“Everyone usually tries to get internships between the 10th and 11th grade to add to their résumé and I was no...
Posted by Humans of Bombay on Monday, August 1, 2016
“All these years, we have been paying these children for their college admissions. And it was going fine, but I somehow developed this uncomfortable feeling that children always look up to me as someone who doles out money. They were lacking the sense of dignity and did not look at themselves as worthy individuals. I wanted to change that. I wanted to do something so that they would take pride in going to college and taking care of their own expenses. That was when I came up with the idea of a platform where the students would raise money for their education,” says Ruby.After finishing Class 10, children of Hope House join a leadership development programme in which they learn how to use computers and the Internet. “Many friends and well wishers come to visit us. They meet the girls, become friends with them, exchange email IDs and this way the girls tend to develop a network of friends over the two years after Class 10,” says Ruby. So he launched a common website in partnership with GiveIndia, a fundraising platform. The website has links to the crowdfunding pages of six students who were told to raise money with the help of their network of friends. Ruby named the it the College Education Challenge.
"With this fundraising, we learnt to value and respect money, and also to work hard for it. I liked the idea a lot. It has made more responsible," says Radhika, one of the students at Hope House.
"It took me nearly 40 minutes to learn how to sign my name," said Revati, one of the many who have learnt to sign, to Times of India.
"Upon accomplishment of the goal, I will feel honoured and delighted to be the head of a village where everyone is getting literate," Gram Pradhan Gangadhar Singh said to Times of India.It’s villages like these that give hope for a universally literate India in the future!
“In Odisha, all visually impaired students do not have access to books because of the shortage of Braille printers. In the absence of any permanent or tangible study material, it is very difficult for such students to enhance their knowledge base or prepare for examinations. That is why we started recording audio books, about four years back. And till now, more than 10,000 students in Odisha, including those in schools and colleges have benefited from these books,” says Abhaya Mohanta, one of the founders of We4You.Currently, the project is being implemented in all districts of Odisha and some districts of Jharkhand. They have over 400 volunteers in Odisha and also some in Bengaluru and Delhi who help record the books in Hindi, English and Odiya. These are then stored in USB drives or DVDs and are distributed in schools and colleges for free.
“Early one morning in February 2013, a man turned up on my doorstep who had travelled through the night to get there. This schoolteacher wanted to do something positive for his village, which had no electricity, health care or primary education … It was just the kind of place I was looking for."It didn’t take much to convince Mitra that Korakati would be the perfect spot to build a School in the Cloud. It would be the fourth of the 7 Self Organised Learning (SOLEs) locations that he planned set up under his $1 million TED Prize-funded project on non-conventional education for children. The project partners also included, among others, UK’s Newcastle University, where Mitra was a professor of educational technology, and software giant Microsoft. Self-Organised Learning Environments (SOLEs) are learning labs where children can explore, learn and search for answers by tapping into online resources. Not only does this project improve children’s reading comprehension and search skills, it also enables them to draw rational and logical conclusions.
“What we are looking at is minimally invasive learning, and not unguided learning. Until it can replace the conventional learning system, it can complement it.”Korakati’s School in the Cloud is also a SOLE. But unlike other SOLEs that are attached to schools, the one at Korakati is the the first to be a stand alone model.
“It was our effort to see whether we can leverage technology for learning in a largely tribal, underprivileged belt; if our model can work in the Sunderbans, it’ll work anywhere.”The children at Korakati use the Internet to learn many things with help from the 'grannies'. For example, the children have taught themselves origami using YouTube, helped by a 'granny' on Skype. A day at the school also includes sessions where a question is posed to the children who have to then surf the Internet for answers. The children gather into groups and access sites such as thescientificamerican.com and verywell.com through Google. They then translate difficult English words into Bengali using Google Translate before jotting down important points for their answers. The coordinators don’t intervene in the search at all!
"We feel that we come to a temple when we come to this school. In front of this school, there are flowering plants. And we love to see them. We want to come everyday. There are fireflies on a big bokul tree, which we can see at night. We can learn new things and see new things. We also like to talk to the people from overseas. We had fun with the granny who came here but we could not understand what she was saying in English. However, we will try to understand and learn."By helping the children of Sunderbans engage and connect with information and mentoring online, Sugata Mitra's School in the Cloud project has taken another giant step towards its dream of encouraging and supporting children all over the world to tap into their innate sense of wonder.
“Anyone who is not familiar with various concepts of accountancy can use the website. This is something that is needed in every business and is not limited to a particular set of students,” says Priya.The lectures are divided according to the syllabus of different school boards – ICSE, CBSE, Maharashtra Board, etc. Students of each Board have options to select packages with a certain number of videos, according to the prescribed syllabus. The videos begin with a question that is solved step by step with a voice-over to explain everything.
“We wanted to evolve a system of schooling that would show a certain level of learning outcome. At the same time, we had to keep in mind the fact that the model should work on a large scale at a reasonably low cost. Almost everyone favours the traditional model of education in the country. But it lacks motivated teachers and so much more. We wish to provide kids with high-quality and affordable education,” says Pankaj.
“We keep saying that children are our future, but how many of us actually bother about them? My experiences say that children of the mountains are in no way lesser than the children of our cities. In fact, they are quite ahead in some cases. But it is only the access to opportunities that hold them back. They do not even have access to institutional education. Schools, I strongly feel, can give strong foundations to their future,” says Sudipto.It is this reason that brought CRY – Child Rights and You to support this Ride for Child Rights and to amplify Sudipto’s voice in his brave attempt to raise awareness about the importance of education.
“Everybody knows that the rural education system in India is not perfect. Both of us are products of the urban education system and while we knew that schools in our villages generally needed reforms, we did not know what the exact problems were,” he adds.
“The video for each chapter is about 12-15 minutes long. The teachers can either play the entire film and discuss the chapter with students, or keep pausing it to guide students through the topic. Conventionally, teachers spend the entire time in class delivering lectures. With videos, they get the opportunity to make classes more engaging,” says 25-year-old Lehar.
“We carry a minimum of 16 books for 8 subjects daily and sometimes their number increases to 18 or 20, depending upon the subjects for which the classes would be held for the day. Our school bags weigh between 5-7 kg and it’s exhausting to carry them to our classroom located on the third floor,” the Class 7 boys told the reporters.The boys also said that if the school did not address their grievances they would go on a hunger strike until their demands were met.
“A few reporters asked me whether I was afraid my teachers would not like my holding a press conference. I told them that the teachers may punish me for it but that punishment would be far less than the weight we carry every day,” said Rugved.After the press conference, as the news spread to major newspapers, the school authorities were upset with the two kids for what they had done. As a result, Paritosh’s parents asked him stop speaking publicly on the subject anymore. Rugved also had to face some opposition in his school but he did not back down because his family was supportive of the stand he had taken. However, finally, the efforts of the two children paid off and lockers were installed on the school premises for students. They could now keep their textbooks and other study materials at school, instead of lugging them back and forth from home every day in heavy school bags. All this happened on August 24, within just two days of the press conference.
“I will try to speak to the Education Minister about this and ask his help to implement this rule in each and every school. I appeal to all the parents through your website to support their children and help us to implement this positive change all over the country,” said Rugved.To support his campaign, you can write to Rugved at rugvedr39@gmail.com.
“I was in an exploratory mode and so, kept in touch with these guys to get an idea of their experiences in tackling inequity in education. In 2011, wowed by the organisation was doing and the impact it was trying to achieve, I finally applied and got selected as a part of the 3rd cohort in Pune!” Lewitt says.Placed in a low-income private school on the outskirts of the city, Lewitt began teaching 3rd and 4th graders in what Teach For India calls a ‘1st year intervention’ classroom. “It was a classroom that was witnessing Teach For India intervention for the first time. The kids had no expectations of me as the new teacher – this gave me the opportunity to work with different approaches," Lewitt says.
“I wanted to make education experiential for students and motivational for teachers. Most of all, I didn’t want students to study just to bag a job – I wanted to make their learning fun. My BTCP made me think outside the classroom and about my own future in a very open-ended way.”Through the course of his 2-year Fellowship, Lewitt saw a lot of academic improvement. “During the last 3 months, I hardly taught. I divided my class into two groups – the top order that had started to excel academically and the middle and low order which was still struggling. The former group became the master teachers – I would lead them to coach the latter group. They approached this with oodles of motivation and the resulting growth came not out of competition but as a class collective to raise their bar. This was such a big transformation!” he says with a beaming smile. When asked about the biggest gap he witnessed through his Fellowship experience, he knowingly sighs. “Most regular teachers have already passed judgement that kids from low-income backgrounds cannot achieve anything. These are 8 year olds we’re talking about! Giving up hope on kids that young, whose potential hasn’t even been tapped into yet, is so bizarre! Socio-economic gaps can be bridged with enough love and care – you just need to be the one to step up,” he says. For Lewitt, patience has been the key to not make classroom goals overwhelming and to keep things simple and fun.
“We’re essentially a capacity building program. LIFE Labs helps teachers adapt to ‘experiential pedagogy.' With the support of the Teach For India network, we’ve been able to make them see that we’re not fancy graduates from fancy colleges speaking fancy English and having fancy gadgets, trying to say that we know better. The idea is to co-plan with teachers and implement the resulting program in the classroom together, in a way that can translate into increased learning outcomes,” he says.Over the last three years, LIFE Labs has reached out to over 76 schools and has seen a 35% increase in student learning outcomes as well as a 65% shift in teacher mind-set with regard to pedagogy across over a hundred schools. “The smiles of the students we impact is my biggest achievement and the changed teacher perspective brings so much hope!” he says. As a country that is trying to adapt to a consistent rise in social issues and challenges, we need more such feet on street. Says Lewitt, “Be open minded don’t be scared to experiment – the nation needs your effort. If not you, then who? Don’t be apprehensive about the timing or the results – overcome your fear and be the change maker you know you want to be!” Applications to the 2017-19 Teach For India Fellowship program are now open. Apply now at http://apply.teachforindia.org/ before 30th August! Written By Alankrita Khera - Manager, Communications - Teach For India
“She is our own, the darling of our hearts, Santiniketan. In the shadows of her trees we meet in the freedom of her open sky. Our dreams are rocked in her arms. Her face is a fresh wonder of love every time we see her, for she is our own, the darling of our hearts." - Rabindranath TagoreLocated about 158 km northwest of Kolkata in Bengal's rural hinterland, Santiniketan embodies Rabindranath Tagore's vision of a place of learning that is unfettered by religious and regional barriers. Established in 1863 with the aim of helping education go beyond the confines of the classroom, Santiniketan grew into the Visva Bharati University in 1921, attracting some of the most creative minds in the country.
“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence."Located in the heart of nature, the school aimed to combine education with a sense of obligation towards the larger civic community. Blending the best of western and traditional eastern systems of education, the curriculum revolved organically around nature with classes being held in the open air. Tagore wanted his students to feel free despite being in the formal learning environment of a school, because he himself had dropped out of school when he found himself unable to think and felt claustrophobic within the four walls of a classroom.
“Without music and the fine arts, a nation lacks its highest means of national self-expression and the people remain inarticulate."Tagore encouraged artists such as Nandalal Bose to take up residence at Santiniketan and devote themselves full-time to promoting a national form of art. He helped revive folk dances and introduced dance forms from other parts of India, such as Manipuri, Kathak and Kathakali, at Santiniketan. He also supported modern dance and was one of the first to recognise the talents of Uday Shankar, who was invited to perform at Santiniketan.
"Visva Bharati is like a vessel carrying the cargo of my life's best treasure and I hope it may claim special care from my countrymen for its preservation."How to reach Santiniketan The distance from Kolkata to Santiniketan is about 182 km. Santiniketan is well connected to Kolkata via road and rail. By Rail: The nearest station is Bolpur. Take the Visva-Bharati Fast Passenger or Rampurhat Express from Howrah to reach Bolpur within 2.5 hours. By Road: If you follow the Durgapur Expressway, it takes approximately 4 hours to reach Santiniketan. Buses to Bolpur are available from Esplanade bus terminal in Kolkata When to visit Visit during winter, when the weather is pleasant and perfect for long strolls, or during the monsoon, when the lush countryside paints itself in every hue of green. Summers here can get very hot and humid. Where to stay Several options are available, ranging from basic homestays and pretty guest houses to family-friendly holiday resorts.
“She is 30 years old now and has four children. She was pregnant within a year of her marriage, at 18. I never found out what her dreams were. I shudder to think of a life like hers,” Nazmeen says, her voice breaking as she recalls the many opportunities denied to her sister.Nazmeen got a chance to go to school at the age of six. She would see children in the neighbourhood go to school and plead with her mother to send her to one. Her younger brother followed in her footsteps and also got enrolled in school. “I remember both of us went to get enrolled. We were the last ones and the school refused admission. On pleading with them, they said one of us could get enrolled. My brother asked me to take the seat. 'I will get enrolled in the next year, behen,' he said. I will never forget that moment. It was then that I vowed to make the most of the opportunity I had been given, ” her voice struggles to remain steady. Throughout school, Nazmeen worked hard, never forgetting her brother’s sacrifice, her mother’s struggles and her own resolve to make the best out of the opportunity she alone had. She never came second in class. When Nazmeen came home with a glowing report card at the end of each year, there would be no one to share her happiness. Her mother, worn out by financial troubles, would ‘place her hand on her head, utter a blessing and wipe a tear from the corner of her eyes.'
[caption id="attachment_66636" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Nazmeen scored 75 percent in the tenth standard. Her teachers were happy with her performance, but she was sad. She knew her family would not support her dream to study further. Her mother confirmed her worst fears. “She asked me to take sewing lessons instead. She was concerned that I did not have any skills to become a suitable bride,” Nazmeen laughs.Nazmeen with her mother.[/caption]
“My brothers supported my mother’s decision to not allow me to go to college. They were worried that I would become 'too educated' to get any groom," she explains.Nazmeen soon found a way to go to college. She had Rs. 6,000 in her bank account from a government programme (Ladli Scheme) for adolescent girls in Delhi. She got herself enrolled in an open learning course (BA in Political Science) in Delhi University.
“No one in my family knew about it. I wanted to study further. After coming so far, I didn’t want to stop. I chose this course because there would be no regular classes, just one examination in six months. I thought I could make an excuse and give my examination,” she explains.A year ago, another opportunity came her way. Magic Bus’ programme had just begun in her locality. Pooja, a Youth Mentor, approached her with an offer: How would she like teaching children the importance of education through activities? “I loved the idea. I thought I could make use of my free time and teach children. But my mother refused to allow me to step outside. She was not comfortable with the fact that both boys and girls would come for these sessions." she explains. Pooja, however, succeeded in convincing her mother to send Nazmeen for the sessions. But, on the first day itself, her brother told her that such freedom is not ‘honourable’ for adolescent girls and strictly forbade her from going to the sessions ever again. “I was a Community Youth Leader for a day," she sighs. Pooja never lost touch with Nazmeen. She would often visit her and talk to her about her career plans. It was from Pooja that Nazmeen first heard about Magic Bus’ Livelihoods Centre. Pooja convinced her mother to send her for these classes, assuring her that she would be under strict supervision. Nazmeen started attending the training at the centre from November 2015. She started classes on life-skills, computer lessons and English literacy. The staff helped her plan her career ahead. But Nazmeen seemed to have hit a dead end. She didn’t want to dream any further.
“I was exhausted fighting at home. I knew I wouldn’t be allowed to do a job. I knew they were looking for a groom for me. I shared my problems with the counsellor. I shared my dream of becoming a teacher one day. She listened to me. She gave me the confidence to negotiate with my mother again. She assured me that she would even come to my house to meet my mother. I have never received such support from anyone in my life,” Nazmeen says.Nothing Nazmeen said could convince her mother to allow her to work. “She told me clearly that our neighbours would start looking down on my brothers if I start working outside. I was crestfallen. I thought my luck had run out,” Nazmeen says. The next day, she was surprised to find the Centre Coordinator and the Counsellor at her house; they spoke to her mother and brothers. “If it hadn’t been for them, I would have been stuck at home now. All my efforts would have gone in vain,” she says.
“I couldn’t believe it. For the first time, my mother was happier than me. She knew I could support her financially,” she says, adding, “I don’t fault her for being difficult with me all these years. She had never seen anything better during her youth. She was my sole confidante all this while. My father was never there for any of us, but she was.”Nazmeen gives a part of her salary to her mother and saves a small part for a teacher-training course. “I haven’t forgotten my dream yet; it is to be a teacher,” her voice sparkles with silent excitement as she looks forward to her dreams with renewed vigour. You can support Magic Bus by making a contribution at donate.magicbus.org or give a missed call at 1800-200-6858 and we will call you back!
“My work at Signal Shala is very different from my regular job. Here, we are working with kids who have been spending their entire days on the streets for so long now. They beg, sell things, and live with a burden of responsibility from a very young age. But after speaking with them and their parents, we also realised that the kids have the potential to learn a lot,” she says.The school starts at 11:00 am and Aarti’s delightful day begins with some of the children spotting her on the street and rushing over to wish good morning. “Earlier, the kids used to be disappointed or scared whenever they would see us. But now, even if they spot us across the road, they are excited about school starting soon,” she smiles.
She is now taking the Gurukul model to other districts of Uttar Pradesh and to other states too. By 2025, Pooja wants to touch the lives of a million children across the country. Pooja is running an online crowdfunding campaign to build classrooms for the children of Gurukul. You can contribute and help in educating these children. You can write to Pooja Mishra at - mishrap2012@email.iimcal.ac.in“We might not be able to produce IIT-ians from here but we’ll definitely bring out good citizens,” says a contended Pooja.
“Whether it is reading the news, learning a different language or booking tickets, most people tend to do these tasks using conventional methods. They are likely to hire a travel agent to book tickets, a teacher to learn a foreign language and buy a newspaper to read the news. We want to educate and empower people and let them know that a single PC can help them do a multitude of tasks, all from the comfort of home,” said Gupta.India is home to over 300 million internet users and this number continues to grow every day. But for a large chunk of the population, using the internet is an intimidating experience. “These days, mostly everyone, regardless of their socio-economic status, has direct or indirect access to the internet. But not all of these people have the knowledge to help them navigate this virtual world,” said Gupta.
“Our team checks every website that we list, personally,” said Gupta. “Websites are only listed if they meet some of our basic criteria. For instance, websites need to be user friendly and should be easy to navigate. They should also have a strong market in India or, in the case of e-commerce websites, should ship to India. Websites that allow users to choose from a range of regional language options while navigating the site are also given preference. ”Netsaar divides the websites it picks into over 60 categories, including travel, music, sports, shopping, parenting, literature and real estate. “Our primary aim,” explained Gupta, “is to simplify the surfing experience and help users save money, time and energy.”
“We came across research that said Indians use the internet largely for Facebook and Twitter. This means that other than social media, most Indians are still not making full use of the power of the internet,” said Gupta. “We believe this is solely because of a lack of awareness of what is available. ‘Netsaar Learns’ aims to change that.”Conceptualised by Gupta, Netsaar Learns was launched in August 2016. This section of the website uses simple and engaging video tutorials to teach users to navigate different websites. It also offers tips and tricks to make a user’s surfing experience more efficient. “While Netsaar is about telling users all the things they can do on the Internet, Netsaar Learns is about explaining to them how to go about it,” said Gupta. So far, the Netsaar Learns section of the website has 10 videos on various topics, including a tutorial on booking tickets online, online shopping, and using Whatsapp on a PC.
Thirty-nine-year old business head, Amit Vig, agreed: “Netsaar is very dependable and answers all the questions that come to mind. It is based on the ‘user first’ approach and pushes you to browse through the site every now and then, in the belief that you will learn something new and interesting with every visit. ”For the Netsaar team, the journey is only just beginning: “The Netsaar website is constantly upgraded and changed, with new and interesting features added on a regular basis. We are also looking at producing more tutorial videos. We have listed about 650 websites so far, 10 under each of our 65 categories, and we hope to create a tutorial video for every website listed,” said Gupta. “Our ultimate aim, however, is to help Indians make the most of the internet.” Click here to visit the website
E-base Kodagu educates students about sustainable development to develop empowered future leaders who can drive public policy and change.
It was quite literally at the end of the earth that the idea for E-base Kodagu was conceived, when Aarati Rao and Charulata Somal met in Antarctica at ‘Leadership on the Edge’ —a part of the International Antarctica Expedition, 2016 with Sir Robert Swan and the 2041 Foundation.Sir Robert Swan was the first person to walk to both Poles. An environmental leader and an advocate for the protection of Antarctica and renewable energy, Swan is also the founder of the 2041 Foundation which is dedicated to building the next generation of informed and engaged climate change leaders who can design policy for a more sustainable future.
Charulata and Aarati’s encounter was a veritable meeting of minds. The former is an IAS Officer of Karnataka Cadre, presently posted as the CEO of the Zilla Panchayat in Kodagu. She also runs the Titimathi Ashram School, a residential government school for tribal children in Kodagu. Rao, a Fellow at the Third Pole Education Base, where she ran a completely solar-powered, internet-enabled education base for the children of rural Ladakh, was no novice to climate change issues either.
In Antarctica, the duo had a truly unique experience, meeting many inspiring persons across nationalities and professions who were doing their bit for sustainability. They found themselves up close and personal with melting ice caps and stricken polar species, rising sea levels and loss of livelihoods - disasters of climate change that are so familiar to us, yet so distant and unreal.
“I learnt that we are drops in the ocean, but that each individual is unique and can make a real difference in society just like Robert Swan did," says Charulata.
Staying true to their word, in 2016, the girls established E-base Kodagu in Karnataka, the 5th E-base in the world, to provide quality sustainability education combined with environmental ethics and practical learning about sustainable development practices.
The E-base is located at the Tithimati Ashram School, nestled in the rich biodiverse region of the Western Ghats. The school is a residential school run only for local, tribal children. Charulata tells me that there is much scope for improving the education these children receive.
“My children should have a window to the world and become confident, conscientious children. They should learn to dream, and dream sustainably," she emphasises.
The curriculum is designed to empower children to become guardians of their natural heritage and address pertinent local issues such as man-animal conflict prevalent in the area, protecting the Kaveri river, water conservation and native tree preservation. It is an open and creative learning space for the community to learn about environmental conservation and drive change through activism and ownership. Its core values are integrity, passion and a lasting commitment to education for every child. Knowledge exchange and collaboration regularly takes place between with E-bases across the world.
The duo’s efforts have been successful in drawing support and guidance from the government, non-profits and citizens alike. “Our team consists of highly motivated individuals who have gone beyond their call of duty to make our dream a reality," beams Somal. They are partnering with the WWF to draw up a curriculum which is ambitious yet relevant. They also have Robert Swan and the 2041 Foundation and the SAI Sanctuary founders, Dr. Anil and Pamela Malhotra on their their advisory team.
E-base Kodagu also runs a 5-month Fellowship Program twice a year, bringing bright, young, motivated individuals to the school to understand the local grassroots level challenges pertaining to development, education, wildlife conservation, local governance and biodiversity. Fellows also lay the foundation of the E-base by helping to design an activity-based sustainability and life-skills curriculum besides working with the children using a multi-dimensional approach. They receive a fixed budget to procure resources deemed necessary for conducting the sessions and are expected to innovate and work frugally to optimise available resources.
The journey at the E-base is not be an easy one, warns Charulata. But, with each challenge faced, Fellows will grow, adapt to the situation and be equipped with more skills to pursue their passion in the field of education.
As we head towards a global resource crisis, manifesting as hunger, poverty, natural disasters, biodiversity loss and agrarian distress, the need for a sustainable development policy is more important than ever before in our history. A collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach is the only way forward in developing favourable policies that straddle ecocentric and anthropocentric approaches that will benefit local communities and the environment while fuelling economic growth. We live in a time when individuals are more aware and concerned about their environment, more connected to each other and more empowered than ever before to influence important strategic decisions.
Initiatives like E-base Kodagu are invaluable for educating citizens about the unsustainable nature of the current development paradigm, encouraging conversations about alternatives and developing empowered future leaders who can drive public policy, industry regulations and business goals in a way that is sustainable for all forms of life on the planet.
This article was originally published here.
For more such stories on environment and sustainable living, visit earthamag.org.
Started by three non-resident Indians, Ruby Nakka, Manoah Mohanraj and Thomas Mathew, it is a registered charitable trust. They grant admission to girls from weak financial backgrounds – either orphans or those with guardians who are unable to look after them. These students then live at Hope House, are admitted into government schools, receive tuitions, participate in other informal lessons, are admitted in colleges, and finally move out after they are 18 years old and are capable of gaining employment.
Ruby’s only role in the process was to set up the page and guide the girls. They decided the content for their respective pages themselves, approved the final write-ups, and wrote emails to their friends and well-wishers. Ruby also introduced them to Facebook, which helped in networking.
Ruby was living in the US when the thought of relocating back to India struck him. Having spent his childhood in a children’s home from Class 5 till his graduation, Ruby knew how the place had influenced his life. “It was the generosity of people that bought me to where I am today. And it would be unfair of me to not think of such children again when I am in a position to provide,” he says. He moved to India in 2006, Thomas relocated in 2009, and Manoah coordinates from the US. They have a team of 21 people and are working with 23 girls at present. Once the students reach Class 10, they receive counselling about the different fields of education they can take up, like science, engineering, arts, humanities and more. Based on their preferences, the team then guides them with college options, fees, etc.
“Some of these girls come from families where the father is alcoholic, or mother is living with HIV AIDS and they are not able to support their children. Our basic approach here is to think on lines of what I would want in the Hope House, if my child had to live here. And we work with this thought in mind,” concludes Ruby.
Find their crowdfunding pages 
Image for representational purpose only[/caption]
Other than producing these audio books, the NGO also conducts vocational training workshops on candle-making, tailoring, art and crafts etc., for visually impaired students from underprivileged backgrounds. These are accompanied by training sessions on spoken English, computers, personality development, etc. to enhance livelihood opportunities.
We4You was founded by a group of college students with the desire to help children from underprivileged backgrounds become independent. The team began with just two friends visiting orphanages to teach children. The founders Abhaya Mohanta, Bhabani Sankar Parida, Rajaram Biswal, and Devi Prasad Panda now have full-time day jobs but they continue to work for We4You as passionately as before. They have a core team of 12 members and a strong volunteer base across the country.
“Every child in India who is deprived of education must be helped to bring the best in him/her. Education is the basic right of every child. That is the vision with which we are working on this project. It feels great to see the smiles on the faces of students listening to the audio books. We4You is our passion and we hope our journey will continue,” concludes Abhaya.
“The video lectures focus on conceptual understanding of accountancy along with solved practical questions and detailed explanations. These video lectures have been prepared to include the concept, questions related to that concept and the solutions to those questions – all on the same screen. In this way, the user is able to correlate things in a better manner,” says Priya, who is a Charted Accountant by profession and is working on the website with a team of five people. This resident of Mumbai has now decided to quit her job and dedicate her time to AforAccounts. The other team members have day jobs and they volunteer whenever they are free.
After registering on AforAccounts, new users get access to the first few videos. For example, in a set of 16 videos, they first get access to only four. They have to then refer the website to three friends. When one friend registers on the website, the user gets access to another four videos, followed by another four, and so on. Users who cannot refer friends can call a number specified on the website, obtain a promo code and get access to all the videos in one go. Priya also provides promo codes to teachers and librarians, so that students who don’t own laptops or smartphones can still see the videos. The team came up with the referring model so that more students get a chance to know about the website. There is a comment section after each video for people to discuss their doubts too.
The website has over 1800 users and she receives constant feedback and appreciation from many of them. “A teacher from Punjab told me that in his one-hour-long lectures, he shows AforAccounts videos for about half an hour and then continues with the lesson, which is quite amazing. Students also write about how the videos are very helpful because they can have a look at them just before an exam and revise their lessons whenever they want," she adds, happy to have made a difference in their lives.
Gyan Shala conducts classes in urban slums to ensure the level of education there is at par with what is available in government and private schools. Starting with primary classes in ten slum locations in Ahmedabad, the organization has grown to nine cities across four states – including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. Gyan Shala teachers operate out of rented rooms in the slums so that children don't have to travel long distances to reach school. According to Pankaj Jain, one of the founding members, not having school buildings is a good thing – the organization is not constrained by real estate prices and maintenance coming in the way of quality education.
In eight of the nine states, they work only at the foundation-level wherein students join in Class 1, study till Class 3, and then apply for admission to mainstream government schools. The focus in these three years is on building their basic language, math and science skills. In Ahmedabad, Gyan Shala has built the model till class 10 – with a middle school programme from Class 4 to 7 and a high school programme from Class 8 to 10.
According to the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, only 35% of 
1. Daily interaction with students: The organization hires and trains formerly unemployed women for everyday teaching. These are women with strong interpersonal and communication skills. They come from the same communities as the children and have studied till Class 12. One teacher works with a group of 30 children and each child receives individual guidance and feedback. After their initial training, the teachers participate in curriculum design exercises and other teaching skills development classes. A two-week-long training course is also held every year.
“Independent organizations test our children. We then ask them to compare their learning levels with those of other students in regular schools. Earlier, we used to compare our students only with government school children. But now we compare them with students from some of the best schools in the country,” says Pankaj. The assessment tests include the ASSET Talent Search conducted by Educational Initiatives.
Children enrolled with the Gyan Shala centres have to pay nominal fees of Rs. 50-100 for the elementary programme and Rs. 100-200 for middle school. Children who cannot afford the fees are enrolled for free.
Registered as a charitable trust, Gyan Shala receives funds from partner organizations like the Michael Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF), Department for International Development (DFID), etc.
"Many of our students have gone on to join engineering colleges. Once their basics are in place, they feel motivated to continue. This further impacts the drop-out rates. Their success inspires us and helps us move forward," concludes Pankaj.
Embarking on a road less traveled[/caption]
A strong believer of ‘hope for the best and plan for the worst,' Sudipto took few days to achieve this feat and that too, because he got held up by intermittent landslides and torrential rains.
Beginning the journey from Kishtwar instead of Srinagar was a decision taken in the very last minute. From Kishtwar, he moved along the Kaza-Tabo-Bataal-Chandrataal-Keylong-Theog circuit, and crossed the Pangi Valley first and then the Lahaul-Spiti Valley to reach Uttarakhand.
Undaunted spirit![/caption]
This 5000 km solo Trans-Himalayan cycle ride that covers the entire Himalayan arc is something which has not really been attempted in its entirety. Many have cycled in the Himalayas, but a solo unaided ride stretching across the whole route, from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh at one single shot, through three different countries – this is definitely a first. Again, this journey is not just about cycling through the mountains. It is also about getting to know its people, understanding their culture and lifestyle; it is about building a relationship with them over these four months.
A journey for the children of the country[/caption]
This is not the first time Sudipto has been to the Himalayas. In fact, he has been in a relationship with the mountains for the last fifteen years. And he has seen, over the years, that in all circumstances, and especially where one has to live in constant war with natural forces, it is children who are the most vulnerable.
Access to opportunities that makes all the difference![/caption]
‘School the Spark’, the National Campaign held by CRY – Child Rights and You, addresses issues related to children’s education. The campaign, spread over three phases over the next six months, will focus on the challenges faced by children in accessing their basic right to education. When a child drops out of school, the potential of their abilities remains unexplored. Education ensures that this 'spark' in every child is revealed and nurtured further, giving them a platform to shine.
CRY has always believed in the power of the youth to bring lasting change. Young people like Sudipto are inspirational examples of how passionately the Indian youth can engage with the cause of child rights. Sudipto’s Trans-Himalayan ride for child rights will not only help generate awareness around the importance of education in the lives of children, but also help raise funds to ensure that thousands of children get their right to education.
Note:This is the first in the series on Ride for Child Rights journey. We will keep bringing you glimpses of Sudipto's journey as well as his discoveries on the issue of education and children through the course of his 'adventure for a cause!' You can follow Sudipto’s progress along the trail and to get real-time updates of his journey 
By the end of 2014, they quit their jobs and started ConnectEd Technologies, an education-technology company that aims to produce and provide tailor-made educational content to underprivileged kids through technology.
ConnectEd’s flagship product is a smart classroom system meant to aid teachers in classes using audio-visual content. It is a battery-operated, high definition projector that runs only on solar energy and can be operated by all teachers, including those who have no knowledge of computers. All a teacher has to do is switch on the device, navigate and find a multimedia educational content file, and play the audio visual chapter corresponding to what he/she is teaching that day.
This year, ConnectEd has started the EkShiksha campaign with the Education Ministry of Maharashtra to increase the reach of the product across the state. The campaign aims to bring together socially-responsible corporate organizations, NGOs, school management boards, and grassroots-level educators to bring better education to children in rural schools. The organization has a team of 27 people in their 20s. Like Lehar, Lavin too is a business administration graduate from NMIMS and, together with the team, they have self-funded the company.
“We have been receiving feedback from teachers that the product helps them improve the learning environment in class. Earlier, teachers would just read to the children from books in the class. Delivering lectures too was not very helpful. But the video content corresponds with what they are going to teach in class and children love it too,” says Lehar.
Know more about the campaign and ConnectEd, 
In her petition, Swati relied on a certificate issued by a doctor from the government KEM hospital, stating that children may suffer from backaches, spondylosis, neck pain, and other orthopedic problems if they continue to carry heavy bags regularly.
After a prolonged hearing, the Bombay High Court finally ordered on March 31, 2016, that schools should reduce the weight of the bags carried to schools by students.
The state issued a circular to schools, fixing the responsibility on principals and school management to follow the directive or face action for not obeying this rule. The circular is binding on all 1.06 lakh schools in Maharashtra.
Rugved Raikwar[/caption]
Rugved asked his uncle to confirm the news. He was surprised by the fact that even by July 2016, three months after the High Court’s order, the rule was not being followed by his school. He had to carry a bag weighing 4-5 kg to school every day.
Rugved discussed this with his schoolmate Paritosh and both kids pleaded their case with the Principal by writing a letter. However, there was no response from the school authorities. They also tried calling the Education Minister of Maharashtra but could not speak with him.
Rugved, who stays with his maternal uncle Mayur Raikwar in Chandrapur, had been to a press conference with his uncle once and seen how issues raised by the press often get resolved sooner that they would otherwise.
So he approached a local senior reporter named Mr.Pramod Kakde, along with his friend Paritosh. The kids expressed their desire to hold a press conference to talk about their grievances.
Rugved and Paritosh at the Press Conference[/caption]
Respected CM sir ,
My name is Nasreen Begum. I am a student of grade 7A studying in Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad.
A few weeks back I came to know about the RTE Act 12 ( 1 ) C. I was very impressed by how the government is doing so much to support children's education. But my happiness was short-lived when I researched about it on the internet and realised that our state is yet to implement the RTE Act 12 ( 1 ) C . Many people from poor families do not even know about it and how to apply for admission with RTE Act help .
I fully understand the impact this Act can make for all the children belonging to low-income families since I too belong to such a family which is struggling to pay the high amount of fee in private school. Due to high fee in private schools most children drop out from schools. Government schools are there but just because we are poor we should not be forced to go there only. I think children should have the right to choose the school they want to study in. Starting RTE Act in Telangana will help such children a lot. Also I think that our society is divided into 2 parts -- rich and poor. From whatever I learnt about RTE Act, I believe that this gap should be erased. When RTE Act is implemented, kids from both rich and poor families can study in same class which will help them understand each other better. When they understand each other's problems they will try to find a solution to make a better nation for all the people in the future.
I request you to please consider my request and implement the RTE Act 12 ( 1 ) C as soon as possible so that all the children can benefit from it. Please consider this as a request of all the children of Telangana.
Hope to hear a positive response from you soon.
With regards,
Nasreen Begum
7A, The Aga Khan Academy - Hyderabad.
Such legislations can improve the quality and efficiency of the education system in the state. They also allow for children from different socio-economic backgrounds to interact in a way that they are unhindered by barriers of class and caste.
"Though the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan is a very good plan from the government, it is limited to only government schools across India. It does not apply to private schools. Most of the government schools in Telangana teach the subjects in Telugu. Teachers in government schools do not show up for classes regularly," says Nasreen, adding, "I wanted to do this for two reasons. First, I come from a community of people who are auto-drivers and fruit vendors. My mother works as a domestic help and due to money problems my brother had to drop out of a private school. Everyone knows private schools charge very high fees. Second, there is a government school in Ramnagar but most parents don't send their children to such schools. These government schools do not even have computer systems. I'm lucky I got a scholarship to Aga Khan Academy but there are many children in our state who aren't as fortunate. All children should have the right to good quality education."
Help Nasreen by passing her message to the CM. Write to him at 
Nazmeen[/caption]
After three years, Nazmeen’s mother decided to follow her husband to Delhi. She had three children by then. With no source of income and little to no support from her husband, it became increasingly inconvenient for her to just depend on relatives.
Her struggles followed her to Delhi where she lived at the slum cluster, Anand Parvat, with her children. Her husband worked as an ice-cream vendor and earned a meagre income.
Nazmeen with her parents.[/caption]
Yet, Nazmeen’s father would give no more than Rs 500 to support his family. The rest of his income would go towards alcohol and gambling.
On a neighbour’s advice, Nazmeen’s mother decided to move to a juggi at Haiderpur, with her children. She also started working as a domestic help, earning Rs. 2,500 per month.
The family was saved from starvation; but the limited income still meant that Nazmeen's older brothers had to stop going to school and take up daily wage work at construction sites instead.
In her mother’s absence, Nazmeen’s older sister discontinued schooling and took up domestic responsibilities. At 17, Nazmeen’s oldest sister got married.
Nazmeen with her mother.[/caption]
Nazmen's mother at their house.[/caption]
Nazmeen paid her school fees from a scholarship she had won for her academic achievements in the tenth standard. “I came first in the 11th standard examination and scored 86% in my higher secondary examinations,” she says with a hint of pride in her voice.
Nazmeen knew her mother would not allow her to go to college, but wanted to make one last attempt to convince her. She requested her mother to accompany her to the school to collect her higher secondary report card. At school, her mother met Nazmeen’s teachers. All of them heaped praises on her daughter’s performance and appealed to her to let Nazmeen study further. But she was not convinced.
Nazmeen loves her books and notebooks.[/caption]
“For these kids and their parents, the signal is a place of business. They sell small items during peak traffic hours, and in the 4-5 hours in between, their parents send them to beg as well,” says Batu.
SBV is an NGO registered in Pune, which was started eight years ago with the aim of working for the upliftment of the downtrodden. The organisation started this school after several months of in-depth research. This included four detailed surveys in different time slots at four major signals in Mumbai. The survey helped the team determine how many children are present at the signals on a regular basis. After this, they spoke to the children's parents to find out more about their backgrounds and needs. “We found that many of these people used to be farmers in rural Maharashtra and had migrated to the city because of droughts. They had come here looking for a better life but ended up living and working at the signals for the past 20-25 years,” says Batu.
“We started more like a play school. The kids would be in class for 15 minutes or half an hour. We had to run after them, search for them at the signals, and bring them to school daily. But now they are more than willing to attend and are super enthusiastic about meeting their teachers every day,” smiles Batu.
Signal Shala has four full-time teachers, one attendant and several volunteers who keep dropping by at regular intervals to help in some way or the other. Two of the teachers have completed a course in early childhood training and one of them is an expert in curriculum design. Most of the children are in the age group 3-8 and they attend classes for about four hours each day. “Our teachers work with the students on more than just education. Right from cleaning them up to making sure they are not hungry, everything is taken care of and it is not easy at all,” says Batu.
Some of the kids who dropped out after primary school or Class 7 are given special classes so they can prepare for board exams in a few years. But the focus is not on turning every kid into a doctor or engineer. The team wants to prepare the children to earn decent livelihoods and to this end, they will conduct vocational classes and skill development programmes based on the interests and capabilities of the children.
Other than everyday classroom teaching, the teachers use software developed by Tata Technology that uses the audio-visual method to deliver the entire SEC curriculum from Classes 1 to 10. “It is easier to gain the attention of kids with the help of pictures and music. While initially the kids would not sit for more than 15 minutes during class, we are now able to conduct four hours of regular lessons,” says Batu.
Instead of just focusing on academic lessons, Signal Shala is also working on the all-round development of the kids. A health camp was organised at the school on the third day after its opening. It was found that most of the children were suffering from skin-related diseases and had vitamin deficiency as well, due to which they could not concentrate on their lessons for long.
Many young kids sleep in the school every day. They are also bathed, groomed and given proper meals at the school. “We use these activities to inculcate good habits in students. For example, the children are taught to wash their hands before they begin to eat. Many of them also had the habit of spreading their hands out whenever the attendant would serve them food. We taught them not to do this. And when they notice such things, they realise that the school is not just a place where they are told to study but is also meant for their personal welfare,” says Batu.
During the first few days of school, the kids received haircuts as well. The NGO also conducted a campaign for people to donate clothes and now the kids receive fresh clothes to wear after every few days. Additionally, the school volunteers help organise yoga, sports, and art and crafts lessons.
The NGO started the school with its own funds and the municipal corporation helped them set it up – the authorities arranged for the container, constructed an approach road for the kids to enter, and even installed a see-saw for the children to play after school hours. All of this was done with the idea of creating a school-like environment for the kids both inside and outside the 'classroom'.
According to Batu, one of the biggest impacts the school has had so far is that begging activity by the children has reduced by about 80%. “The best part is that even if some kid goes out to beg after school hours, the other kids complain to the teachers the next day. In this way, they have developed the spirit of policing within themselves as they understand why education, not begging, will help them shape their futures,” he says.
“After our research we realised we cannot start a school for such kids anywhere else other than at the signals because the kids cannot leave the signal and go. It was important to take the school to the kids directly. And we are giving them this environment so that the kids can feel the school is theirs; unless they do, the school will not develop,” emphasises Batu.
Aarti, who has been associated with the NGO for the past one year, was very excited about the idea of the school. “As a teacher, I think it is my duty to help those children whom we see selling flowers or toys at signals, reach school. For this, I participated in the initial surveys that SBV conducted at Teen Haat Signal and Cadbury Signal to understand the ground reality. And right after seeing these kids I made a decision that I will be teaching them. If they are able to learn a few things, become good human beings, and change the way they have been living so far, no one can stop this country from growing,” she says.
Aarti used to teach in a Marathi-medium private school prior to this. After obtaining her B.Ed and MA degrees, she joined a fellowship programme organised by a charitable organisation named Maharashtra foundation.
Aarti is happy that the children have started showing signs of change. While it was difficult to make them sit for even 15 minutes initially, they are now studying regularly for four hours every day.
“When we told the children about a marathon in which they recently participated, they were so overjoyed that they started preparing for it a day in advance. They cleaned their clothes, kept them ready, and were all pumped up for an early start the next morning. This type of enthusiasm is very encouraging for me as a teacher too. When parents of these kids talk about leaving the place and going somewhere else, they refuse by saying that school is here so they can’t leave. They also refuse to beg on the streets now, even if their parents ask them to. ‘We are ready to sell things if needed after school, but our teacher has told us not to beg,’ they tell their parents” beams a proud Aarti.
“I did not sit for the placements because that would leave me with an option to run back to, like a safety net. I had to make it happen at the village,” says Pooja.[/caption]
Gurukul was conceived as a school that would give the children of Purasi a much deserved chance to lead better lives. Pooja started the school with 23 children from underprivileged backgrounds. The school fee was set at Rs. 100 per month. “These hundred rupees from each student were not going to help with the expenses of running the school, but my team and I thought it shouldn’t be a free affair. Then, we realised there were families who were so poor they couldn’t afford even this small amount. That’s when we decided that Gurukul would teach the children free of cost and also provide them with stationery, books and uniforms,” says Pooja.
But Gurukul’s challenge was not just meeting the expenses of running the school. “We were dealing with not just education but a whole lot of social issues. Our children came from very poor backgrounds. They had siblings to take care of when the parents went out into the fields. The parents could not comprehend that their children should go to school every day; once or twice a week was good enough for them. Many children were not used to being clean or taking baths daily. We had to start from such very basic things,” says Pooja.
In the last four years, Gurukul has been able to bring about commendable changes, especially in bringing confidence to the faces of the children. The school had started with just 23 children, but the number of kids studying at Gurukul has risen to 1000 today. The medium of education is English and the school has qualified teachers who come in from Rae Bareilly. There is a computer lab in the school, equipped with used computers gifted by a software company. There is a library, of a kind that is unimaginable in a low-income village like Purasi.
But reaching this stage was not easy. There was a time when Pooja found herself on the verge of closing down Gurukul. “I found myself unable to run the school with the little funds that I had and the expenses that the school incurred. We were struggling to make ends meet and shutting down seemed like the only option. But when the children came running to me asking when the school would reopen after the summer vacation, I couldn’t tell them that it might not. That’s when I thought of reaching out to my batch mates from IIM Calcutta. And to my greatest relief, they supported Gurukul with an overwhelming response.” They not only helped raise funds but are also mentors to the children at Gurukul now.
Ginni Khemani, Khanak Gupta, Monish Khemani[/caption]
Studies show that PC shipments in India totalled around 2.6 million units in 2015, a 10.6% increase when compared to 2014. More than 80% of youth in Tier 1 cities consider PCs a one-stop information source, an unsurprising fact, given that computers open the doors to the internet for most users in India.
“The link between PCs and the internet is only increasing with every passing day, and both have played a significant role in our lives,” said co-founder of Netsaar, Khanak Gupta.
The team members at Netsaar first learnt how to operate a computer during their school days. “Surfing the internet was one of our common interests,” remembered Gupta. “Our exposure and experience to PCs helped us realise that there is a great divide between what can be achieved using these devices and what these devices are actually used for. Netsaar aims to bridge that gap.”
The online portal is essentially teaching the masses how to make the most of a PC.
The Netsaar team uses online tools to determine the websites most used by Indian users, as well as websites that are popular globally. The team then studies the needs and wants of the Indian audience and formulates a list of websites, placing them in different categories and subcategories.
Although Netsaar has greatly helped simplify the Indian user’s surfing experience, its latest initiative aims to take things a step further. The company wants users to not only consume but also create relevant content through this knowledge of the internet. Given the increasing number of PC users in India, the potential for change is immense, particularly in rural areas. From digital classrooms to e-governance initiatives, the possibilities are endless.
“We believe the videos will be useful to those who are still new to the internet as well as those who are fairly tech-savvy, since the latter can use the videos to learn about new facets of well-known websites and internet services,” explained Gupta.
Although Netsaar Learns was launched recently, it has already garnered a loyal following – the videos are played more than 400 times a day. “Raipur, Sonipat, Hisar, Kota, Bhubaneshwar, Nagpur, Lucknow, Noida, Karnal…” Gupta listed. “We have people logging in from these Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities on a regular basis.”
Robert Swan at an E-base[/caption]
Aarati Rao (left) and Charulata Somal (right)[/caption]
The environs of E-base Kodagu[/caption]
