The month of April brought a new challenge for us. Apart from the regular activities viz. Saturday visits to school and Sunday basti visits, we had aimed to get most of the children admitted to regular schools. In all, we had identified 12 such children for the admission process based on their performance and regularity in the last one year.

Last year, we successfully admitted about 6 children to Govt. schools. This time though, out of the 12 children identified, four belonged to families who have been staying in Gurgaon for a long time. Unlike the majority of our children, these four did not belong to families of migrant labourers. So we thought it would be a good idea if we can provide them a chance to undergo quality education which would shape up their future. Tara, Vinod, Sheetal and Pankaj were the four kids in question. We zeroed in on Vivek High School (Sector 39), Gurgaon - a private school with English as medium of instruction. This was a bit of a challenge as the medium of instruction in Unnati is Hindi. But Tara, Vinod and Pankaj passed the admission test for Class 1 and Sheetal passed the test for LKG. The next task was to fund the academic expenses and there was an overwhelming response to sponsor their education from within our volunteer base.

All four of them have now started going to the school but the next challenge is to keep a track of their progress on a regular basis. Who knows, in another 15 years these kids grow up to fulfill their dreams and realize their true potentials!

Apart from them, we also got admitted five other bright kids to a Govt. school in Jharsa village. A similar approach would be needed for them as well to keep a track of their progress regularly.

The next "big" thing on our agenda is to organize a picnic for Unnati and Prayas kids. The plan is to take the kids to Delhi zoo and/or amphitheater. This should be coming somewhere in early May.