Barola is one of the 81 villages in Noida where there is a vast migrant population from different regions of the country. Men and women in this village add significantly to the growth and prosperity of this industrial town. Bogged by the daily grind of parental routines, it is the children who become the victim of their family’s out-migration. They live a very tough life: they go to school, do part-time jobs, look after their siblings and witness a lot of abuse at home, in school and in the workplace. Impressions formed in childhood cast an impact to our overall personality and being. My Perch is trying to create safe spaces for children where they can explore, enjoy and express themselves. My Perch has completed its first three years and members are working with 300 kids. They started with a library, but now they are not just a library. They have become a space where kids receive love and warmth, where they want to try, where they want to experiment, where they want to learn for the joy of learning and where they would one day discover their true-selves. Kids go to My Perch and they want to come back again and again; not to achieve or attain, but to be. So, for each of these high-flying birds, this space is a perch. Its infrastructure provides access to space with age-appropriate books, games, puzzles, an arts and crafts corner, and computers. It provides weekly activities to boost creative potential like dance, craft, paintings, cooking, poetry, theatre and music, mental and emotional well-being and healing workshops, gender and sexuality topics, body image topics, workshops with parents and lots of circle time.
