Phoolkaur is learning to raise her daughter

Phoolkaur is the 21 year old mother of Deepkaur, her 18-month old daughter. Phoolkaur married her husband at the age of 17, and lives with him and his parents in a small hut in the slums. Her husband has a 4th grade education and works as a part-time caddy at the golf course across the highway from the slum, earning about 3,000 rupees ($65) per month when work is steady.

As a young mother, Phoolkaur has often felt unprepared to have a child, but has embraced the challenges of raising her daughter with the help of the AIC Mother-Baby class at the nearby Community Outreach Centre.

Phoolkaur and Deepkaur attend the weekly classes and Phoolkaur mingles with other mothers, while her daughter plays with toddlers her age under the watchful eye of a designated caregiver in another room. The mothers learn 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.

The structure of the program is as interactive as possible, and the classes often go on fieldtrips to the local clinic to ensure their children are up-to-date with immunizations, or participate in cooking projects to learn about how to make healthy, affordable meals for their children.

Phoolkaur enjoys the sessions, and she has the chance to bond with other mothers of similarly aged children over their shared experiences. She and Deepkaur also receive small gift items (soap, shampoo, etc) for their good attendance, as well as regular access to the on-site doctor to answer all of Phoolkaur’s questions.

Phoolkaur has just learned that she is expecting her second child, so she knows that everything she is learning at Mommy-Baby classes will come in doubly handy soon!

Thank you, Cindy, for providing a year of parenting classes to Phoolkaur. This will not only help make her raise her children better, it will empower her to be a more useful member of the community.