Navaratna Balyagruha Initiative in Paradeep

For three years, UNICEF has been the knowledge partner in restructuring the Anganwadi Centres (AWC) in Building as Learning Aid (BaLA) model. It’s an innovative approach that integrates the physical infrastructure of Anganwadi centres with learning aids to create an engaging and stimulating environment for preschool children. 

The building has distinctive features like ramps, railings, blind tiles, a well-furnished kitchen, WaSH-compliant child-friendly toilets, an interactive classroom with eye-catching art, and many more. To focus on the specified focus groups under the ICDS program, such as children, adolescent girls and pregnant-cum-lactating mothers, separate toilets with water connections have been ensured. Also, the building has a water recharge pit to harvest the rainwater. This year, we renovated the following eight AWCs as per the UNICEF standard. 

To enhance the attractiveness of the Anganwadi centres and make them catchy for preschool children, BaLA art has been ensured. As a result of this intervention, better infrastructure was ensured in the village with all the integrated facilities inside the Anganwadi premises, increasing the overall learning and holistic growth from the early stage itself.