Two Mobile Education And Protection Vans Launched Under “Nanhe Parinde” Initiative In Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar

Gautam Budh Nagar police launched two mobile vans on Sunday on the occasion of Children’s Day with the aim of educating underprivileged children who have not been put in schools or have dropped out. According to officials, the initiative ‘Nanhe Parinde’, in collaboration with HCL Foundation, aims to provide alternative avenues of education to children in slums and vulnerable environments. Presently, four such vans are operating in the district.
The vans, under Nanhe Parinde initiative, are equipped with books, LCD screens, sound systems, CCTV cameras and sanitization infrastructure among other facilities. The initiative, supported by HCL Foundation and Chetna NGO, was originally launched on January 24 this year.
Through this initiative, children are first introduced to the concept of schools and then put into mainstream education. As part of the initiative, two such vans were already operational in the district.
‘Nanhe Parinde’ will help vulnerable children with a safe space where they would receive alternative education, arts and crafts, training in self-defence, gender and inclusion, co-curricular activities, and sports, nutrition through a specifically designed curriculum, officials said.
Police said with the help of this initiative,108 out-of-school children have been brought into the fold of education system, of whom 69 have been enrolled in local schools and 39 in OBE (Open Basic Education) category.
“These children have improved their life by learning new life skills such as child rights, safe and unsafe touch, leadership and planning, decision making, and self-awareness,” said a statement by Noida police.
“This effort will further protect the children from getting into conflict with law and will empower them to follow their dreams and contribute to the nation building. These children are the future of our country and together, we need to nurture and support their hidden talent from an early age to help them become responsible citizens,” said Alok Singh, commissioner of police, Gautam Budh Nagar.
Nidhi Pundir, director of HCL Foundation, said with this initiative, they have been able to bring a positive transformation in the lives of many children. “The success of the programmes in the first phase propelled us to expand the initiative by adding two new mobile education and protection vans,” she said.
Sanjay Gupta, director of Chetna NGO said, “We have designed these vans keeping in mind all the needs of street children. These vans are also equipped with the necessary infrastructure required to maintain Covid appropriate behaviour, security cameras, seats, nutrition packets, and stationery to provide quality education to children,” he said. The vans will visit different areas and connect with 50-60 students every day.