Jyoti gains confidence and parenting skills

After being married off at the age of 15, twenty year old Jyoti is the mother of a toddler son. Her husband works as a part-time caddy at a local golf course, while Jyoti, as is the custom in her community, stays home to tend to her son. Having never had the chance to receive an education while growing up, and now as a young mother with limited access to the outside world, Jyoti often felt overwhelmed by her responsibilities as a new mother. Last year, she convinced her husband to allow her to attend daily tailoring classes at the AIC Community Centre, which was her first major foray out into the world beyond her slum. After joining the class, she came to realize that many of the women in her tailoring class who had young children also participated in regular Mother-Baby classes at the AIC Community Centre, so she set about trying to convince her husband for permission to attend this additional program. Eventually, he gave in, and Jyoti was allowed to join the class.

The class meets every week, and mothers bring their babies, and spend an hour learning about dietary needs of their children, baby growth and development, birth spacing and family planning, communication and relationships within the family, good parenting practices and many other topics through structured discussions led by local professionals, specialists and health workers. As a result of this class, Jyoti feels significantly more confident raising her young son, and thoroughly enjoys her time at the Community Centre bonding with other women and their babies.

Thank you, Mike and Suzanne. Your generous donation has enabled AIC to provide a year of parenting classes for Jyoti.