Psychological Support - David Sassoon Industrial School
Partner
OJUS Medical Institute
www.omi.org.in
Goal
The students of the David Sassoon Industrial School (DSIS) leave the premises with a positive mental outlook and the skills to cope with the world outside the institution.
Vision
For the students and teachers of DSIS to have access to counselling services.
Mission
To provide the 160-200 students and 20 teachers and staff of DSIS with trained psychological and psychiatric support as well as tailored training to their specific needs.
Duration
2004 to date
Overview
The residential school is set in a beautiful old colonial building with vast grounds for the children to exercise in. The school is run by the Children’s Aid Society which is a state government aided voluntary organisation that provides services for the protection, care, treatment and rehabilitation of destitute, delinquent, victimised and mentally deficient children. In 1999, Arjun was asked to visit the David Sassoon School by a school friend. He learned that the majority of these boys had ended up in this juvenile prison because they had committed a minor crime, got lost, abandoned, trafficked, or orphaned, often living on the streets and trying to survive.
Arjun immediately started a Sunday meal programme for all the children. Our constant presence at the school since 2004 has allowed the Trust to observe the need for a comprehensive counselling service. The teachers were unable to cope as students refused to learn, there were cases of student abuse among each other and severe cases of depression leading to suicide attempts.
The environment at the school is very difficult to work in. The majority of new students have never been in a classroom before, nor have the teachers ever worked in the non-formal education sector before, creating a stressful environment. This project aims to reduce this stress by providing various counselling workshops and sessions both for students and teachers. So far, this project has been very successful and other remand homes in Mumbai are requesting the Trust to replicate the same project for their institutions.
Achievements
- Infrastructure renovations
- Daily egg and fruit donation, and a special monthly birthday celebration
- Child psychologist who attends the school daily to address their needs
- Child psychiatrist who attends the school weekly to address their needs
- Targeted group counselling for new comers
- Targeted group counselling for school leavers to equip them with the knowledge of what happens next and future life skills
- Continuous workshops with the teachers to help them cope with this demanding and stressful job
- Workshops for the general staff of all 7 remand homes of Mumbai on health and hygiene
- Weekly sports and development programme implemented by Magic Bus charity
- Annual school outing to the Magic Bus centre outside of Mumbai
- English teacher in the summer vacation
Components of this project have the potential to be scaled to all other remand homes in Mumbai.
Case Study
Rajesh’s Story
Rajesh (name changed to protect his identity) is 14 years old. He has lived on the streets since he was 7 years old. He does not remember a lot about his family except for an alcoholic abusive father. For the eighth time Rajesh was sent to Dongri Remand Home in Mumbai, but this time the courts have decided he should be sent to David Sassoon School until the age of 18.
On examination by the project counsellor a profile of Rajesh’s life emerges. From the age of 7 – 14, he begged on railway platforms in Mumbai and swept the floors of the trains. He was involved in drugs, violence and gang activities in order to survive. He regularly stole from passengers and used tobacco and inhalants to overcome hunger. Rajesh was deemed abusive, cold, depressed, removed, angry, sad and uncooperative by the staff. He regularly self-harmed by slashing his wrists.
The counsellor immediately met with all the staff in the monthly meeting to explain why Rajesh was behaving this way. The lack of love, empathy and warmth from a family, and the harsh ways of street life are to blame for his behaviour. She explained to the staff that he would be seen every day and has been referred to the visiting paediatric psychiatrist to improve his mood and behaviour.
After 12 months of steady counselling, Rajesh has dramatically changed. He warmly greets all staff and visitors, he has given up tobacco use, teachers inform that he is improving academically, he interacts with younger students warmly rather than bullying and is taking life seriously by looking at career options and what life will be like when he is released at 18 years of age.
Rajesh’s story is like so many others who walk through the David Sassoon School’s gates. Everyone needs someone to talk to, to care about them, to show warmth and love. These are just young boys who have the rest of their lives ahead of them, and with the right interventions at this stage there will be fewer lost souls on the streets.
