Events
February 2018: Health Week: Health week took place from the 19th to the 24th February at all MMC day care centres across the city. This event generates awareness of the importance of nutrition and healthcare on construction sites and is always was well attented by both parents and children. Various topics were covered; cleanliness and hygiene, adolescent girls and boys, healthy childhood, healthy mother- a healthy world and children with special needs.
February 2018: Teaching Aids Exhibition: Since 1982 MMC has been conducting a one year teacher training programme, Bal Palika, to train women from underpriviledged backgrounds and place them in MMC centres and other educational institutions. This year the annual Bal Palika Training - Teaching Aids Exhibition was organised on 13th and 14th February. 30 trainees from the programme presented their skills through innovative exhibits, games and puppet shows. The theme of this years exhibition was ‘Kitakonki Rangbirangi Duniya’, Colourful World of Insects.
February 2018: Kala Ghoda Art Festival: This is the second year that MMC has participated in the iconic Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. This year the festval’s theme was ‘Hara Ghoda’( Kala Ghoda goes green) , sustainability and a green environment. MMC’s display in the children’s section presented a ‘Journey of Migration’.
January 2018: Mumbai Marathon: The annual Tata Mumbai Marathon, the biggest annual fundraising event for MMC, was held on Sunday 21st January. Over 130 participants took part in support of MMC’s work with children living on construction sites, including runners from three corporate partners; Schindler India Pvt. Ltd., Owens Corning India Pvt. Ltd and Hersheys India Pvt. Ltd. Over Rs.20 lacs was raised this year.
January 2018: Puppet week & Exhibition: A puppet festival was celebrated across MMC day care centres from the 15th to the 20th January. This year the theme was ‘Jal hai toh Kal hai’ (Conserve water, conserve life). The week ended with a two day puppet exhibition, held at Nirmala Niketan College of Social Science, Churchgate, packed with activities such as puppet shows and puppet making workshops. The exhibition was well attended by teachers, trainees, staff from other NGOs and members of the public who particularly enjoyed the puppet making workshops.
December 2017: Annual Camp: Every year an annual camp is held for children aged six and over who attend MMC day care centres on construction sites. From the 12th to the 22nd December more than 350 children, from centres spread across the city, stayed for 2 days at camps at Yusuf Meherally Centre, Panvel and Vidhayak Sansad, Vasai. The children took part in many interesting and fun activities including games, magic shows, visits to local village industries and they staged cultural song and dance performances.
Health Exhibition 2017: This is the second year of Health Exhibition organized by MMC. This Exhibition shed light on the vulnerability and health issues migrant communities and their children face by using art forms and craft.
July 2017: Chess Sessions at MMC Centres: We partnered with the Indian Chess School and the South Mumbai Chess Academy Pvt. Ltd. (SMCA) to provide children with weekly chess lessons. Chess is not only fun to play but requires a player to plan, develop original strategies and analyse consequences; the game develops foresight, discipline and confidence in a child, and boosts memory. Three of our children participated in a monthly SMCA chess tournament and won a silver medal in the entry level group.
April 2017: Home Away From Home! Book Launch: MMC recently launched its' first fully illustrated children's story book titled, 'Home Away from Home!' which tells the story of the Indian migrant children. The Hindi version of the book is titled 'Mujhe Ghar Mil Gaya!' The idea for 'Home Away From Home!' was inspired by the migrant children who attend MMC's day care centres on construction sites. For our library programme, our teachers were looking for children's books that narrated a story of migrant children or the construction worker's community in India, but they couldn't find any. We created this book so that the migrant children we serve could see their lives reflected in its pages. The book was launched at Kitab Khana in April.
February 2017: Installation at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival: This year for the first time MMC created an art installation for the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, 2017.
The theme of the installation was “If wishes were horses” and depicted the dreams and aspirations of one of the most vulnerable groups of children living in urban Mumbai. We are happy to inform you that MMC received the third prize in the category of children's section of art installations.
May 2016: Taking Art to the Vulnerable: Art, craft, and puppetry have always been an integral part of MMC's culture and curriculum. This year, we decided to take an additional step and took our art programme to the children living in government-run homes in Mumbai, who need extra care and protection. Through 20 art-and-craft sessions, we reached out to over 370 children from one such children's home.
January 2016: Sudhrudh Bachpan:MMC launched a new community initiative to promote healthy dietary routine and hygiene practices for the well-being of their children. Every month during our regular chai pani meetings with the community, the parents are commended for improved health status of their children: upgradation of the malnutrition status, fulfilment of immunisation requirements in accordance with their ages, clean and neat appearances and other signs of well-being. We hope, this initiative will help us achieve our mission to ensure safe and healthy childhood for all our children.
December 2015: In an effort to give voice to the concerns of marginalised children of migrant construction workers, MMC presented papers at three international conferences. In December, 2015 MMC presented the paper at the Third International Conference on Early Childhood Development held at New Delhi. In January, 2016 we were able to reach out to audiences through two forums; the international conference – 'Education as a Driver for Sustainable Development Goals' held at Ahmedabad and the 4th International Conference on Psychology and Allied Sciences held at Goa.
April 2015: Puppetry Talent on Display- The National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai organised a Variety Show, which displayed the artistic skills of children from different NGOs based in Mumbai. For MMC children, it was a unique opportunity to perform on a professional stage in front of an unknown audience. Four girls from MMC's centre grabbed the crowd's attention with their attractive puppets, beautiful backdrop, amazing voice modulation, and by the sound effects they created using musical instruments.
April 2015: IPL Cricket Match- With the continued support from the Mumbai Indians' “Education for All” initiative, 53 children and seven teachers from MMC attended an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match. Children had a gala time at the famous Wankhede Stadium and enjoyed delicious snacks and goodies during the match. As part of the same initiative, seven children from MMC's centre participated in an event which brought together players of the Mumbai Indian team and children from various different NGOs.
January 2015: This year we celebrated 'Puppet Week' for the first time at MMC! All the centres were decorated with beautiful handmade artwork and puppet workshops and shows were arranged by our children. Puppetry has long been part of MMC’s culture and one of the strong means of connecting and communicating with children.
January 2015: In pursuit of reaching marginalised migrant children, MMC for the first time ventured in to the brick kilns located in remote areas of Navi Mumbai to provide day care to children living there. This initiative provides day care and facilitates the children's education by helping them to enrol in schools close to the brick kiln where they stay.
December 2014: In an effort to build its ties with the civil society organisations working in the sphere of Early Childhood Care & Education, MMC organised meetings on strengthening the ECCE work in Mumbai in December and February 2015.
November 2014: MMC published an article about its yearlong Bal Palika Training programme in ‘ARNEC Connections’, the online publication of Asia–Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) that connects professionals and organisations from the field of early childhood.
November 2014: In a first academic research endeavour, MMC presented a research paper co –authored with Dr. Sangeeta Bagga Gupta, the Örebro University at the Swedish -Indian International Research Conference, LanDpost - Languaging and Diversity in the age of post-colonial glocal-medialization. The research paper titled - ‘Accessing global communities through local resources. A study of barriers and facilitators of first generation women users of new communication technologies’ focused on various dimensions of exposure to information technology in the lives of MMC employees coming from marginalised backgrounds.
September 2014: MMC's children got an opportunity to conduct a research project under the City as Lab initiative organised by Renaissance Education. 14 children in the age group of 12-14 years from MMC's three centres participated in the initiative. The three groups conducted research on the topics of 'Life on construction sites', 'Traffic on the streets Mumbai' and 'Voice pollution during the festivals in the city'. MMC is proud of all these young researchers who enthusiastically planned and executed their own research projects under the mentorship of MMC teachers!
August 2014: We were proud to see 29 women complete our year-long childcare training course, Bal Palika. Nine of these graduates were from families who work at the construction sites. With our renewed affiliation with SNDT University, 15 trainees from this batch appeared for SNDT examination and secured a Diploma certificate in Nursery/ Crèche Management.
July 2014: Following our incredible success during the Global Giving Open Challenge in September 2013, MMC was invited to be a part of the panel for Global Giving's first summit in July 2014, held in Delhi. Additionally, MMC addressed the participants through an engaging presentation on 'Building Lasting Donor Relationships' at the two-day conference, which drew more than 150 attendants from different non-profit organisation across India and South Asia.
June 2014: Ms. Vrishali Pispati, CEO was selected for the 2014 Ford Motor Company International Fellowship of 92nd Street Y. During the intensive three-week residency in June 2014, Vrishali took classes in areas including non-profit management strategy and leadership training at Columbia University's Picker Center for Executive Education. The academic curriculum was complemented by visits to model non-profit organisations in New York City and meetings with academic and business leaders.
April 2014: MMC's children once again had the opportunity to enjoy an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match. A total of 178 children, along with 15 teachers from MMC, made their way from the suburbs of Mumbai to Wankhede Stadium to see their favourite cricketers and to cheer for the Mumbai Indians as the team played against the Kings XI Punjab. The overjoyed children created a sea of blue as they sported the Mumbai Indians' colours and flags at Wankhede Stadium.
January 2014: The Mumbai Marathon is the largest annual fund-raising event for MMC. The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon held in January 2014, was a great success for MMC! Eleven teams from five of our corporate partners and a total of 250 runners ran to support MMC this year. We watched with great appreciation as our friends and donors proudly wore our logo to demonstrate their support for the cause of migrant children. We were thrilled with the large number of corporates and individuals who committed to running on our behalf.
November 2013 - Royal Visit to MMC!: We were delighted to welcome Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to an MMC centre during the royal couple's tour of India in November 2013. Prince Charles and the Duchess were all smiles as they met the children, and the little ones were so happy to spend time with Their Royal Highnesses during this very special occasion. The children had prepared a special song and put on a puppet show for the Prince and Duchess, which was very much appreciated by everyone. Before the royal couple left, the children presented them with diyas and a handmade greeting card.
October 2013 - Affiliation with SNDT University: In an effort to increase the credibility of our Bal Palika course, as well as the employability of the women who go through it, MMC becam affiliated to the Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) University.
October 2013: Mumbai Mobile Creches was selected as one of the three beneficiaries for The Oberoi Melting Pot 2013, an annual charity event in Mumbai that showcases cultural and culinary traditions around the world. The event was hosted by the Oberoi Hotels, the Consular Corps in Mumbai, and the Indian Merchants' Chamber and featured cultural presentations as well as a selection of beverages and cuisine from various countries around the world. It was a great platform for MMC to showcase its work with the children of migrant construction labourers at such a prestigious event. The Melting Pot attendees showed great interest in MMC.
September 2013 - Facilitation Model of MMC: In order to make MMC’s work of day care facility sustainable over a long period, we started the ‘Facilitation Model’ of day care in collaboration with builders. In this set up, 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 local staff trained by MMC and allows the centre to be regularly monitored by MMC staff. Our first Facilitation Centre was installed at the Transcon Developers site, in Mulund.
August 2013 - Mobile Bus: We are very excited about the commencement of the MMC’s Mobile Bus - Care on Wheels project. This project is a huge step towards providing a happy, healthy, and safe childhood to all children living on smaller construction sites in Mumbai. Our first Mobile Bus got its wheels turning on August 6, 2013, when it made its first trip to Powai, and serves at two remote construction sites, each of which has 10-15 children living on the site.
October 2012 - A unique graduation ceremony - on a construction site! - Shivalik, one of our builder partners, asked us to conduct a child care training programme on their construction sites. MMC was happy to conduct an eight-month training which was successfully completed by nine women. It was very gratifying to partner with a builder to empower women on construction sites. We are very proud of the group of graduates and wish them all the best in their future endeavours!