Preschools, locally known as ‘anganwadi’, in the slums of Ahmedabad, India consist of inadequate structures and environments, and are not conducive to childhood learning. AWF joined forces with organisations Bholu and Manav Sadhna to rebuild the anganwadis by both providing design input and by sending teams of skilled AWF architects and volunteers. The vision is to upgrade and rebuild all 66 anganwadis in the Tekra Slum community.

In November 2008, Jodie Fried, founder of Bholu Pty Ltd and Jane Rothschild, AWF Project Director went to Ahmedabad and met with AWF volunteers, surveyed sites, met with the builder and set up the volunteer program with Manav Sadhna. Since that scoping visit, 6 AWF volunteers have traveled to Ahmedabad for periods ranging from 3 weeks to 5 months. In that time, they designed and built 5 new anganwadi (pre-schools), which have now all been completed. Bholu’s 3, 4 5,6 and 7 have been decorated and inaugurated and the children and teachers are settled into the new schools. The funds for the construction of these schools were donated through the generous support of the City of Melbourne.