Our Programs
Children Dagis + Daycare
MKF's daycare centre is a formally structured environment that specializes in the care of kids (ages 3 and above). It offers fun for the toddlers and cares for school kids as well. The daycare lays down the foundation for children, providing them with invaluable educational opportunities and the ability to develop their social skills as they interact with one another in a supervised environment.
In terms of the curriculum, we are attempting to implement the Swedish system of daycare, namely dagis, in which childcare and education combine in an integrated system known as Educare. This framework is often cited internationally as the golden standard in early developmental learning. More than a child-minding service, our Educare teachers and support staff are well-educated and actively encourage the children's learning and development with support from material of the country's school curriculum.
Spirituality
As most of the girls are from disturbed backgrounds, it is very important that we connect them to their inner spirituality. A deep, learned connection to spirituality promotes the girls to approach life with positivity and calmness, to be confident in their instincts, to gain strength towards being successful, and to promote togetherness. We want our girls to create a family bond, allowing them to cope more easily with the pains and stressors that life may present them with. Some ways to boost the spiritual health of the kids and the staff at the MKF Angel Home are detailed in the next section.
Spiritual Resources PROVIDED
- The freedom to connect to their own faith communities. We give them the freedom to believe in and talk about any religion. We often invite religious intellects to answer their questions
- Organized yoga practices, meditation sessions, and mindfulness workshops
- Journals for reflection on their school work, daily lives, friends, and, most importantly, themselves
- Time with nature: we encourage gardening and environmentally-friendly practices
- Staff members that the children can trust to talk about anything to
Play and Sports
When children play, they learn how to explore, invent, create, and collaborate with others - skills that are transferable to any sector of life. For young kids, playing is the time for them to acquaint themselves with the world and their peers. But it is a critical requirement for older kids as well — from their school's playing field to when they are old enough to earn a living. The right to play is universal - the Child Welfare Department even recommends that doctors prescribe it to their patients! Sports and physical activity not only strengthens the kids’ bodies, it also develops their brain, allowing them to learn more quickly and stay focused in school. Play time can also help children when times are tough - the pleasure people tap into during this time is the perfect antidote to the stress that may come with their studies or even with past trauma.
As for what we already have, we have a beautiful area surrounded by trees where kids play traditional games like Kho-Kho, Kabaddi, Dog and Bone, Pithu, Skipping, Treasure Hunt, etc. We also have a proper ground for badminton and basketball. Lastly, our jungle gym located in the lawn also features another play area with swings for smaller kids. Regardless, there are huge opportunities for improvement in these areas (installment of table tennis tables in the play area, improvement of badminton/basketball court quality, sports equipment, etc), which can only happen with the support and kindness of our donors.
Health
All of our kids are registered in the Sohna Civil Hospital and therefore get priority treatment from all governmental medical institutions. Because frequent health checkups are very important for developing children, MKF Angel Home provides annual checkups, regular doctor visits, vaccinations, dental treatment, and mental health support to all of its kids. Getting regular preventive care makes it possible to treat health problems before they become more serious.
Community Education and Wellbeing
We encourage our children to treat others (whether they are a part of MKF or not) with kindness, love, and compassion. Well-being is an essential component of learning. It is about making students feel seen, understood, and valued as individuals and as part of a community - in turn, they will be more likely to stay motivated and engaged in school. By backing researched-informed solutions, developing new tools, and partnering with diverse communities, MKF equips its staff and educators to support every child's academic achievement and personal well-being.
As MKF is situated in a village where there is enormous need of community support, we frequently organize events and awareness workshops for both villagers and their children. We can achieve this through the support of our CSR partners (corporate donors) and individual sponsors.
MKF Learning Lab
There are several reasons why a child may do poorly in school or may not want to attend school regularly. These include behavioral or emotional issues, language issues, medical issues, or learning disabilities. Another reason, which is prominent with the girls that have joined MKF, is that experiencing trauma severely affects a child’s ability to focus in school and to behave as expected. For that reason, our learning lab is created on the fundamental idea that every child has the potential to be successful and intelligent. One problem is that not all disabilities are easy to recognize. Sometimes, a child with learning disabilities can often have average or above-average intelligence; the extra support they need can therefore be easily overlooked. Intelligence alone does not guarantee success in school. Our learning lab provides the special services children with learning disabilities need: we want learning to be a fun experience and not one where disabilities come in the way of a child's motivation and passion for school.
The MKF Learning Lab offers our girls a unique opportunity to develop both their right and left brain through a structured education program. This program is a culmination of the Swedish Day Care learning philosophies and Gurukul Value systems. The Gurukul system goes back to around 5000BC in the Indian subcontinent where young learners were taught how to live a cultured and disciplined life with a huge emphasis on the moral conscience and ethical training, humanity, love, discipline, and practical education (a focus was on arts, craft, sports, music, yoga, meditation, etc.). The Swedish Day care system brings in the requirement to develop both sides of a child's brain (the creative and the logical).