Health gets an artsy boost

Every child deserves a happy and safe childhood — this is exactly why Meera Mahadevan set up Mumbai Mobile Creches (MMC). For the past 39 years, the non-profit organisation has been working towards supporting children, who have been toiling at construction sites.

With infants as young as a few days old to young teenage children of the construction labourers, MMC provides these children a daycare at the temporary built centres, with the aim to facilitate education and proper sanitation. “Forty per cent of the labourers are from drought-hit areas of Maharashtra. The rest are from all across the country. Every year we have children coming in from 15 to 16 states,” notes Debdatta Purkayastha, grants and communication coordinator for the organisation.

MMC is now holding a two-day health art exhibition to facilitate education and proper sanitation among the migrant construction workers. The exhibition will feature 3D installation artworks made by teachers and children to make people aware of the issues these workers face.

Debdatta says, “The exhibition is mainly for visual viewing.” The artwork, which is made by teachers and children of the organisation, will include themes like environment, community participation, nutrition and immunisation.

Since the children are first-generation learners, they aren’t aware of basic health habits. This makes for an important theme in the exhibition. “Our primary focus is on the safety of children. That is what we are trying to showcase in the exhibition and making people aware of the invisible section of the society,” she adds.

So what are the issues these children face? “Malnutrition,” says Debdutta, adding, “It is common because of the large-family sizes. They don’t have enough finances to provide nutritious food. This one of the biggest diseases we are trying to combat.”

At these mobile creches, children spend their day playing games, learning new things and making toys out of waste. They are given meals that include fruit, eggs and milk given on daily basis. MMC’s job, however, doesn’t end here once the children are over the age of six, they are sent to municipal schools, so that they don’t stop the formal education.

One of the barriers they have to deal with is language. “These are workers coming from all over the country. They are not familiar with basic Hindi, let alone Marathi. So the first two weeks at the centre, the kid spends his time learning Hindi,” informs Debdatta.

She is hopeful that the exhibition generates interest on issues ailing the migrant community. “If you pass by a construction site, you can paint a picture from outside, but what actually goes inside nobody knows. We want to bring focus on the invisible section of the society,” she says, hopeful.

On November 7 and 8, At Mancherji Joshi Hall, 651-652, Firdoshi Road, Near Five Gardens, Parsi Colony, Dadar (E)