Society of the Divine Word runs program for

Society of the Divine Word helps the poor children living in the slums of India by providing the Bridge School program. (Photo taken from the official website of San Diego Mission Office)

Society of the Divine Word has been running a program for poor kids living in the slums of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India, for 20 years.

The Southern Cross website reported that the Divine Word Missionaries’ Jan Vikas Society offers the Bridge School program as one of their efforts to help the kids. They explained that their organization is passionate about developing human needs.

Most Marginalized Social Group

The same news website revealed that Father Roy Thomas, director of the Jan Vikas Society, stated that the Divine Word Missionaries regarded people in Indore as the most vulnerable group in their area.

As further explained, women “waste-pickers” live by going around the streets, gathering recyclables and anything they can sell to provide for their families.

They added that many of their kids are not attending school. These children decide to either work as waste-pickers or are exposed to risk. They walk around the streets without any guardians. Also, the website reveals that they tell themselves about drugs and alcohol.

In addition, according to the Jan Vikas Society’s workers, they met with the parents and tried to convince them to enroll their kids in the Bridge School Program. They discovered that many children in the slums do not go to school as they go from house to house.

Bridge School Program

According to the San Diego Mission Office website, the Bridge School program provides extensive care, mentoring, and teaching to the slum children in Indore, India. They noted that they are preparing these kids to pass the Bridge School test to let them join the regular school.

Through this program, they could keep learning with kids of the same age group, as further explained on the website. They revealed that they had served 350 kids in the past three years.

More importantly, Vikas stated that their main goal is to dismantle illiteracy in the slum communities. Their program opens doors for working children’s education and support for ages five to fourteen.

The bridge school added that they offer support with Career Guidance to teenagers from 14 to 18 years. They are helping them to decide which profession could help their family.

The website highlighted that the program has ten sites. They explained that each class has a minimum of 25 and a maximum of 35 learners. Besides, the website emphasized that their teachers are trained to handle the course and oversee their activities.

In addition, the program provides textbooks and school materials such as notebooks, pens, and pencils to the students. They also give out two sets of uniforms, shoes, and school bags, as mentioned on the website.

Impact of Pandemic

On the same website, Rev. Thomas revealed that the pandemic badly impacted the program. As further explained, most of their ten centers were closed during the lockdown period. He said their teachers tried to reach out to the kids and their parents through online learning.

As added on the website, they have provided them with smartphones, tablets, and internet facilities. They said that they also gathered following all the precautions.

The website noted that the situation is slowly improving after the second wave of COVID-19.