Development work requires time and trust

Education and awareness take time. It takes years of schooling to complete an education, and changing mindsets, for example around child marriage, can take even longer.

Building relationships with the people we aim to empower also takes time, and this trust is essential for creating lasting change. That is why our efforts in slum communities are long-term.

At the same time, trust is about people. Our team in India is essential, as they meet children and women where they are, without judgment, but with empathy and an outstretched hand.

Our team has knowledge and experience of the culture, language, and social conditions that those of us raised and based in Denmark could never fully achieve. No one understands the communities better than they do. Through their daily presence in the slums, they build close relationships with both children and adults. This connection is crucial, as it creates the sense of safety needed for learning and makes it possible to intervene early in cases such as school dropout or domestic violence.

For people who have experienced repeated hardship, learning to trust again takes time. That is why we must be fully committed when we begin working in a new community.

Because ultimately, this is about lasting change. Our goals include ensuring that 80 percent of children attend school, that child marriage is eliminated, and that local communities actively support education.

Our team learned about the incident, and for a moment we were uncertain how to respond – should we intervene and help, when it is Rahul and Prachi we support through our children’s home, and not their mother? We ultimately concluded that, first of all, children thrive when their parents are well, and secondly, that stepping in was the right and most humane thing to do.

Since their mother lives in the slums and does not have official documentation, a difficult process awaited, as it was challenging to get her admitted to a hospital. Our team did an incredible job contacting every hospital and emphasizing why it was important that they take her in. No one can know how things would have turned out, but we believe that Rahul and Prachi’s mother would have died without medical care.

Afterwards, other challenges followed: where could their mother live safely, how could she manage on her own, and how would she now live with her new appearance?

After a while, she stopped working at the tea stall and decided to focus on getting an education. After attending our school preparation sessions, she was enrolled in the local school as part of the first batch after we started our activities in the slum area. Today, Veda is 14 years old, still attending school daily, and doing very well.

Veda’s transformation has also created a ripple effect: She has become one of our Change Agents, raising awareness about education among other young girls in the slum, including her own sister. Her determination and commitment have inspired her family and friends, making them more receptive to LittleBigHelp’s messages, such as the importance of girls’ education.

Now, Veda’s family is extremely grateful for the impact that our team and the activities at the Community Centre have had on her life. They are proud of her academic achievements and the positive changes she has brought home.

Veda herself says:
“I was not aware of the importance of education. Thank you, LittleBigHelp, for giving me the path that led me to the brightest light.”

We are so proud of Veda’s development and look forward to following her journey and seeing how education will continue to impact her life moving forward.

Although we are no longer present daily in the DumDum slum, we still follow up with the residents. During our visits, we have investigated and noted the following:

• The children continue to attend school. As our team walks through the area, the children share their positive experiences from school.
• Parents of the children regularly attend parent-teacher meetings and take them seriously.
• The young girls and adult women in the slum are attentive to their health, particularly in managing menstrual hygiene.
• The women in the area are very conscious of taking care of themselves, and they speak out against all forms of violence.
• The residents of the slum are informed about services offered by public authorities and know how to access them.
• Our Change Agents (young volunteers) are engaged and, among other things, take responsibility for the vending machine with sanitary pads that we have installed in a Woman Friendly Toilet in the slum. They ensure that pads are always available and that the machine functions properly. They raise awareness about the importance of education, children’s rights, health, and why child marriages should be avoided to ensure children’s future and well-being.

Our exit from this slum area is a fantastic example of how important a long-term and holistic approach is. When we now see that the progress endures and life has improved, it greatly strengthens our motivation and reinforces our ideal that our projects should be socially sustainable. By this, we mean that the change continues even after we stop our efforts.

This is made possible thanks to individuals and companies who continuously support our work. So, thank you to everyone who helps us create this important change!

If it’s a regular school day, the child will go to school as usual, but in the evening, there will be a birthday song and birthday cake. In India, there’s a tradition where you give each other the first bite by hand!

After that, there’s a birthday party with dancing and music, which the children absolutely love—both the boys and girls have a blast when a birthday is celebrated. Finally, the birthday child is sworn to take good care of themselves in the coming year.

It’s so important that we continually remind the children that they don’t need to perform to have value—they are loved just as they are. By celebrating their birthday, we contribute to the narrative that they are worth celebrating!

Kabir is very happy to live at our Boys’ Hostel:

“The best thing about the Boys’ Hostel is my clean bed, where I can sleep safe and happy. At the Boys’ Hostel, I receive love, care, and protection, which helps me to grow and develop.”

And develop he certainly has.

He is now 16 years old, and over the years, both our team and the school teachers have noticed how bright Kabir is.  Recently, he was enrolled in a special exam for selected students, which he performed so well in that he has been awarded a special scholarship. This scholarship will provide him with 1,000 Indian Rupees (approximately 83 DKK) every month for the next 3 years.

It is a great honor for both the school, our hostel, and especially Kabir, who has come so far from being a street child at the station to a young man with a bright future. Kabir says:

“I am so happy about this scholarship. It is a recognition of my hard work and dedication. I am the only one at my school to have received it, so it is a very proud moment for me.”

And this mindset and valuation influence the girls. According to the “National Family Health Survey” from India in 2019-2021, 45.4% of women and 44% of men believe it is acceptable to beat a wife if, for example, she refuses sex or neglects her domestic duties.

This means that nearly half of the Indian population, including women themselves, believe there are circumstances where domestic violence is justified. This figure is likely higher in the slums, where we encounter many women who hold this belief.

When these women get married – often in arranged marriages – they move to their husband’s and in-laws’ home, where they are expected to take care of all household chores and preferably not leave the house.

There’s laundry to wash, meals to prepare, cleaning to do, water to fetch, children to care for, and elderly to attend to, just to name a few tasks. Essentially, they move into a stranger’s family where they are responsible for everything. Unfortunately, we also often see in the slums that men develop substance abuse problems, either with alcohol or drugs, leading to violence and the husband’s meager income not being used for the family’s benefit.

It took time and patience to earn Ashim’s trust. One day, as he passed by the Community Centre, he saw children engaged in crafts and drawing. It sparked something inside him, and the next day, he went there with a friend. We welcomed him warmly and gave him a drawing book and pencil, which made him very happy. From then on, he started attending regularly, learning basic education and improving his drawing skills.

In 2024, Ashim enrolled in school, which was a big milestone for him and his family. His mother expressed her gratitude to the LittleBigHelp team for helping shape her son’s future 

“I am thankful to LittleBigHelp for helping my child and shaping his dream, I hope one day he will become an established and good human being”.

Ashim’s journey from a troubled street child to a hopeful student was not easy, but it was a testament to the transformative power of education and support.

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