We would like to thank… In researching and writing these handbooks, we have drawn on some of the best examples in the work by pioneers like Sister Cyril in Kolkata, MV Foundation led by Shantha Sinha and the BOSCO Brothers. We have added learning based on the efforts of Centre for Equity Studies and Aman Biradari, of work with state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Delhi; to establish and manage Sneh Ghars in Hyderabad and Delhi. Without the support of the senior officials in the Department of School Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) especially Secretary, Anshu Vaish, Additional Secretary Anita Kaul, Directors Neelam Rao and Maninder Kaur, and the state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, this effort would not have been possible. This effort was supported by grants from Partnership Foundation, Wipro and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. We are grateful to the following experts who authored various portions of the detailed manuals; for each, this was a labour of love. The writers are Ambika Kapoor, Harsh Mander, Preeti Mathew, Satya Pillai, Shashi Mendiratta and Sveta Dave Chakravarty. We learnt a great deal from the children themselves, as well as the team members or Sneh Sathis who undertook the pilot to establish Sneh Ghars, in Loreto Rainbow Home, Kolkata, the Dilse team, Delhi and the Aman Vedika team, Hyderabad, for providing rich insights on residential care setups in functional schools. We acknowledge Satya’s stewardship and for holding the reins of all the teams to ensure timely completion of this complex task. She was ably advised by Sister Cyril, Sveta Dave, K Anuradha, Ferdinand Van Koolwijk, Fr. George Kollashany, and Shashi Mendiratta; and assisted by her team members Shubhada Hiwale, Preeti Mathew and Ambika Kapoor. We would also like to thank Aarti Chandra for patiently going through the transcripts and editing them. Finally, sincere and heartfelt thanks to Harsh Mander, for his inspiring leadership of the entire process of putting our learning’s together and ensuring that the child remained in focus at all times.
3