Care on Wheels - The Mobile Bus
Construction sites in Mumbai are moving northward and we are witnessing increased construction in the Thane and Navi Mumbai area. In addition to large construction projects in Mumbai where MMC is currently running day care centres, there are over 100 construction sites each with less than 20 children totaling the several thousand children. To reach these children, MMC operates its Care on Wheels – Mobile Bus programme. This bus provides essential educational and health services to children on smaller sites, using a customized programme to reach children on sites where MMC’s full day care programme is not feasible to provide.
This mobile model draws on MMC’s experience and success with its current center-based model. It is innovative and impactful because it establishes the means to run educational programming for children 3-14 years of age on smaller construction sites that lack educational resources. Additionally, we assist in enrolling older children in nearby schools and offer quality after school support, along with organizing supplementary nutrition for the students. We facilitate medical care for children and help build linkages with the public healthcare system. Lastly, we create awareness on various issues relating to the health, education and nutrition of community members, through our community outreach programmes.
Childcare Centres
Under MMC's Child Care Centre model, the builder covers almost all the operational costs of running a centre on the construction site and takes on greater responsibility for managing the crèche. The builder also hires a teacher trained in MMC’s Bal Palika teacher training programme and allows the centre to be regularly monitored by MMC staff. This is a very significant move for MMC, and a step towards making day care with builders' complete collaboration sustainable on a long term basis.