Prabhat- Society for child development & Trash to Cash

About the organization:

Prabhat is a nonprofit organization which works in the sector of skill development and livelihood
programs. It is place where we take away the bowl from their hands and replace it with skills. These
skills are then used by individuals to acquire a basic living rather than begging for money. The aim is not
just to provide them skill but also hands on experience. It employs them in their trash to cash program
where they are filling two needs with one deed.

i) Employment opportunities:

The first and the major one being providing employment to people with all kind of disabilities-
intellectual as well as physical disabilities. They are absorbed in jobs at the center here itself and the
skills they have learnt do not go waste. They earn decent amount of money and therefore unlike the
common perception they are not a burden on their families, instead they support their families. Since
most of them are from economically weaker section, even a little difference makes a huge difference to
the overall income of the family.

ii)Environment Preservation:

The products which are generally made here are developed from the waste. The flowers, old clothes, e
wastes which are donated to the organization are recycled and reused by the disabled people. They
transform the waste into extraordinary and beautiful products ranging from clothes, bags, coasters,
pens which are then sold in market.

The revenue that is collected from the sale of these items is further used to distribute salaries among
the workers and for the welfare and training of other people in Prabhat.
Case Study 1: Shweta
Sharma

Name: Shweta Sharma

Age: 37

Disability: Mild Mental Retardation

Her story:

Shweta is the most loved child in the family. Her father died and she lives in Karol Bagh with her mother,
brother and sister in law and their kids. It’s been almost 15 years since she is here. She has learnt various
skills here and currently cuts plastic wrappers into tits and bits which is used as glitter in various products
of the center. Before this she worked on loom and also learnt cooking here.

Shweta working on loom (left side) and chopping vegetables in kitchen (Right Side).

(Image Source: Annual Report 2011)

 Shweta cutting plastic wrappers.

She is able to read and write to an appreciable extent and she actually loves it. She herself confessed that
‘doing homework’ is her favourite hobby. Her six
year old nephew and niece are her best friends.
After going back to home, her favourite past
time is to play with them. But they are not the
only friends that she has, she has lot many
friends here at the training center. She
enthusiastically counts them on her fingers and
tells us about her achievement. She vaguely
remembers the time span she has been in the
organization but she distinctly remembers what
all skills she has leant here and proudly tells us
all the work she has done.

Shweta writing down the names of fruits in her notebook and also side by side telling us about her favourite
fruits.
She loves talking and telling about herself and her family. When I met her for the first time, she invited us
for the movies which she was going with other members of PRABHAT center. Along with that she listed
out her favourite movies on our first meeting. Her favourite hero is Salman Khan because he is a ‘good
man who saves world from the evil’. She is very jolly and loves talking and meeting new people. Food
makes her happy. Talking to her would instantly cheer you up.
Case Study 2: Rubi Kumari
Age: 23

Disability: Severe Mental Retardation

Ruby smiling at us when we entered the Prabhat

center.

Her story:

You think you are a poser? Yeah, you might be! But all your beliefs will
shatter once you meet Ruby. Standing against the wall, with a leg up,
pouting and making symbol of peace, do you think she is less than us in
anyway? She is an amazing poser, a big fan of Salman khan and gets
hyper excited seeing Salman khan. She is aware of all the new movie
heroines as she also wants to be like them in future when she ‘grows
up’.

Ruby is undergoing training at the Prabhat center. She is suffering from

severe mental retardation which is permanent in nature. Her mental
age is twelve year and few months. She also has a stunted growth.
Despite all these problems, her cheerfulness, her contagious smile will
make your day. Her excitement on seeing her friends which luckily
includes me and Akshat (the other fellow from YES FOUNDATION) is incomparable.

Her father is dead and her family includes mother and a sister. Her mother is her legal guardian. She
belongs to economically weaker section and her treatment would consume huge sum of money which
obviously her mother can’t afford She is here at Prabhat learning new skills daily. Her caretaker tells us
that she has difficulty retaining what she learns and has to be taught daily but once she learns it, she
does her work with utmost perfection. The positivity that accompanies Ruby is what we need in our life.
Case Study 3: Jishan Ali
Age: 21
Disability: Visually challenged and mild mental
disorder.

His story:
Jishan was sent to ‘Apna Sahara’ from ‘Salam Balak Trust’ when he crossed 18 years of age. He came
here in 2014 as a vocational trainee. He was rescued from the streets of Delhi by the ‘Salaam Balak’
people when he was twelve years old.

He is not educated at all but has desires to study. However that does not deters him from learning new
skills. He is very happy to be at a new place and learning new things. He showed us the products in
which he has even the littlest contribution with great excitement.

In his stay of almost three years, he has done every possible job. He has sorted the flowers, chopped
them, made incense stick powder, made papier Mache batter, helps in making paper bags and packing
products.

It often happens that he misses his friends back at Salam balak trust which makes him a little upset.
Sometimes he also misses his family but reconciling with his family is not possible because of
unavailability of family history, but his new friends here are doing a good job in helping him moving on.
They are more than a family to him now and he himself accepts that with a broad smile.
Zishan working on incense stick with
jeetendra.
Case study 4: Monica Arora

Age: 37
Disability: Mild mental Retardation

Her story:
When you come to Prabhat, amongst the many things you see, one scene is surely to catch your eyes. It
is a pretty lady sitting coyly in a corner engrossed in the work given to her. She is Monica.

Monica is at Prabhat from sixteen years. She is a vocational trainee at Prabhat center. Her present age is
thirty five but convincing her that is difficult because she believes that her age is just twelve.
Daughter of Ms. Kawaljit and Mr. Kimtilal Arora, she is loved a lot in her family. Her mother is her
permanent guardian.
Monica and Ruby making paper bags under the guidance of their trainer, Ms. Shakuntla Devi.

She can has basic knowledge of reading and writing. She can write her name in both English and Hindi.
She also knows addition and subtraction and all of the credits goes to the teachers at Prabhat. Even this
basic knowledge is an achievement in her case because of her mental condition. Apart from that she is
involved in flower cutting, flower sorting and making paper bags for packaging.

Monica posing with ruby.

Her best friends here are ruby and Neeraj. Although her nature is in stark opposition to ruby’s. She is
very camera conscious and shies away from meeting new people. Her day is not complete until she talks
to both of them, even seeing them makes her happy. This is the reason even administration tries to keep
them in one single project. This not just keeps the three of them happy but also increases efficiency
amongst themselves.