That amounts to a double handicap: a background of impoverishment compounded by the lack of pre-primary opportunities. Small wonder that the children experience all kinds of difficulties once they go into municipal schools and many are not inclined to go to school at all given their initial disadvantages. A pre-school education is what all these kids need desperately.

The BMC has not done much about the problem what with its lopsided priorities, the diversion of funds to other sectors and the general lethargy that prevails. A public charitable trust, Pratham, has been doinggood work in this area but obviously cannot cope with the numbers on its own. Now Pratham's good work has met up with Mumbai's corporate houses who can bring many things to the project besides funds.

Things like managerial skills, public relations and publicity will all be very useful in a project as ambitious as this. What is particularly promising about Pratham is the way it goes about its job. It does not look at the problem of pre-schooling narrowly but concerns itself with the health of the kids as well. A sickly, malnourished child is unlikely to benefit from the best teaching aids in the world. So a holistic view is essential and Pratham has just such a view.

It can be said confidently, therefore, that the corporates have chosen well to associate themselves with this NGO even though many others are also doing their bit for Mumbai's kids in their own small and big ways. If the plan to open 4,000 new kindergartens in the city next year succeeds, it will make the difference between a life ofbackwardness and a life of new opportunity for thousands of kids. It will open new vistas, give them new confidence and their parents hope for the future. Welcome Operation Headstart!