Navjeevan Centre,Mumbai
1. Introduction: Navjeevan Centre is in its 23rd year of existence and we are proud to have come aii this way through the blessings of the Almighty.
2. President: New Leadership
Rt.Rev.Dr.Geevarghese Mar Theodosious Episcopa took charge of Navjeevan centre with new vision. Thirumeni’s social outlook and long term planning of activities helped NJC to go ahead with greater enthusiasm.Thirumeni has visited NJC on 16th April, 18th May (at Kalyan office) 29th and 30th June and 20th July for different activities.
3. Organization:
The navjeevan family is led by our Metropolitan, Most Rev. Dr.Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan as the patron and the Diocesan Episcopa Rt.Rev.Dr.Geevarghese Mar Theodosius Episcopa as our President with the director Rev.Issac G.Varghese,Assistant Director Rev Sheejo M Abraham and Trustee Mr.Thomas Chacko..Our team consists of 72 staff members comprising of social workers, Teachers, House Parents and administrative staff.
4. Annual General Body:
Annual General Body met on 16th August 2016 and submitted annual report, audited accounts and supplementary budget.
5. Executive Committee:
The executive committee met on …. And submitted 1st quqrter accounts. On 07th September an evaluation meeting has done with Thirumeni at Vashi Mar Thoma centre.
6. Director/Assistant Director
As per the directive from Metropolitan through Diocesan Episcopa the Director continued the service to all the centers of NJC including Kalayan office and Murbad,and most of the time he stayed in the Murbad campus to look after the day to day affaires of the village.
As per the appointment of Metropolitan, on 15th August onwards, Rev. Sheejo M Abraham and Jinta Kochamma appointed as the Assistant director of NJC and they are staying in Murbad campus.
7. New School Building Inauguration: Binil Memorial School Inauguration Has done by Rt.Rev.Dr.Geevarghese Mar Theodosious Episcopa on 16th April 2016. Mr.Kuruvilla Samuel from USA was present and he gave an assurance to continue their support for the project.
8. Children at Navjeevan Village
The residential experience of being in a foster home has a corporate experience which one cannot feel being in a nuclear family. You learn and unlearn life skills as time passes by and often one ends in receiving more than giving.
The current strength of Navjeevan village amounts to 149 children and their division in respect to their age groups and their houses are given below:
Unit I (Age group 8-10 yrs) 19 Girls
Unit II (Age group 14-18 yrs) 20 Girls
Unit III (Age group 5 – 8 yrs) 22 Girls
Unit IV (Age group 11-13 yrs) 17 Girls
Unit V (Age group 13- 15 yrs) 19 Girls
Unit VI (Age group 5-10 yrs) 18 Boys
Unit VII (Age group 11-17 yrs) 14 Boys
Unit VIII (Age group 9-14 yrs) 20 Boys
Sponsorship details:
Total Children under KNH Sponsorship (including extension & Rehabilitated):
206Children at Murbad (With KNH Sponsorship): 103
9.Health Care
Dr. Mini Issac visits the clinic every Monday and give consultation and homoeopathic medication for children in need. For medical causalities children are taken to the nearby village hospital and special clinics in Kalyan based on the severity of diseases.
Dr. Chetan Narkar visits the village twice a month in order to ensure mental health care for the children. He also takes up regular group sessions for children on various mental health issues.
A comprehensive health check up of all children was undertaken for all children in campus on August 29th . A medical team from Sanjivani Laboratory, Kalyan visited the village and took up the blood investigations as required. Dr.Vekende (MBBS) from Mulund Govt Hospital gave general check up for our children.
Ms. Nasrin Ansari of Std. X was diagnosed of Lymphadenitis and is currently undergoing treatment for the same. Sharmila Shaikh of Std. IV was diagnosed of umbilical granuloma and is under treatment for the same. Rahul Mahator of Std. VIII is currently under the treatment for Jaundice.
10.Academics
Re opening programme honored by the presence of Rev.Saji Joseph , Diocesan and Bishop’s Secretary and Mr.Sabu Daniel, Cooperator,Navi Mumbai
The current academic year welcomed seventeen new admissions to the school from the village. There are 11 girls and 6 boys admitted from the RLA centers who have been placed in different classes based on their identity proofs available.
School administratorship is taken over by Mrs. Jintu Allen Varghese from Mr. Shaju, who has worked as the school administrator for the past 2 months.
11.Psycho social care
Apart from the medical and psychiatric care, there are two social workers in the village who ensure the care and protection of the children In the village. Regular contact with the mothers and enhancing mo0ther child bonding, along with protection of child rights is ensured by social workers.
12. EVENTS
a.Summer blast 2016
Summer Blast 2016 was conducted from May 1 to May 10 2016 based on the theme, ‘Life is beautiful’. The event was colored with a variety of cultural programmes, creative pursuits and games for children. Students from Kottayam MT Seminary,Komapady Bible institute and Dharma Jyothi vidya peet were organized the programme.
b.Tree Day
Tree Day was celebrated on 29 June 2016, under the leadership of Rt. Rev. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius, Bishop of Mumbai Diocese. Around 1000 trees were planned in different locations in the village to mark the beginning of afforestation and growing up with nature. At present, there are 2344 saplings planted as a result of this initiative.
c.Agriculture and Fruit Tree Plantation:
Thirumeni’s long term vision about NJC is to grow up to survival. This year we have emphasized to plant maximum fruit trees which can provide large scale yields and that can be an income for NJC.
This year we have planted 2,300 fruit trees including Mango,Chikku,Lemon,Banana trees, cashew, and some other general trees too.
d. Eid celebration and Mothers visit
Mothers visit was combined with Eid-Ul-Fitr and was celebrated in the village on 16 July 2016. All the mothers who attended the meeting were wished by Navjeevan staff and sweets were distributed to everyone gathered.
e.Visit to Santacruz Church
A visit was made by Navjeevan children to Santacruz Parish on behalf of their Mankudam program. Our children presented cultural programmes based on the theme ‘Save the Girl child’ which was greeted with a lot of appreciations.
f.Independence Day celebration
69th Independence Day of our nation was observed with due honor. Flag hoisting and a variety of cultural programmes marked the celebration of Independence Day. A mass entertainment programme for all the children in the village was arranged by Social Work Trainee Miss. Nicol.
g.Raksha Bandhan
The festival of relationships was observed in its traditional manner in the village on August 18 2016. All sisters in the campus were given an opportunity to tie ‘Rakhi’ to their biological brothers signifying love and care. Police officers from Tokawade Police Station and the ‘Surpanch’ of Khapri village had graced the occasion. Symbolizing their obligation to protect and care for Navjeevan, children from Navjeevan village tied ‘Rakhi’ to the guests.
h.Teacher’s Day and Ganesh Chaturti
September 2 was observed as Teachers day along with Ganesh Chaturti. Children showed their willful participation in honoring their teachers. Ganesh Chaturti sweets were distributed to everyone present for the programme.
i.Music, Sports, Academic Week
Mr. King Jung Lam and his colleagues had visited the village from September 2 to 9 which collided with the Ganesh Chaturti Holidays. The team had organized a week long training programme in sports like Basket ball, Badminton, Football and also imparted musical training. They also took care to help children finish their academic home works along with sports and other activities.
j.Onam Celebration
Onam was celebrated with pomp and splendor on 9 September 2016. Mr. king and team along with Rev. Issac G Varghese, Br. Anson were the chief guests for the day. Celebrations were marked with a variety of cultural programs by staff and children.
13.Structural developments in Village
Over the last six months, Navjeevan /village has seen the following structural changes in its premises. With the sale of vegetables, Navjeevan Centre has been able to avail Rs. 43,736 as of 07th October. Given below are some of the changes:
o Fencing in the plantation area
o School fencing
o Gate and security cabin
o Pond construction
o Servicing of the Tubewell
o Road to the orchard
o Vegetable Garden
o Beautification of the village
14.Visitors in the village
Within the reporting period, the campus was blessed with a host of guests who came forward to understand and contribute to Navjeevan family. They would come here on occasions of birthdays, anniversaries and so on.
Various churches from Mumbai Diocese visited Navjeevan Centre on the occasion of general holidays and other festivals. Marol Mar Thoma Church, Nallasopara Mar Thoma Church, Goregaon Mar Thoma Church, Nerul Mar Thoma Church, Tarapur Mar Thoma Church, Meera Road Mar Thoma Church, Vassai Road Mar Thoma Church, Ahmedabad Mar Thoma Church, Borivli Mar Thoma Church, Virar Mar Thoma Church.
Visitors were encouraged to participate in agricultural work in the village premises. They also whole heartedly participated in the sale of skill items prepared by Navjeevan staff and children.
Our diocesan Bishop Rt. Rev. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius Episcopa visited the village on August 22, 2016 along with well wishers of Navjeevan; Mr. and Mrs. Vinod Kuruvila. There was a felicitation programme arranged in honor of the dignified guests which was colored with performances by the children.
Vashi St. Paul Mar Thoma Church conducted its youth camp within the Navjeevan premises. They enthusiastically participated in all the program arranged in-house. They also trained our children in self defense (karate).
15.JP Morgan Planting Day Celebration : The JP Morgan’s volunteer team of 135 members has conducted a “Tree Day “ celebration on 13th August in Murbad and they had planted around 1500 saplings of fruit trees.
16. Achievements:
Our children represented Navjyoti School in the Taluka level Sports Competition and bagged the following prizes:
Running -200 mts- 1st Prize Anup D’souza
3rd Prize Sakshi Bhuvad
Relay (14-17years) 1st Prize
Javelin (14-17yrs) 1st Prize- Dilshad Shaikh
2nd Prize- Vishwajeet Burman
3rd Prize- Anup D’souza
Girls team got qualified for district level football match. We are proud to announce that Kumari Sony Shaikh of Std. VII got qualified for zonal level badminton.
17.Staff Resigned/Left:
Str. Leena Dezuza, Dr.Anand and Mrs Sheeba, Mr. P J Saji and Mrs. Suja, Ms. Sathikumari, Mr. Lijoy and Mrs. Anu Lijoy due to their personnel reasons.
18.New Appointment:
Mr. Albin Thomas has appointed as male social worker in NJC Murbad 1st June. Miss. Reny Rajan appointed as social worker in Murbad from 1st August.
19.Saudi visit:
Successfully completed 18th March to 24th April [ Received amount as on 11.07.2016 Rs.29,50,793.00] ( Collected amount will be reaching within two weeks : Rs.12,00,000.00 and offered monthly receivable amountRs.12,94,000.00).
20. Report in brief of Girls and Boys in Extension Home:
In our girls extension home total 10 boys and 10 girls are staying and perusing their education Mrs. Manorama Devdattam is working as house parent in girls home. Mr Paulose is working as house parent in boys home. The social worker Salomi M. Jagale is also staying with girlsthem from August 3rd 2016. They are maintaining time table of the house and actively participating in their college activities. In the house daily family prayer is going on. In the month September three children are fallen sick with fever and weakness hence treatment has been given. Every third Sunday they are attending church service in Kalyan. In the month of September they have participated in Onam celebration with Kalyan Church. Rev. Issac G. Varghese is also celebrating Holy Communion service regularly.
Navjeevan Extension Home at Nerul:
The construction works of Navjeevan Extension Home is in progress and we hope it will finish by December 2016. Many well wishers are supporting this project. Heartful thanks to Nerul Immanuel Church Members. Mr. V. Mathew had worked hard and gets approval for grant of Rs.18 Lacs from Bank of Baroda. We are expecting the 2nd installment We are so grateful to sir’s self less guidance and dedication towards this. With regard to fund raising programme for this, our Metropolitan had arranged a visit to Saudi Arabia and Director had managed the same. Many people supported and given their whole hearted donations. We are so grateful to all the supporters of Saudi congregations and all well wishers of Saudi Arabia.
Construction work is progressing. The plastering work of outside has completed. Room separation works of hostel (2nd and third floor) are progressing.
RLA Report
Introduction: The RLA unit of the Navjeevan centre continues to functions from three centers namely the Kamatipura centre, the Sindhi Galli centre and Bhivandi centre. First two centers are situated at the two extremes of the red light area in South Mumbai while the Bhivandi centre is in Thane District. The centers being in close vicinity of the red light area makes it easily accessible for the mothers and they can walk in to the centre any time during the day to talk to the social workers.
Status of Children as on 31st September 2016
| Status |
Sindhi Galli centre |
Bhivandi centre |
Chandramani centre |
Total |
| As on 1st April 2015 |
26 |
10 |
23 |
59 |
| Referred to Nav Village |
9 |
3 |
8 |
20 |
| New admission |
17 |
10 |
11 |
39 |
| Drop Out |
7 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
| Total as on 31st September 2015 |
27 |
15 |
18 |
60 |
During the year the total strength of the three centers has been around 60 children. The Bhiwandi centre was temporarily closed for the month of April- May 2016. It was re-opened in the last week of June 2016. All new admission has taken place from June to September 2016.
As mentioned above in the past six months we have had 39 new admissions. The children at the Mumbai RLA seek admission in the Municipal school in the same building where the centers are situated while the social worker at Bhivandi centre takes care of the basic education of the children at the centre.
This year as Navjeevan Village had a large group completing their X class and moving to Extension homes, we have transferred 20 children from the three centers to Navjeevan Village. The transfer involves preparation of documents like mothers case study, home visit report, Child Psycho-social adjustment report and preparation of affidavit (for children who do not have birth certificate). Each child along with the mother was presented to the Child Welfare Committee and the transfer order to Navjeevan Village secured
Educational Program:
• The admission of children to the centers is ongoing throughout the year. The children that are admitted to the centre this year have secured admission in the municipal schools/ Balwadi during the year while the rest of the children continued the admission at school
• Nursery children were taught alphabets, numbers and action songs. 1st and 2nd Standard children are being trained to read and write Marathi and Hindi.
• Student Trainees from Nirmala Niketan, College of Social Work assisted in the educational and value based training of the children.
Health Program:
• A Comprehensive health check up was conducted at the Saboo Siddique hospital for the 34 children at the centre. Along with the overall check up the following tests conducted CBC, Montax Test and HIV testing. The reports of all the children were normal this year.
• The health check up of 15 children from Bhivnadi centre was conducted at the IGM hospital at Bhiwandi. The reports are awaited
• De worming was done once for all children. This will be repeated every three months.
• Polio doses for children below five were administered as per the government polio drive schedule
Outings and Celebrations:
• In the month of May 2016, the Four Seasons Hotel staff took the children for a half day picnic to Hanging Garden
• National and religious festivals like Independence Day, Eid, Raksha Bandan was celebrated at the centre.
• Children’s birthdays were celebrated each month with cutting of cake and games.
I. Mothers Program:
Monthly meeting: Navjeevan centre holds a monthly meeting for the women whose children are with us (In Mumbai and Murbad). This meeting takes place on the 2nd Thursday of each month that makes it compulsory for the women to come to the centre to collect the cards. On an average 45-50 mother attend the meeting.
Awareness programs: In each mothers meeting a resource person is invited to help the mothers with their various difficulties. In the month of August, representative form Asha Darpan, an NGO came to assist mother in applying for pan card and adhar card. In September meeting, a team of Staff and Students from the Raheja Nursing College came to conduct awareness on various forms of cancer.
Bank account: Till date 10 mothers were helped to open bank accounts and also renew their fixed deposits.
Micro credit: 1 mother was given Housing loan during this period. Her daughter is studying in IX standard in our Village. She was constructing a toilet within the house to prepare for taking the responsibility of her daughter after her X exam. Another mother who was given micro credit loan last year and helped with a sewing machine was given all support required to start a tailoring unit of her own. The staff members visited her house to help set up the work.
Health Checkup: The preliminary work for a comprehensive health checkup of the mothers has been done. The checkup is scheduled for the month of October 2016.
Family Counseling Centre: On an average the centre undertakes around 15 counseling cases each month. The issues that come are regarding domestic violence, cheating by partners, documentation and children’s admission. In total 90 Cases has been documented till date. The tabular presentation and preparation of the report is underway for submission to the State Social Welfare Board.
II. Advocacy Program:
On 30th July 2016, Navjeevan Centre collaborated with the BMS department of Wilson College to organize a campaign against Human Trafficking. A total of 2,364 students representing various colleges of Mumbai participated in the awareness rally. Navjeevan utilized the opportunity to create awareness among the participant students and general public on the issue of Human trafficking.
A bike Rally has conducted on 6th August by the support of Mumbai Youths from Navi Mumbai to Belapur.Rt.Rev.Dr.Geevarghese Mar Theodosious Episcopa inaugurated the programme. Local news papers and Kairali television reported the event.Corporator Mr.Sabu Daniel,Rev.Giji Thomas,Rev.Mathews George, well wishers from Vashi and Nerul Parish and youths from different parts of Mumbai was also participated.
19. Conclusion:
We are proud to have the leadership and guidance of our beloved Metropolitan Most.Rev.Dr.Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan,and the able leadership of the Diocesan Episcopa Rt,Rev.Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius Episcopa as our President. The NJC records its appreciation for the good work done by the executive committee.
