Supporting Parents During COVID-19 in the slums of Mumbai

An estimated 1.3 billion children worldwide are out of school during COVID-19 lock-downs – which puts extra strain on parents who are often already struggling with restrictions and pressures.  To address this urgent problem, GPM introduced a new parenting workshop to support parents in the slums of Mumbai. The program, which was created by researchers at the University of Oxford and was endorsed by UNICEF, WHO, the CDC and other organizations working on the pandemic, aims to provide parents with special tools and skills for working with children during lock-down. The open-source COVID-19 parenting resources have helped over 50 million families in 179 countries worldwide thus far during the pandemic. GPM has adopted the parenting program and is delivering the program in Kalwa in the languages of Hindi and Marathi. The program follows guidelines of social distancing and face-masks, works with only ten people in a room at a time twice a day, and teaches parents about a variety of crucial topics related to home-schooling and hygiene. Participants also receive hygiene materials such as soap and face-masks, as well as activity sheets for the whole family. “Parents and caregivers of children are heroes of the COVID-19 epidemic,” said Professor Lucie Cluver who created the program along with Dr Jamie Lachman from University of Oxford. “These past few months have pushed every family to its limits, and parents deserve the best evidence-based support.” "The parents really appreciate the parenting ideas provided in the sessions, and we all enjoy sharing our thoughts and experiences during these challenging times," said Dennis Moses who is running the program in Kalwa.  GPM anticipates reaching hundreds of parents, and is planning to expand the program in the villages of Ashte in remote rural Maharashtra where parents also need resources and support during the pandemic.