“ Without family nothing else matters, everything from the top to bottom falls apart or descends into chaos... The loss of home leaves a gap that can never be filled. ”
- Rohinton Mistry
We all know that upbringing plays a major role in our lives. What we are today is all the result of the kind of upbringing our parents have given us and the different ways in which we have been conditioned since our childhood. Upbringing is a long lost concept for the children in shelter homes and orphanages because they either don’t have parents or they stay with their parents. Ideally, the shelter home management should focus on giving the kids a good upbringing, but they are so under-resourced that they are hardly able to focus on necessary things like food, clothing, shelter and education. Because of this, upbringing becomes a secondary.
Now, imagine your child sleeping alone on the street or probing through heaps of garbage just to find any edible object to fill their empty stomachs for the night. Now picture them begging, being forced to labour and stealing just so they can survive long enough to do it all again tomorrow. This is the reality of more than 100 million children around the world. Yet, there are comparatively few trying to help these children. Most of the people searching for kids on the street want to exploit them. Greedy gang leaders cripple some children and force them to beg. Brothels trap others, filling their short lives with fear and cruel abuse. The kids who dodge these fates don’t have it much better—all street children work hard to survive. They hawk trinkets at traffic signals. They scavenge for garbage to sell. They squat on bare calloused feet to shine shoes. They labor in dingy little factories. And at the end of a long day, they can only collapse into a bed of filthy concrete. These children are often illiterate, sick and malnourished. Many sniff different types of glue or take drugs to cope with all the burden that has been thrown on their little shoulders. Many of these kids are orphans who may have been physically, sexually and/or mentally abused.
MUSKURAHAT FOUNDATION WORKS WITH THESE CHILDREN WHO EITHER DON’T HAVE THE LOVE AND GUIDANCE OF THEIR PARENTS OR HAVE BEEN GIVEN UP BY PARENTS DUE TO SEVERAL REASONS.
For bettering the future of these children, besides formal education, these children need basic life skills, global skills and above that love and affection to cope up with the competitive environment. Our KEYtaab initiative, aims to develop the lives of these children – socially and morally and add value to the upbringing of these orphan children and Juveniles in Shelter homes across India. Through KEYtaab we interact with children from shelter homes and orphanages spread across parts of the city. Beaming with a heart full of dreams and bustling with positivity – these children are inquisitive and are in the quest for the right door to their success. We provide these children with a world beyond their academics.
These boys and girls belong to different age groups, between 6-22 years. Apart from focusing on their social and moral development, we celebrate their birthdays, take them out for trips, and celebrate festivities and all other special events with them. We ensure that these children know, that they’re very special to us and to this world. KEYtaab is Muskurahat’s endeavor to reach out to students living in shelter homes with a custom-made curriculum that bridges 2 crucial gaps. 
Our curriculum is created after deep research and with a clear definition of our goals. We are here to bring beautiful smiles into the lives of each of our kids and let them feel that they have someone to bank on. Smiles that show they are progressing in immeasurably beautiful ways. Smiles that brings a smile back into our lives as well!
THESE ARE THE KEY AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT TARGETED IN OUT CURRICULUM:
Literacy
Numeracy
ICT literacy
Scientific literacy
Financial literacy
Cultural & civic literacy
Critical thinking/ problem-solving
Creativity
Communication
Collaboration
Curiosity
Initiative
Persistence/grit
Adaptability
Leadership
Social and cultural awareness
Every month one theme is introduced which is divided in 4 sessions held per week. In order to have an improved outcome, a ratio of 1: 5 children is followed for each session. Every week the session is of 2 hours which follows the curriculum flow as follows.
Curriculum Flow
We at muskurahat truly believe-
“THE ILLITERATE OF THE 21ST CENTURY WILL NOT BE THOSE WHO CANNOT READ AND WRITE, BUT THOSE WHO CANNOT LEARN, UNLEARN AND RELEARN .”
