The Life-skills and Education Accelerated Program (LEAP) Centre is a training centre and haven for children, teenagers and ladies living in Roopena Agrahara, a low income slum area. Our vision is to help these children and ladies learn new skills to better the quality of their lives and their families. This centre is currently helping over 40 families to achieve this goal.

The LEAP Centre is currently being used in four focus areas:

1. Informal Education for 7-to-14 year olds
In January 2010, Informal Education classes started when it was discovered that children ages 7 to 15 years old from the surrounding slum area were not attending school. Now every afternoon from Monday to Saturday, eleven students attend two hours of informal schooling at the LEAP Centre.

2. Entrepreneurship Training - Hand Sewing and Embroidery

Daily training in sewing and embroidery at the LEAP Centre has provided an opportunity for 20 ladies to learn a trade. With this new skill the ladies can become entrepreneurs, producing and marketing unique hand-made products such as bags, cushions and other furnishings. The classes have been conducted in collaboration with Munch Design, and concerned individuals have come forward to assist these women in selling their creations.

3. Spoken English

Classes for Spoken English have been started with the children and ladies. We are also in the process of developing audio and visual materials to aid in these classes.

4. Ladies Education and Support Group

Every Friday afternoon the LEAP Centre hosts a support group for women who mostly work as cleaning ladies in nearby flats and houses. Topics such as health and hygiene, cleanliness, childcare and training, and nutrition are covered each week by different counselors. On average, 50 ladies attend these weekly sessions and they greatly appreciate the training and guidance.

Studies by Stanford Research Institute and the Carnegie Mellon Foundation found that 75% of long term job success depends on people skills and only 25% on technical skills. In the effort to increase the employability of the disadvantaged, soft-skill training becomes a crucial leveraging tool to reach higher levels of job success. The Family India in Mumbai conducts soft skills workshops for visually challenged students.

The objectives of this training program are:
1) To impart ‘soft-skills’ training vital to success in their professional careers.
2) To improve their communication skills.
3) To assist them in becoming more employable.
4)To develop their personalities.

We have developed and conducted 10 workshops on the following core competencies:

• Personal Introductions, Posture & Gestures
• Conversational Skills, The Art of Listening
• Grooming , Appearance & Personal Hygiene
• Customer Care & Customer Satisfaction
• Building Self-Confidence & Assertiveness
• Goal Setting, Planning & Problem Solving
• Selling Skills & 'You Branding'
• Spoken English Development
• Public Speaking Mastery

All the workshops were conducted in English in order improve their comprehension and communication skills with spoken English.  The attendees were also encouraged to speak primarily in English, which helped them overcome their fears of speaking in public. Directors, authors, businessmen, and image coaches volunteered their time as Guest Speakers at these workshops and their expertise added substance to the training modules.

The programme also included:

Providing the attendees with an English audio resource centre to support them in their goal of learning English.

• Working with the attendees to update and upgrade their resumes and CV’s.
• Arranging sponsorship of business suits and formal shoes to improve the attendees appearance.
• Distribution of a grooming kit for the upkeep of their personal appearance.
• A Mentoring program for those who need more coaching in their communication skills.

The programme culminated in a graduation event at a 5-star Hotel. Each attendee received a certificate for their participation in the workshop series.

In March 2010, volunteers from various companies and The Family India joined together for an exciting day trip to one of the biggest orphanages in Pune to celebrate Holi with the children.

A large portion of the Orphanage wall was selected and the volunteers & children alike joined in the fun with paints and brushes to create a lively nature theme. The volunteers also distributed socks & shoes to the Orphanage sponsored by concerned donors. Each child received a pair of shoes and two pairs of socks. In all 370 shoes and 740 pairs of socks were given out to the children.

At The Family India we believe that happy and well-behaved children today will grow up to become responsible citizens tomorrow. Which is why, we believe that parents play a critical role in building that future.

Members of The Family India in New Delhi have been conducting unique, theatre-based high-impact seminars for parents all over North India. So far, 4000 parents have attended these seminars in Delhi, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Lucknow, Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, and Meerut.

Entitled "LOVE is spelt T.I.M.E." these seminars give parents practical ways to strengthen their relationship with their children by spending more time with them.

These seminars feature "The Time Robber" - a thought-provoking theatrical presentation which helps parents to take honest stock of their interactions with their children and discover ways to improve them.