Paathshala Initiative Prakriti (Equal Opportunity for Urban Poor) : With centers running at Sukhrali village, Surat Nagar, and a center coming up in Wazirabad we are currently providing Non – Formal education to around 400 children with plans to provide the same to over 1,000 children by next year.
The project is simple, we prepare the child for formal education and as soon as she/he is ready for the formal education, we get her/him admitted to school and ensure that they continue the studies smoothly. The center in Surat nagar and Sukhrali village is running for over 3 years now and has seen many success stories in the short span of time. The project called, “Paathshala Initiative” is a step to educate the children from backward sections of society, and empowering them to lead a better life in the future. To take this campaign further, we are starting one more school, the center will be a school in Wazirabad village supporting over 200 children, from Rag Picker families in phase 1 and over 500 in Phase 2. These children lead a life of poverty and malnourishment, often deprived of even the basic amenities like proper clothes and shelter. The majority of these children come from Rag Picker families, which are bound in the cruel cycle of chronic poverty.
The details of the project are as under:
1. Admission of children (filling an admission form with two photographs. ID proofs of parents of Indian citizenship, Permanent address and temporary address).
2. After deciding on the number of students, books, stationary and other requirements are arranged.
3. Children pay a nominal fee of Rs. 50 - Rs. 100 per month in which they get all the books, stationary, sweets, gifts/prizes, teaching facility, recreational activities like One movie per week and field trips/picnics.
4. The children are taught by teachers trained out of the community (paid between Rs. 1500/- to 3500/-) and the seniors (class 10-12) by professional teachers.
5. Monthly health check up camps are organized for the children and their families. The number of children we expect to reach, from the project, by the end of the year are over 1,000 and we have applications for about 500 more from nearby areas. (The potential in some areas is more than 4,000 children)
