Family Development Services runs three flagship programs
Building Blocks India is a preschool program for urban poor and underprivileged children, giving them the knowledge and skills to go on to study in the future.
We run our own Learning Centers, following a structured program to educate children with a strong focus on the core subjects English and Math. The preschools also gives the children two nutritious meals every day for six days a week, medical checkups, as well as knowledge about hygiene.
Project +10 is a scholarship program that allows graduates from Building Blocks India to continue their studies in English-Medium schools. This is essential for children from urban poor communities to have a chance to get the education needed for their future growth.
Other than providing students from urban-poor backgrounds scholarships, Project +10 runs an after-school program, where the children have the opportunity to do their homework with the help of our teachers. This ensures that they will get the most out of their education in a safe environment.
Bloom: Digital Skills for Life is a women’s empowerment program. Older children from our Building Blocks and Project +10 programs benefit as well.
Mothers of our Building Blocks children—day labourers or house servants earning very low wages—who already have a grasp of English are invited to join a six-month, two hour a day digital literacy program in which they learn about computers, the internet, cybersecurity, touch typing, and Microsoft Office. By learning these computer skills they can apply for data entry positions, which could as much as triple their monthly take home pay. After six months there are options to advance further into digital content creation (web and graphic design) and software development for those who have the interest, aptitude, and time to pursue further studies.
We currently have a total of 22 computers for students. We are running two sessions a day; each session for two hours. We have 52 students, of which 40 are mothers or siblings of our Building Blocks and Project +10 students, and 12 students from Project +10.