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Our ultimate goal is to foster the holistic development of good human beings with a strong moral conscience. Instilling in them a sense of a right to equality for all, children are able to recognize violations of child rights and know how to fight against it. These children grow into adults who decide to marry after they have completed their studies, which allows them to mature physically and mentally before starting families of their own. Understanding the importance of education, they encourage their children, particularly their daughters, to go to and stay in school. The boys do not become substance abusers, do not harass women on the street or abuse their female family members. The girls grow into women who not only can protect themselves, they have the confidence and the tools to express themselves and ask for equal treatment. Independent and strong, with the ability to make informed decisions, they are empowered to carve their own path. These children become parents who teach their children the value of education and how to speak up for themselves. More importantly, they pass on the empathetic frame of mind that is integral to building a more peaceful society.

Those who made their own path......

Success takes many forms. To us, success would be a child who becomes a tolerant, empowered, empathetic human being with a strong moral conscience. We are proud of our children who, independent and strong, make informed decisions to carve their own path. To support their journey, we enable them to understand that they have rights, and we help them develop the tools to advocate for those rights. This helps them resist premature marriage, child labor, peer pressure, and different forms of abuse. Knowing their rights and how to speak up also helps them find their inner strength, which makes them resilient in the face of difficult circumstances. Our alumni become parents who teach their own children strong moral values, the importance of education, and how to speak up for themselves and others. More importantly, they pass on the empathetic frame of mind that is integral to building a more peaceful society.

Social Service
Vipul
Before joining Shaishav I lacked confidence and spoke very quietly. I used to work in a bakery and a shoe shop during my vacation. Disnesh, a Balsena member, came to know about me and asked me to join Shaishav as a volunteer. Now, I realize that he had asked me to join Shaishav to bring me out from child labour. I was an introvert. I seldom spoke to anyone in my class. Now, after volunteering with Tarunsena, Shaishav's youth development program, I feel confident to make presentations at my college and engage with complete strangers on issues that are important to me. I speak with people without hesitation and I am confident that I can manage Shaishav's computer center on my own. All these changes are possible because of Shaishav and Tarunsena and the life-skills that I have developed by working here.
Social Service
Daksha
Balsena gave me a sense of childhood in an otherwise difficult time in my life. My parents worked very hard, but they often did not earn enough to feed my siblings and me. I'm an introvert, but Balsena helped me come out of my shell. Soon after I joined Balsena, I loved it and became an active member. When I became a team captain, I learned valuable leadership skills as such as how to manage and engage an audience, how to be assertive and communicate effectively to avoid misunderstanding. Now, as a facilitator of Balsena, when I facilitate Balsena points, I try to use the communications skills I learned as a child with the children I work with. Treating them like equals, helps them feel more comfortable to speak their mind.
Social Service
Sonal
Growing up, I was the sole bread winner for my family of eight. I used to earn money by selling food on the streets, doing plastic work, and diamond polishing. Dropping out of school after 6th standard to support my family, I was only able to continue learning through Shaishav's community education centers. Despite family and work obligations, I was very active with Shaishav, taking on leadership responsibilities at the community education centers and serving as a Balsena council member.
Social Service
Rajesh
I first met the Shaishav founders, Parulben and Falgunbhai, when I was a small boy. I was cleaning plastic bags for a living and not going to school. My parents thought I could never go to school because I was handicapped, so they had me go to work instead. When Shaishav set up the first community education center in my neighborhood, I went every day. I enjoyed learning, and soon after, I felt ready to start formal education when I was 8. However, school officials did not allow me to join 3rd standard, and they placed me in 1st standard. The work was too easy for me, especially after all I had learned in the community education center. Disillusioned, I dropped out of school a few years later and went back to work. I continued to attend the community education centers though, because I very much wanted to continue learning even while working.
Social Service
Bhumika
Before I joined Balsena, I was very wild. I used a lot of bad language. I used to roam around, doing nothing, not going to school. I had no idea there was any other option. At one point, I realised I must change, and I thought Balsena would help. Some of my friends had joined Balsena, so I tried it out. When I first joined Balsena I felt very stupid compared to everyone else. They all seemed so clever. I hated this. Everyone else was going to school, and since I wanted to be clever too, I started going more regularly. Eventually, I made some friends at school. This is why I kept attending, as I was able to at least play and do a bit of learning at school. Sadly, I did not pass my 10th grade exams. However, other Balsena members and Shaishav staff supported me a lot, and with their encouragement I re-sat the exam.
Social Service
Dipak
When I was 5 years old, my mother passed away. Soon after, my father remarried. Since then, I have lived with my grandparents. Before I joined Balsena, I was at home most of the time, I didn't go out much and I hardly had any friends. I was very withdrawn and lacked confidence. When I heard about Balsena, I really wanted to join. It was an opportunity to make friends. My experience in Balsena was very good for me. I was part of a group, made friends and was able to learn about issues affecting me and my community in a place where I felt safe. I learnt about my rights which I had no clue about before. I also remember learning the negative effects of child labour.
Social Service
Kalpesh
I was a regular member of Balsena until 7th standard, when my family moved to a remote village outside of Bhavnagar in search of work. In the village I would labor in the hot sun picking cotton every day. I would watch my friends and neighbors walk to school while I was working in the fields, but I thought I should focus on working to support my family. When we finally returned to Bhavnagar, I had fallen too far behind my classmates and wasn't allowed back in school. I had no other choice but to go work full time in a factory polishing diamonds. In that time, I rejoined Shaishav as a volunteer through Tarunsena, the youth development program. Other Shaishav volunteers, staff, and Tarunsena members encouraged me to go back to school, reminding me of the importance of education. So, I started studying every night after coming home from the diamond factory.
Social Service
Sanjay
I first joined Balsena when I was a child. After 8th standard I changed schools and lost contact with Shaishav, but after high school I rejoined us as a volunteer while studying at university. I'm very curious about how things work—especially computers and other electronics. I like to learn all the technical details on my own, then I train Shaishav staff and children with what I learned. I learned a lot from Shaishav about empowerment and fighting for the rights of others, and I apply it in my everyday life. In my family, I advocated for my two sisters to postpone marriage until they completed their studies. Both sisters are now in college, the first girls in our entire family to pursue higher education.


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