INDIA: Salesian program helps build family stability so children stay in school
Children also receive academic support, life-skills education
INDIA
(MissionNewswire) A Salesian program is working with vulnerable families to strengthen their support system and build stability while also helping children stay in school. The program, known as DBARK, takes place in Palam, an area of Delhi, India, where families have inconsistent incomes and difficult living conditions that often threaten children’s education.
Through the Salesian Holistic Education and Livelihood Program for Slums (HELPS), DBARK brings together education, livelihood support, financial literacy and family assistance to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
The program has helped 75 vulnerable families with a goal to reach 25 more. HELPS continues to support 100 to 200 children through academic support, life-skills education, leadership training and personal development.
A Salesian explained, “At the heart of HELPS is a simple conviction that a child’s educational future is closely connected to the family’s economic and emotional stability. When parents struggle with unemployment, irregular earnings, debt or inadequate living conditions, children are often the first to feel the consequences.”
Rather than addressing these challenges in isolation, HELPS works with the family as a whole. Parents are encouraged and supported to establish small income-generating enterprises suited to their skills, interests, and local market needs.
DBARK follows a careful process before extending livelihood assistance. Household surveys, needs assessments, and feasibility studies help identify each family’s strengths, challenges, and suitable economic opportunities. The program also provides financial literacy training covering budgeting, savings, debt management and responsible financial planning.
The Salesian added, “The intervention does not end with financial or material assistance. Home visits, counseling, mentoring and regular monitoring remain an important part of the program. These continued interactions help families sustain their livelihood activities while encouraging parents to direct improved earnings toward their children’s education, nutrition and overall well-being.”
Salesians report that the early results of the program are encouraging. Families report more regular household income and improved financial management. Parents are becoming more involved in their children’s education, while homes are gradually becoming more supportive spaces for learning and growth.
The Salesian added, “For the DBARK program, education is not confined to the classroom. It begins with strengthening the family itself. By placing livelihood, education and human development within the same framework, HELPS seeks to ensure that children do not merely escape poverty for a generation, but that families acquire the confidence, skills and resources to build a more secure future.”
###
Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
Salesian Missions – India
World Bank – India
