LocationsFor many low income families in India's cities, access to childcare determines whether parents can work, children can stay safe, and households can build a more secure future. In Bawana, Delhi, a community childcare centre is helping families do all three. Through safe care, nutrition and early learning, it is enabling parents to earn with confidence while giving young children the strongest possible start in life.
More Than a Safe Space: How Childcare Helps Families Thrive
August 11, 2026
UNDP India
The Impossible Choice
Every morning, thousands of workers make their way through Bawana, an industrial area in north west Delhi, to nearby factories and construction sites. Many have travelled hundreds of kilometres from their hometowns in search of work. But before their workday begins, many face the same difficult question: who will care for their young children?
For Amarnath, the answer once meant taking his daughter to construction sites.
Six years ago, he lost both his wife and mother within a few months, leaving him to raise two young children alone. Originally from Bihar, he brought his son and daughter to Delhi, where he worked as a daily wage labourer. While his son later moved to a hostel in Bihar, his daughter Anchal remained with him.
With no one to look after her, Anchal accompanied her father to work. Caring for her while trying to earn a living meant fewer work opportunities, lower productivity and a monthly income that dropped to just ₹8,000.
Amarnath's experience is shared by countless parents across India's growing cities. For many low income families, childcare is either too expensive, too far away or simply unavailable. Parents are often forced to rely on informal arrangements, bring children to worksites or leave them in unsafe situations while they work.
A Community Response
To help address this challenge, a community childcare centre was established in Bawana under UNDP India's Boosting Female Labour Force Participation through Strengthened Urban Childcare project. Implemented by Mobile Creches in collaboration with local NGOs, the centre was designed around the needs of working families, offering children a safe space to learn and grow while enabling parents to earn a living.
Serving children between six months and six years of age, the centre operates six days a week and provides nutritious meals, opportunities for early learning and regular health monitoring in a safe and nurturing environment.
For the first time in years, Amarnath could focus fully on his work, knowing Anchal was in a safe, nurturing environment.
"My daughter is very happy here. I no longer have to worry about how I'll earn and sustain my family," he says.
With Anchal attending the centre, Amarnath is able to work consistently. His monthly income has nearly doubled to ₹15,000, allowing him to provide greater stability for his family.
UNDP India
Making Work Possible
The impact extends well beyond one family.
For Mosam, a widow raising two daughters alone, every workday once involved impossible choices. One daughter stayed with relatives while the other spent long hours alone at home.
"I used to find my elder daughter roaming the streets or sitting near the pavement whenever I came back home from work. I was always afraid someone might take her away. I was on the verge of a breakdown," she recalls.
After enrolling both daughters at the childcare centre, Mosam can now work knowing they are safe, cared for and receiving nutritious meals throughout the day.
Over the past few months, she has watched them become healthier, more confident and better prepared for school. Her elder daughter is now ready to begin formal education.
"When I go to work now, I am satisfied that I have left my children in a safe space. It helps me live and work without constant worry," she says.
For parents like Amarnath and Mosam, childcare does far more than provide reassurance. It makes work possible. It allows families to earn a steady income without compromising their children's safety, care or development.
Helping Children Thrive
The benefits extend beyond parents to children themselves.
When thirty-nine-month-old Ritika first joined the centre, she was energetic, curious and always smiling. But there was one thing she refused every day: milk.
Through songs, storytelling and patient encouragement, caregivers gradually helped her develop healthier eating habits. When illness later affected her weight and appetite, the team introduced an enhanced diet that included bananas, eggs and a nutritious grain mix called Anaj Mishran.
Regular monitoring and follow ups helped Ritika regain her health within a few months.
She also began carrying positive habits home, reminding her parents to wash their hands before meals whenever they forgot.
"My wife and I are very happy with the services provided by the creche. The discipline and values Ritika has learned here are truly helpful not just for her health, but for her overall development," says her father.
Stories like Ritika's show that quality childcare offers much more than supervision. It supports healthy growth, encourages early learning, builds confidence and lays the foundation for lifelong development.
UNDP India
Building Stronger Futures
Every morning, workers continue to stream through the streets of Bawana on their way to factories and construction sites. Among them are parents like Amarnath and Mosam, who no longer have to choose between earning a livelihood and ensuring their children are safe and cared for.
Their stories show that childcare is far more than a welfare service. It enables parents to work, strengthens household incomes, supports children's nutrition and early development, and helps build more resilient families.
As India seeks to increase women's labour force participation and create more inclusive cities, community childcare centres like the one in Bawana demonstrate that investing in early childhood care is also an investment in livelihoods, productivity and long term development.