On a journey to solve one of the most complex issues in India - bringing out of school children back on a lifelong journey path!

Background

I have spent the last 3 years of my life, working on a very complex issue - ensuring that out of school children are brought back to schools. Having battled with so much last three years, trying to design contextual content for the children, mentoring and coaching teachers coming from different backgrounds and finally then working on everything along with the team at TAP India Foundation, suddenly the pandemic hits all of us. Personally, the pandemic jolted me to a level where I started questioning everything. All the curriculum that was designed couldn't be implemented as the schools got shut.  

I had switched to a consulting role with TAP India Foundation last year in October. Since then until the start of the lock-down, I was involved in designing curriculum, training and coaching teachers (as part of my consulting role). I spent a lot of time on building something so important and significant. Because of the school closures, I witnessed teachers' own emotional struggles and yet they had the will and the heart to do something meaningful with the children. I was truly moved with the intent that they all had and I must say that it was extremely difficult for them to be able to do whatever they were doing but they still persisted. I volunteered my time with them, spoke with them in the beginning, called them to check on them and also started a Teachers' series on YouTube - "How can we make our each day count?" As part of the series, I made 30 videos for Teachers. Each video had a specific idea as to things they could do at home so they all feel positive, connected and motivated to learn new things.

Constant Questioning

In the background, my own thinking and constant questioning on 'What can be done for the children in these tough times?' continued. And I wondered about children in rural communities who really do not have resources or proper internet bandwidth. So, as a small pilot I started making short audio lessons and implemented them with children around me just to see how much it works. Some of these children really enjoyed the lessons as the audios had specific concrete activities that they could do, at home.

The Hope

On further thinking, I decided to build this further. However, I needed a team along with me to make this possible. And so I started pitching for 'Audio Based Learning' to a number of organizations which were looking to fund interventions around providing support to under-served communities in these tough times. And fortunately, the Mercatus Centre at George Mason University liked the idea and decided to fund the initiative so I could bring it from 0 to 1. George Mason was recommended to me by a dear friend.

The Process

The news from them gave me so much hope. I started hunting for people I could work with. Something that I always was particular about the fact that it was important for me to work with youth from under-served communities as when it comes to understanding communities, they are the ones who understand them the best. Initally, I got a great support from two interns from TISS.  They worked with me for a month and then post that I was privileged to get Alohomora Alums work with me on the project. 

Being Alohomora Fellows, they have rich exposure of working in under-served communities with XIth and XIIth graders and they wanted to explore and learn in the Education sector. That is where I felt that an opportunity like what I had with me, would be a great next step for them. 

Suno aur Seekho via Youth Teacher Leaders

And, so I went from recruiting one to two to finally having four Alohomora Alums working with me dedicatedly to design Suno aur Seekho. By this time, my thinking of the 'Audio Based Learning' also evolved and we started designing what we call our program now - 'Suno aur Seekho'. Suno aur Seekho basically are short audio lessons for children (aged 6 to 10 years) to build their foundational literacy and numeracy skills. It has lessons aligned with the state curriculum and is designed to generate curiosity and build conceptual understanding through hands-on activities. The audio program is complemented with a workbook that is delivered to each child, and has visuals for each audio lesson for better understanding of concepts.

We were able to kick start the program in village Purkhas Rathi in Haryana with 16 children in the first week. With the same program, we are now at a 150 children in Haryana. What also happened in this journey was our decision to engage local youth from Purkhas Rathi so they facilitate lessons with children everyday and also keep track of their learning. We started in village Ghatampur via a youth leader located close to that village. We call these leaders 'Youth Teacher Leaders'.

The Growth

So, 5 months down the line, we became a team of 8 people working full time on the project, and we received help from so many Volunteers who showed interest in picking up different aspects of the program and supporting the team. Some of these volunteers have just passed school, some are still pursuing college and some are working. All of them wanted to do something meaningful in these tough times and so they collaborated with us. In these 5 months, we have been able to almost finish one whole year of audio lessons for children for both Hindi and Math (for grades 1 to 5) with an aligned workbook for both the subjects and all the five grades.

Moving Ahead - Fellowship and Creating an Ecosystem via Partnerships

Next year, we all have bigger plans. While Suno aur Seekho will be leveraged as a ready TLM (Teaching Learning Material) for Youth Teacher Leaders to engage with out of school kids and support them in their foundational learning, we are planning to launch a Fellowship Program which would build the skills of many other such youth leaders so they dedicate themselves towards engaging out of school children in their communities and bring them back on a lifelong path of learning. The Fellowship will primarily engage such youth, tap on their existing strengths, enhance their leadership skills and contextual programs will be designed to ensure that children nowhere (where ever we begin) are left out!

The Fellowship alone, however, won't solve the problem. Consider, children from the families of migrant workers, for instance. Do we think that permanent schooling is a feasible solution for these children? NO! Because, they will keep relocating from one place to the other along with their families. Will a Fellowship model alone will help these kids? NO! We need to do something more! We need to create a support structure which can ensure an ecosystem for out of school children (OoSC) and their families wherever they go! For this ecosystem, we want to partner with other grassroots organizations across the country and ensure that via them we are able to map the support for OoSC and their families where ever they go! That is what we are aspiring to do! :)

My Overall Learning so far

1. Tapping on the power of community to design contextual interventions help.

2. With a team having the right intent and the heart, big problems begin to look small.

3. With the right intent, you need the right resources and consistent efforts to solve the problem.

4. Starting is easy, maintaining the same requires constant nudge and thinking. It is a tough process.

I look forward to sharing more, as the journey is further explored. 

One day! 

Acknowledgement is a sign of Compassion

Acknowledgement is a sign of Compassion

There is something that keeps bothering me in general. I thought of writing about it today and sharing something really heart-felt. This article is not meant to point anyone or anybody’s traits - a lot of times it is hard to comprehend and understand the situation of others, and so this article is just a perspective on something that I personally feel is very important and crucial - especially in times like these when everything seems uncertain! 

All of us these days are so tied up - with so much - trying to manage our lives at different layers, learning to live it in a way which is completely different from what it looked like a few months back. In this life, I think one should not forget to acknowledge. 

Acknowledgement looks like a hard thing to do, since we all have such busy lives. But sometimes, I think what we forget is the fact that others are busy too and yet they are taking out the time to reach out to us, or talk to us or send us an email or just staying in touch with us - all of that needs an acknowledgement. It is a sign that you care for someone’s attempt of staying in touch with you. Your acknowledgement is a sign that you feel the same way the others are feeling, it is a sign that the person’s attempt to stay in touch with you in these uncertain times is special and is appreciated. An acknowledgement means so much more! It is a small thing but is a sign of compassion, a sign of the basic belief that all of us are in this together and that something will come out of it. One definitely should attempt to - 

Acknowledge the little efforts,

Acknowledge someone’s email by responding back to it,

Acknowledge someone’s message by responding back it,

Acknowledge a situation by observing it, 

Acknowledge the good or even the bad, 

Acknowledge the happiness or the sadness by letting yourself out, 

Acknowledge a lot more! 

It is not necessary to always respond right at that moment. It is not always necessary to acknowledge with details. When you are busy, write it and say that you will get back, explain yourself a little so the other person does not feel left out. When you cannot get back, say that too. It is not always necessary to reply positively, or reply with what the person wants. But do acknowledge. Say that the perspective/thought/the talk is heard. Listening to someone requires courage too. When you are missing that courage, say that too! It is then, when people truly understand. It is then, when people do not feel left out.

Of all things happening, one does not want to feel left. That is the worst feeling to give someone. 

So, please acknowledge! It is a sign of compassion! :) 

Reflection from my Webinar Session today - Small Stories, Big Messages!

Small Stories, Big Messages! 

Here is a small story that I read out to teachers today in my Webinar session with them. Everyone should definitely give it a read - 

At the point where Christina says out the proxy attendance for her friend Sangitha and when Ms. Sudha finds out that the attendance has been said by someone else, I asked my teachers - "What would have been your reaction towards Christina if you were at Ms. Sudha's place?" All of them thought for a little while and most of them replied back saying that they would not really appreciate it and that giving a proxy attendance is not the right thing to do! I heard their perspectives and then read further. 

When they found out that Ms. Sudha actually just did not say anything to Christina and asked her to sit back again in the classroom, they all got the important message themselves - 

"Education is a combination of many things. And that it can never be imparted without faith, forgiveness, and second chances."

Such a bold and a powerful message this is! I further asked the teachers if they could relate this message with their own classroom experiences. And so they started thinking about children who deserve more from them! All children deserve a lot from us - that is what I am deriving for myself from the story! 

I will be reading out more such short stories in the upcoming webinars! You can also join me and inspire all of us at 'Fridays with Raman'! 

Questions....

Why grow up?!?!

Something caught my attention on a red light today - 

It was fun watching the child have fun with the tree. This is a busy street, yet he found something fun for him to do! 

Makes me think - why does one ever need to grow up?!?! Being able to have fun in a busy, polluted, crowded street like this makes this child a grown up, anyway! 

*Deep Thoughts*

Appreciating the small things in life! :)

Here's to the small moments! 

It is very important to appreciate small moments around yourself! I am liking the new me - have lost considerable amount of weight, my self-discipline with my new habit - everyday 3 kilometers walk (and it has been more than a month now!), and self-control on a few things I have been badly wanting to do (which includes blasting someone with my anger :X)! And I have been sick as well since last few days (I think that is because of the anger) - not liking this though! 

It is only when you start appreciating these small moments, you really start living your life more happily! So here goes mine!

I was on my way back from office in the metro, when something caught my attention - 

Yes, this was how the sky looked like, sometime last week! And the data said that this was one of the cleanest days in Delhi - air wise! I had a big smile looking at the delightful sky and its glory! And that very moment, I said to myself - 

Dear Sky, love you to the moon and back! 😊😊

I spent my last Saturday, with a friend from Barefoot College, Tilonia! I picked him up from the airport, took him home, got him to meet my family and then we both set out to roam around Delhi! Accompanied him to Hauz Khas Fort, then Deer park, then India Gate, saw the War Memorial there, then CP where we went to Oxford Book Store and Nando's! 

The thing which moved me the most that day was the time I spent at the War memorial. I saw a lady whose husband had lost his life fighting for the country. She had come to pay her tribute to all the soldiers - and I just could not get away with thinking about the emotions she must be going through - thinking about her husband who had lost his life too! Could not even imagine how it would have been for her! And she stood there upright, confident! *Speechless* Hats off! 

Then I met another friend - who is becoming a TFI Fellow now. Wished him all the very best for his journey ahead!

And this is what we had together -

Yummm! 

To life! To the small moments! :)

To Madan and more! 

~To Life~

I recently visited OELP - Organization for Early Literacy Promotion, in Rajasthan! It was a learning trip that I did with my colleagues from TAP India. Those of you who I have met in person, or spoken randomly post this trip - you all know how fantastic an experience it was! Right from the peaceful environment we were in, to the food we ate, to the classrooms we saw, to everything and anything that was a part of the trip - I must say that I truly am blessed that I got the chance to be there! 

The trip got me to reflect so much - think and experience inclusion from a different angle. I even suggested KD to get his team here (only if he takes my suggestions seriously - although I meant for him to make the trip with me first, but anyway! - he is a different story, altogether!) The trip got me to see teachers from a completely different lens! The trip got me to experience the saying - "It takes one entire village to raise a child!" The trip got me to experience what working on ground is like, what knowing each child in actual sense means, what caring for all children actually mean, and so much more! And I got to experience a live classroom teaching by this wonderful soul - Madan! 

Madan is 12th pass, and is from the same community as the children in his classroom. He studied in one of the night schools of his village and according to him - he is one of those rare persons from his village who have studied until the 12th grade. The classroom upon entry, gave me a very normal feeling - of course it was aptly print rich, not overdone at all, with a dari for the children to sit! But what followed next inside the classroom, was something that left me awestruck! 

Madan started with a circle time, the students greeted each other, energizers were done, calendar was discussed - and with the calendar it seemed that he covered a lot of other Math concepts. Then he did a read aloud session, with all children completely captivated in the story - feeling sad when something wrong had happened, feeling genuinely happy when something good had happened in the story. He let his children lie down in the class, they spoke anything that their heart wanted to say, they participated in every small activity that Madan had planned for them and they took tremendous pride in showing us that they could read - any book that they were given! :) I saw such joy on their faces! 

I generally have a lot to say when I observe classes like this - but seeing this class, I literally just wanted to be silent and just embrace the moment - how seamlessly he transitioned from one concept to the next, how seamlessly he just happened to have done and discussed so much with the children in the class - it seemed like a perfect place to meditate for me! 

After finishing the class, Madan walks confidently towards us and asks for a feedback. I literally did not want to write anything in his feedback notebook - I just wished him all the very best for his journey in the sector and for making things so easy for his children! 

On my way back from the school to the place where we were staying, I just thought of one thing - I want to feel the same sense of satisfaction as probably Madan would be feeling post the end of his class with his kids! It is so important to feel this accomplished everyday in the sector we are working in! It's like saying everyday to yourself towards the end of the day - "Today, I left no stone untouched/unturned to make things possible for my children I work with!" 
I think all organizations working in this sector should be able to say this everyday! And that's when we will be able to achieve something for our kids in the society! 

I so wanted to write about Madan ever since I came back from OELP.  I had shared my reflections and notes with a few people earlier, but I waited to find the right time to write about him - so I could write my exact feelings! 

The second part of my blog is about my sickness  - since last 4 to 5 days, and I know the exact reason why! Just waiting for the mid next month to come asap! And meanwhile, let me traverse this road, confidently! :) 

To Life! 

To Realizations!

To More! 

And to kids!

Me engrossed in a story telling session with the kids in the community!