Monobitan: the children's park
Severe environmental pollution, total lack of privacy and basic hygienic conditions in the slums, force the people living there into an existence of infrequent and insecure work, malnutrition and diseases. To this picture we must add an immense population of working street children suffering abandonment, neglect and a total lack of any basic care.
The children’s park of Monobitan is a centre where children find safety in a quiet and protected place. In a green environment with clean air, they can spend a period of time far from their previous stressful lives and are encouraged through play and activities to become re-integrated into school programmes.
- The centre will be located in a large green park right outside the city centre of Calcutta with pedestrian walkways, bicycle paths, lakes and big spaces with equipment to allow children to play freely
- It will include school and living accommodation to host up to 100 children
- Groups of children will rotate and stay there with their teachers for periods of 7-10 days of study, sports and games
- Mainstreaming courses aimed towards primary classes will be organised to allow street children to go back to school. These courses will be regularly interspersed with moments of play and relaxation
- A special didactic path will give the children the possibility to get in touch again with the elements of nature - water, earth and air
- An open space theatre will allow the children to organise dance and theatre events
