show (for 1 week) and School Day (Sports

Day) are also celebrated. Awareness programs are organized on special days such as Women’s

Day/Human Rights Day/World Heart Day/Tobacco Day. Certificates are given on School Day or on the

end of project day (whichever is earlier)

3.7.6 Fun-based Programs

A summer camp once a year during summer is organized by Sri Ramakrishna Vidya Niketan. Children are

taken to taken to Thiruverkadu where they perform the same programs there that were performed on

site. A picnic is organized once a year towards the end of summer camp during summer. Children are

taken to parks, zoos, gardens, etc. nearby depending on their location.

Cultural programs are also conducted by Wings staff by themselves to boost morale.

3.8 What Builders Provide

• A covered shed for children’s education (some builders provide sheds after much persuasion

and proposals, but some did not even after requests)

• Refreshments (Water provided from 2013, refreshments given for staff also from 2013)

• Lunch on special occasions

• Dresses (Once a year)

• Prizes (Games, Toys)

• Infrastructure (Fans, lights, cupboards, extension box, tables, chairs)

• Supervisors visit Wings operations sometimes

3.9 What Udavum Karangal Provides

• A Colorful Bus Attractive to Children having On-board Facilities detailed below:

• Up to 25 children can be accommodated inside the bus at any given time

• Audio-Visual Equipment (32" LCD TV with DVD Player) to teach techniques (Basic Alphabets,

Rhymes, Numbers, Descriptive Charts on fruits, flowers, vegetables, colors)

• Bus has 2 cupboards on either side with partitions and carries study materials, play

materials, refreshments for the children.

• Depending on weather conditions, classes are conducted inside the bus or inside the shed

provided.

• Bus covers the maximum possible trips covering 3 sites per day, staying on each site for 2 to

3 hours approximately daily.

• Access to Jeevan Day Care Center facilities is made available free of cost to parents.

• All educational materials such as notebooks, slates, erasers, pencils, colors, charts, etc. are

provided to the children.

• Dresses are given to children once a year

• Lunch provided to children on Deepavali festival day

3.10 Wings Mobile School Program Impact

• Workers have sometimes brought over their children from villages/home-towns just to enroll in

Wings after seeing Wings school program and activities!

• Workers’ cleanliness improved after Wings’ sanitation and hygiene programs

• Children have now a chance of a better future than just rag-picking that was a predominant

vocation before.

• Addictions of children to bad habits (smoking, liquor, etc.) have reduced after counseling

sessions from WMS staff. Children's dressing habits, cleanliness that used to be neglected

before has improved now.

• A few other social/rights issues of these women have also been successfully resolved.

3.11 Road Ahead

Children need to be freed from this practice of child labor and workers from bonded labor - which are

both a bane of our society. Education reveals to a child a more comprehensive view of the beauty and

vastness of life, and broadens the child’s understanding of life in general. Every child needs a fair chance

at getting an education which is a preparation for understanding the complexities of life. Children

attending a program such as Wings are better prepared with a certificate that they can use for further

studies in life. They also have a sense of achievement and demonstrate increased self-esteem both of

which will certainly help them in life later.

The workers in these sites do expect a better life at least for their children later than what they have got

now. It is requested of the government (both central and state levels) to enact and enforce legislation

to make education for children of migrant laborers mandatory for builders and contractors to

implement in their respective construction projects – if employing migrant labor and with small children

living there with them. It is also requested of builders and contractors to scout for local laborers

exhaustively and employ them as much as possible instead of uprooting families from other states which

has led to many social evils and avoidable crimes as seen reported daily.

The long-term goal is to make mobile school programs self-sustaining - with builders contributing to the

maximum extent possible to support operational expenses. The Wings Mobile School, nearing

completion of its third successful year in operation is moving forward strongly to make more progress in

its noble mission of taking education to the doorsteps of the under-privileged people in society and help

in transforming their lives through the precious gift of education.

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