Euridite Education Mission (EEM) is a registered NGO established by Mahatma Education Society (MES). Conceived in the early 1980s, it was actually set up a decade later and registered on 28th March, 1995 under the Society’s Registration Act 1860 and the Bombay Public Trust’s Act 1950.

Our prime focus is to reach out to the underprivileged and marginalised section of society, especially unemployed youth and women and help uplift the economic status of the poor.

Euridite Education Mission and Soroptimist International Bombay Chembur organised a visit to Sadhana Vidyalaya for the Deaf on 20th June, 2014. Dr. Daphne Pillai, Ms. Seeta Desai, Dr. Jayashree Ramathan and Yvette Lee reached the School at around 2 p.m. and spent a wonderful afternoon with the students. The event was attended by 75 students from the English, Hindi and Marathi medium and 25 teachers of the school. The event began by a short introductory talk by Ms. Seeta Desai which was followed by the presentation of a cheque to Saaniya Jadhav, a student, whose education SIBC has been sponsoring for the last 3 years. This was followed by the felicitation of rankholders students from Classes 1 to 10. These ten students were presented with gift wrapped water sippers. A digital hearing aid sponsored by Euridite Education Mission was gifted to a girl student from Standard One. The audience cheered for all these winners and it was a motivating experience for all of them. After the felicitation ceremony, snacks were distributed and the movie ‘Lion King’ was screened for the students. The students enjoyed the movie and had a wonderful time. Mrs. Shelar, the Principal of the school, thanked the members and appreciated their efforts to spread happiness and cheer in the lives of these disadvantaged students.The program was coordinated by Ms. Seeta Desai, Ms. Celina Joy and Ms. Yvette Lee.

Prof. Celina Joy and Prof. Yvette Lee attended the Annual Day function of Don Bosco Balprafulta (a social service organisation that works for Child Rights) on 10th June, 2014 and participated in the Panel Discussion on “Strengthening Vulnerable Families – An Approach for Child’s Holistic Development”. Prominent social workers and researchers were part of the discussion.

Marathi Madhyamik Shala
Students who have completed Std. VII in Municipal Schools have limited access to High Schools in this area. A large percentage of such students are from the lower socio-economic class of society. Our main focus is to uplift this group of students and their family as a whole, by giving them a chance to pursue higher education and ensure their overall development. With this aim in mind, in 1995 EEM established the Marathi Madhyamik Shala for Std. VIII, IX and X.

Counseling for Students
Students are provided free counseling by a trained counselor for various problems relating to behaviour, learning etc. On identifying a child with problems, a teacher refers him to the counselor. The counselor who provides guidance and helps to shape the child’s personality in a positive direction.
The counselor identify the problem through case-history or interview. If there is a need to involve the parents, the counselor, the parents too especially with the secondary school students Free Counseling services are provided to the parents too. Students of higher level (D.Ed., B.Ed.) are identified with different kinds of problems like – stage fear while teaching, stammering, public speaking, emotional problems etc. The counselor offers guidance through different sessions and help them to overcome these problems.

Medical Check-Up
Every year free medical check-up camps are organised for students of Chembur English High School and for adopted communities.

Health Check-Up Camp
Health check up camp for the Chembur English High School students.

Eye Check-Up Camp
Eye Check up camp was conducted for the students of Chembur English High School Students, D.Ed. students, Pillai’s Campus and for Chembur Marathi Madhyamik Shala students. It was conducted in coordination with the Optolabs Company limited.

Session on Substance Abuse
A session on substance abuse was conducted for the D.Ed. students and Marathi Madhyamik Shala students in the month of July. The resource person was Dr.Shanti from National Addiction Research Centre.

The ongoing activities like –
Blood Donation Camp, Medical Camp, Student’s Camp etc. activities are continued on a regular basis.
We conducted the Thalassaemia Minor Detection Camp for the students of M.M.S., D.Ed., B.Ed. and B.P.Ed. students of Panvel campus. It was done in coordination with the Lions Club of Chembur and New Panvel. Among them four students were detected with Beta Thalassaemia Trait. Thirty students were detected with iron deficiency.

Awareness Sessions
Awareness sessions on current issues are organised for high school and junior college students on topics like Stress Management, Yoga, Family Life Education, AIDS etc.

Remedial Classes for Slow Learners
Several children find it difficult to cope with the learning process for various reasons such as low I.Q., behavioural disorders, family problems etc. We conduct remedial classes for slow learners to help them cope with normal learning and keep pace with other students. At present we are concentrating on students of Anand Nagar Municipal School. This project is being carried out with the help of our D.Ed. students as a part of their community programme and N.S.S. students of Mahatma Night Degree College of Commerce.

Our major challenge was to identify all the social problems that persisted in the neighbouring slum area of Chembur and rural areas of Panvel. We carried out repeated surveys, field trips and door-to-door investigations and compiled complete statistics on the socio-economic problems of these people. The N.S.S. unit of the Night Degree College was a great source of strength and support for this project.

Formal Education for Dropouts
School dropouts are a major problem today. Such students end up becoming troublemakers and anti-social elements. We identified dropouts in the area and gave them another opportunity to join school. Our Night School admits dropouts into classes VII, IX and X. Students complete the S.S.C. board examination through the National Institute for Open-Learning System (N.I.O.S).

Health Education Programme
We have conducted various awareness programmes on the importance hygiene for the people of this area. These include:

1. House-to-house awareness programmes
2. Free medical check-up camps
3. Aids awareness programmes
4. Health surveys
5. Poster exhibitions and poster competitions on various issues

Group Activities
Our youth group regularly participates in all activities of our organisation, such as meetings, annual picnics, celebrations of festivals etc.

Counselling
We provide regular counselling for people especially to the parents of our own students who find it difficult to cope with the problems of life. If required, we refer them to other organisations for further help and assistance.

Adult Literacy
Several girls and young women in the age group of 15 to 35 years have never had the opportunity for formal education. Our adult literacy classes give them a chance to learn.

Although we are moving from charity to the animation approach, we continue to be helpful to the poor and needy. We assist people in various ways:

1. Sponsorship for needy students, in the form of cash or kind.
2. Financial assistance to youth for self-employment projects.
3. Assistance to handicapped in the form of cash and kind.
4. Distribution of books and stationery in our adopted areas at the start of the academic year.

The Euridite Education Mission works in coordination with other N.G.O.s working in the same field to fulfill our objectives. Few organisations are:

1. Soroptimist International of Chembur
2. Inner Wheel Club of Chembur
3. Rotary Club of Chembur, New Panvel

All the above mentioned activities are conducted on a regular basis. One of the innovative activities which Euridite Education Mission has plunged into is reaching out to certain communities at Karnala, near Panvel. We have visited the area and will be adopting the schools in the locality and will begin special education programmes through our student teachers.