28Jul

Engaging and Empowering parents for children’s holistic development in this Educational NGO in Bangalore

July 28, 2022 makkalajagriti 1

Engaging and Empowering parents for children’s holistic development in this Educational NGO in Bangalore

Children learn every day, in every environment that they are in. Parents are their children’s first educators, and how parents support their children’s learning and development makes a huge difference. Schools provide the formal structure for education and parents shape their children’s values, attitudes, skills, and approaches to learning.

Parent engagement in learning starts from early childhood and continues as children move through school and beyond.We know from the research that significant benefits are possible through strong parent-school partnerships. Schools with effective parent engagement are more likely to increase academic achievements and student wellbeing and improve lifelong outcomes.

Makkala Jagrit (MJ) i, a Bangalore-based NGO for children follows an eco-system approach for improving access to quality education for children from marginalized communities. MJ considers parents as key stakeholders in children’s holistic development and engaging with parents is, and has always been, at the heart of working with children for Makkala Jagriti, although an Educational NGO.

Why is engagement more important for parents from disadvantaged communities?

The parents that Makkala Jagriti works with are from socio-economically disadvantaged communities who face a number of socio-economic challenges in supporting the upbringing of their children. A majority of them lack adequate exposure or background to support their children’s academic, social and emotional needs. As a result, the learning and development of children are compromised. It is important to work with them to ensure there is a conducive and supportive environment at home with positive relationships between the child and the parents.

Traditional Parental engagement in schools

Traditional Parental engagement in low-income schools or government schools is through Parent-Teacher meetings which happen on a quarterly or half-yearly basis where the student’s progress is discussed. Some teachers go beyond and do community visits where they visit the homes of the students and meet with the parents.

However, often there is a tendency for the school to act from a position of authority or knowledge. The school system and teachers do not treat parents as equal partners. They often blame the parents for the children’s behavior or performance without a good understanding of the realities of parents or providing any support on how parents can play their role differently.. Parent-teacher meetings often end up being a meeting to complain about the child.

How is Makkala Jagriti’s approach to parental engagement different?

Makkala Jagriti follows several engagement models to work with parents, at the heart of which lies the following principles which would be useful for anybody who wants to work with parents from disadvantaged communities.

Being empathetic and understanding the realities of the parents’ household helps connect better and relate to parents
Creating a safe, non-threatening and non-judgmental space where parents feel free to openly discuss, share and learn is key
Treating them with dignity and respect makes parents willing to participate and engage
Being Facilitative, not prescriptive is important to make sure we are not talking down and preaching but merely nudging and facilitating and respecting their wisdom
Equiping, Enabling and Empowering parents with the necessary Knowledge, Skills and Attitude is the most important aspect which will give them the confidence to be more to be more effective as parents and create safe conducive environment at home for their children

This is done through a variety of engagement models with parents including day long workshops, residential 3-day workshops, Parents’ meetings in schools and Anganwadis, videos for parent empowerment, community visits and 1:1 conversations in schools.

Parents-using-simple-teaching-aids-at-home

Changes we have seen in parents

Over the years, Makkala Jagriti has worked with thousands of parents and seen several mindset shifts and behaviour shifts some of which are –

Parents are more effectively involved in their child’s learning and overall development and spend more time with their children
Parents understand their own role as a parent and their own parenting styles
Parents are more self-aware by knowing their self-worth, strengths, limitations, and values and also aware of their own biases, stereotypes, assumptions, and mental models
Parents have taken steps to create a conducive environment at home for the child’s learning and development
There is increased trust and empathy towards their children
Parents recognize that every child is unique and support their child’s education, learning and holistic development
There is improved communication between the school and the parent

When schools, parents, caregivers, and communities work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, learn well and receive a strong foundation for their future.

30Jun

A Brand New Yuva Café: Growing Makkala Jagriti’s Youth Outreach!

June 30, 2022 makkalajagriti 2

A Brand New Yuva Café: Growing Makkala Jagriti’s Youth Outreach!

The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. At Makkala Jagriti, we ﬁrmly believe that empowering youth from marginalized communities to discover their potential can bring social transformation. We set up Yuva Cafés – spaces for the youth & by the youth where youth from diﬀerent communities can congregate and access opportunities to learn and grow.

In June 2022, we opened a new Yuva Café in Gopalapuram, not too far from Bengaluru’s Majestic bus station. This is Makkala Jagriti’s third Yuva Café, after our Malleswaram and Halasuru locations, since the inception of our flagship youth empowerment program Yuva Jagriti in 2017. The Yuva Café is a safe space for youth to explore self-expression, interests and engage in various activities.

While there are many programs designed to elevate youth from under-resourced backgrounds towards their socio-economic upliftment, our direct work experience in urban poor settlements in Bangalore over 18 years reveals a harsh reality. Most often, we find these youth opting out of jobs, unable to sustain and leverage opportunities presented to them. These jobs do not match their aptitude, interest or skills, leaving them frustrated and disappointed. Efforts at building employability in youngsters do not nurture their emotional intelligence or life skills, which could help them to find fulfillment in their work and thus sustain a vocation.

Our youth program – Yuva Jagriti – is anchored in the belief that capacities can be built to understand and achieve their dreams, through well-rounded self-development, and not just vocational training. The Yuva Café serves as a platform that provides them access to opportunities to fulfill their aspirations and also prepares them for life by equipping them with the necessary life skills.

A visit to a Yuva Café would reveal a wide variety of courses that contribute to youth development and empowerment. Programs in Computer Literacy, proficiency in Spoken English and Life Skills are among the popular draws for youth, and these programs are available for them without any prerequisites.

Students who have discontinued school studies owing to a variety of circumstances have the opportunity to seek support at our Yuva Cafés, do what’s needed to catch up on their studies, and gain guidance on available pathways that match their interests.

With a growing library, a computer lab and everyday sessions this space aims to facilitate the youth of the community to achieve their aspirations. For youth from marginalised communities, this is something of great importance, considering opportunities for education and personal growth are still far from accessible.

Through the Yuva Cafés, our Yuva Jagriti program has reached more than 1,000 youth over the last five years, with discernible outcomes:

They have become role models and change agents within their communities.
They have grown in their leadership qualities and are able to work together and come up with solutions to problems.
There is greater emotional stability and control.
They are able to enter the mainstream workforce and sustain themselves in their positions.

At the end of the day, all our youth need is an environment that enables freedom of expression and promotes confidence, and this environment must be run by the youth, for the youth. That is the essence of our Yuva Cafés.

24May

Building Capacities Within

May 24, 2022 makkalajagriti 0

Building Capacities Within

We’re rich here at Makkala Jagriti – with over 130 full-time employees bringing with them a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Imagine the myriad inputs that come in with a singular focus in mind – holistic development of children and youth. Of course, as time goes, needs change – needs of our children, needs of our organization, needs of our society. To keep up with these evolving needs, Makkala Jagriti, an NGO for children in Bangalore, is committed to continuous improvement and capacity building of its team members.

So, what do we mean when we say “capacity building”? As the words suggest, we can define capacity building as the process of developing and strengthening skills, abilities, resources, and processes that individuals and organisations need to adapt and thrive in a fast-paced world. Each and every one of us in the organization gains tremendously from such capacity building exercises. Not only are we well-equipped to grow in the positions in which we are and the tasks we are assigned to do, there is a huge amount of personal development that comes along with these exercises.

Joy Srinivasan, Founder and Chairperson of Makkala Jagriti, says, “Continuous investment in building capacity in the team at Makkala Jagriti at all levels has resulted in the teams’ greater understanding of the organisation’s core purpose, values, culture and ethos without gaps. In turn, it has resulted in the teams working with great awareness of self, and an interpersonal and system-level understanding; irrespective of what roles they play in the organisation. The Makkala Jagriti team exhibits a high level of commitment, passion and accountability in their day-to-day tasks, ensuring efficiency in achieving the organisation’s goals year on year.“

An example of the type of personal development and capacity development exercise we conduct is a series of workshops we organized for our Coordinators. Coordinators at Makkala Jagriti are the bridge between program decisions and program implementation. Coordinators ensure that changes, developments and improvements are communicated to the field teams in the way they are intended. The aim of conducting a workshop for Coordinators is to also help them embark on a track towards leadership.

“Coordinators at Makkala Jagriti play a significant role – they think collectively with their managers about program plans, and work with the field level staff to implement these plans efficiently. Hence, building capacities for this level is very critical. Each Coordinator transforms into a better leader with a proper understanding of self, attitude, required knowledge to play the role, and owning smart skills to hand-hold the team. This brings in a paradigm shift in the organisation for best practices in program management and implementation at the field level“, says Ms Srinivasan.

Since 2003, Makkala Jagriti has recognized the importance of, and invested in, personal development. This practice has propelled an NGO for children like Makkala Jagriti towards the kind of organization that continuously supports teams to rejuvenate, innovate, and shed inhibitions – all the while playing their roles with clarity, interest, commitment, and passion. When people thrive in an organisation, the organisation further thrives in achieving its core purpose and goals. “It is for these reasons that I wish organisations prioritise investing in ‘people development’ as it is the people that form the organization,” says Ms Srinivasan.

29Apr

Summer Camp – Sounds Like Fun, But Why Have It?

April 29, 2022 makkalajagriti 0

Summer Camp – Sounds Like Fun, But Why Have It?

Summer holidays are an exciting time for children. That very moment the last bell of the day rings, children throwing their bags up in the air and screaming with joy… all to set off a few weeks of play, fun, and a whole lot more. This is the story of children all over the world, and the children studying in government schools supported by Makkala Jagriti, an NGO for Education, are no different.

After a tough year negotiating the transition between learning at home, returning to the classroom, and getting back to speed with the regular lessons. However, it’s tremendously important to keep children engaged with some activity to stimulate them and their development. Year after year, we organise Summer Camps so our children in various forms. This year, it was special – after a two-year-long gap, children could finally get back to summer camp in person.

Summer Camps, as we organise them, have a multitude of activities. We have them all – from arts and crafts to sports, from singing and dancing to showing movies, from outdoor games to spelling bees.

Why do we do this, though? What are the benefits of organizing summer camps in the first place? It’s important to be conscious of the advantages of such camps and the impact they have on our children:

Improved social skills

Summer camps promote interactions between children outside of the classroom. Beyond the limits of academic achievement, summer camps bring children together to feel a great sense of community. Children also build an appreciation for individual differences and get to celebrate diversity among themselves.

Teamwork

Team-based activities, such as sports and quizzes, and similar competitions that rely on collective thinking, encourage children to find ways to contribute and hear their peers out. There is a lot of character built within children when they acknowledge the role each team member must play. Rather than finding ways of dealing with tasks on their own, children will see the value of teamwork as a solution.

Confidence and Self-esteem

For children, painting their first piece of art, writing their first story, crafting their first mask – these foster a sense of achievement from creating something new, something they can be proud of. Summer camps allow children to find a new talent and grow within it. When they find joy in doing something new, it goes a long way in increasing their self-esteem and confidence.

Independence

Time spent at summer camp is the child’s own time – time away from school and time away from parents. This is a crucial time as children begin to build their own identities and explore their interests and strengths. Such independence leads to responsibility and encourages exploration, and educational NGOs in Bangalore, like Makkala Jagriti, provide children with a safe and vibrant environment to make decisions independently.

Resilience

Resilience is an important life skill. Activities with challenges that allow children to not succeed, find ways to overcome disappointment, and figure out how to overcome these challenges build up resilience in children and teach them the value of effort and determination.

Intellectual engagement

When children are away from any academic engagement, there is a danger of being cut off from any mental stimulation, even if it is for a few weeks. To ease the transition between their academic years, children need to be involved in intellectually stimulating activities, like our vocabulary and spelling competitions.

Moving away from screens

Now, this is a big one. Playtime has gradually been replaced by screen time, and that does not bode well for children’s long-term health – immediately too, we observe risks of sluggishness. We at Makkala Jagriti design Summer Camp activities to ensure a lot of fun while being “hands-on”… “eyes-off” any screens, of course!

Being one with nature

Many of our activities are connected with nature. In fact, that’s the theme of Makkala Jagriti’s Summer Camp 2022: the Five Elements of Nature – Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Sky, and the activities we designed would help children get curious about nature, climate, and science in general! Being close to nature allows children to get physically active and creative, with natural materials forming the basis of any art or craft project they begin.

Finding purpose

Children feel a deeper connection with their community through Summer Camp activities like singing, dancing, or playing sports. As a result, children grow up to value community highly and may feel more inclined to impact the world around them positively. In addition, community involvement provides children with a sense of belonging, combats loneliness, and improves overall well-being.

With so much going on at Summer Camp, boredom is no longer an excuse! Have you been to a Summer Camp as a child? What’s your favourite memory? Write to us and tell us all about it!

30Mar

Early Childhood and the Pandemic – How an NGO for Education Steps Up

March 30, 2022 makkalajagriti 2

Early child development sets the foundation for lifelong learning, behaviour, and health. The experiences children have in early childhood shape the brain and the child’s capacity to learn, setting the pace for school readiness and eventual adulthood.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic through a spanner in the works with closure of Anganwadis (government pre-schools) which caters to over a quarter of India’s children between the ages of 3 and 6.

Although COVID-19 has not been considered a “children’s disease”, when we consider all aspects of young children’s development, the profound implications of the pandemic are evident. COVID-19 not only suspended normal childhood activities such as attending pre-school, interacting with extended family and friends, playing outdoors, and exploring nature but also disrupted the consequent socio-emotional benefits from children’s engagement in these experiences.

Makkala Jagriti, an educational NGO in Bangalore, recently organized a panel discussion on “Repercussions of COVID-19 on Early Learning and Development” with experts from the field of Early Learning and also from the Department of Women and Child Development. This was a discussion on observations, risks and remedies – an acknowledgement of difficulties that arose and the efforts made to curb them.

Impact of the pandemic on Early Childhood Care and Education

With Anganwadis closing, and young children staying at home, they were entirely relying on caregivers to meet not only their home needs but also all their developmental needs. This added burden on families to balance childcare and work responsibilities, compounded by economic instability and social isolation in many cases, is fertile ground for home environments characterized by toxic stress.

Anganwadis provide children with a holistic exposure – seeing, hearing, feeling and experiencing their surroundings, and connecting them with everyday learning. However, this opportunity was no longer available to them because of the pandemic. With children holed up inside their homes, their curiosity began to suffer. We started hearing stories of how some children did not even know what an auto rickshaw looks like!

We know that optimal brain development requires a stimulating and enriching environment, adequate nutrition, learning opportunities and social interaction with attentive caregivers. During the pandemic, access to these opportunities were severely restricted, compromising the healthy developmental trajectory of many children. Unsafe conditions, negative interactions and lack of educational opportunities during the early years can lead to irreversible outcomes, which can affect a child’s potential for the remainder of his or her life.

(Here’s a great article for more on the subject: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/what-is-covid-19-and-how-does-it-relate-to-child-development/)

The equity gap has widened as well – children from educationally-disadvantaged families suffer much more than children with the privilege of having families who cater to the various learning and developmental needs.

The importance of early childhood education at Anganwadis is to enable overall readiness of children to go to school – have them get to age-appropriate levels of reading and numeracy. The disconnect from a physical space like an Anganwadi would put these abilities at risk too.

What actions were taken

Learning at Home encouraged

While the social setting is hard to replicate when there aren’t other children nearby, a lot can still be done at home. Here was an opportunity for parents and children to spend more time together. However, parents needed to be equipped with those soft skills that were essential for guiding the child through lessons. The guidance to do this was taken door to door by Makkala Jagriti’s team, with assistance from Anganwadi teachers.

Parents equipped to support Learning at Home

The other side of the argument lies in the fact that parents are now spending more time with their children than before. With a rich experience of Makkala Jagriti’s staff and consultants, Anganwadi staff were equipped to explain the various nuances early childhood care and education to parents. There was a lot of unlearning that had to be done:

Handling tantrums with punishment: the frustration of being at home without friends would tend to increase the incidence of temper tantrums among children. These temper tantrums were often dealt with punishment, leading to more tantrums – an unwanted cycle.
Permissive parenting: the unwillingness to continuously engage with children, instead giving them a mobile phone to keep them occupied, which in turn would lead to device addiction.
Trying to induce learning by fear.

Some of the guidance provided was in positive reinforcement and positive discipline. Whenever children did something commonly construed as good, like helping their parents clean up, or finishing homework on time, they were deserving of praise. When children threw a tantrum or were not listening to instructions from parents, it would warrant a quiet leveling between the parents and the children – an explanation as to why the behaviour was not right, all done with kindness in the parents’ voice.

During the lockdowns, parents were encouraged to involve children in the process of learning and in the plans for the day for their learning, while remaining cognizant of their feelings. They were encouraged to explain about COVID-19 to the children from credible sources, and why they could not go to school at the time. They were also encouraged to help children maintain their links with life outside their home, for instance making them stay in touch with their grandparents.

Nutrition provided at home

An important contribution of Anganwadis towards the growth and development of children is the provision of nutritious meals. With carefully curated lunches provided to children, the right nutrients made available to ensure physical development and ability to grasp and retain what is taught are sustained. During the lock downs however, this availability of nutritious food was at risk. This is when Makkala Jagriti, with the help of generous supporters, ensured the delivery of groceries – key ingredients for nutritious meals – to households, especially those with little children.

Learning through experience is a very important aspect of early education, to foster values such as empathy at a young age. When everyone connected with the children – parents, teachers, the community – understands the importance of early childhood care and education, the sky’s the limit for how the child grows. After all, as the popular proverb goes, it takes a village to raise a child.

Makkala Jagriti thanks the following for their valuable inputs, during the panel discussion “Repercussions of COVID-19 on Early Learning and Development” (watch it here):

Dr. Srividya K., Guest Faculty, Early Childhood Education and Administration, Smt. V.H.D. Central Institute of Home Science College

Dr. Chaitra G. Krishna, Public Mental Health Consultant

Mr. Nischal B.H., Deputy Director – Bengaluru Urban District, Department of Women and Child Development

Mr. Nataraj, Deputy Director – Bengaluru Rural District, Department of Women and Child Development

31Jan

Students teaching each other: Peer Learning as seen in an NGO for Education

January 31, 2022 makkalajagriti 1

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With nearly two years of closure of schools, our children were reliant on lessons they would get virtually, through Zoom, WhatsApp or YouTube. Children were longing to meet their teachers and classmates for quite a while.

In November 2021, schools reopened, which brought some relief to children, parents, and teachers alike. However, it was not easy for children to get right back into action at school. Being removed from classroom learning, the pace differed from what they had just gotten used to while learning at home. Children had to make adjustments once again, this time with “learning at school”.

Makkala Jagriti, a holistic development NGO in Bangalore, worked systematically to ensure these adjustments happened smoothly. The first step was to conduct an assessment to gauge where the children were in terms of their learning levels. The results showed what we expected – they had fallen behind quite drastically in their learning levels, even in foundational literacy and numeracy. To address this, Makkala Jagriti started specially designed bridge courses to help children close the gaps in their foundational learning.

Our facilitators used a number of strategies to make sure learning is enjoyable and effective, and one that worked very well has been peer learning.

Makkala Jagriti’s facilitators created groups of children with different learning levels, with the group leader responsible for the group’s learning.

The response of our children to this initiative was beyond what we expected. Children took the initiative to create their own WhatsApp groups, which led to greater engagement beyond the confines of the classroom! They became so invested in each other’s academic growth that they exemplified the value of leaving no child behind.

We observed a renewed enthusiasm among children who needed a little boost in understanding and interest in the subjects. Numerous studies have shown that children tend to respond more when their peers teach them in a collaborative and non-threatening manner.

Peer learning, however, is not a one-way street. A great deal of mutual learning happens; children who take the lead also have the opportunity to assess their own understanding of the lessons. By explaining what they learned to a group, children may discover newer outcomes within the lessons that they can share further. Likewise, children within the group, seeing their classmates taking the lead, may be motivated to take on the mantle of explaining lessons back to their fellow students. All in all, what is formed here is a circular network of the passage of information among students, with the teachers overseeing the activities within the group and ensuring the children are on the right track.

The benefits of peer learning are not confined to the exchange of knowledge alone. A significant advantage of peer learning is improvement in communication and social interaction among children.

Learning through cooperation leads to that same cooperation being extended to other facets of a child’s life – at home and within the community where the child lives. Another benefit observed is that children feel more comfortable opening up and interacting with their classmates than they would with a teacher or an adult guardian.

Numerous studies and theories speak in favour of peer learning. But, the biggest testament to its success lies in what our children have to say about it.

11-year-old Neha, a student of the 6th standard, says it best:

“I miss going to school because of the lockdown. When I was away from class, I had forgotten some of what I had learned in my Kannada class. However, when I came back to school, something new was waiting for me. We were given activities in groups, and thanks to my group, I remembered what I had earlier forgotten. My friends and I helped each other this way, and it was very exciting for me to learn from my friends and teach them as well.”

With the schools closed this last month again, children continue to help each other through the peer WhatsApp groups they created, and we are sure this spirit of collaboration and helping each other is here to stay.

24Dec

Scholarship for Students – Support all the way

December 24, 2021 makkalajagriti 0

Scholarship for students- Makkala Jagriti

Seeing the world around us, we draw inspiration from people who make a difference – no matter how small or large that difference is. Oftentimes it takes a little more than the drive to excel; one needs to be empowered with the knowledge and education that comes with aspired careers. However, for some of us the dreams are there, the abilities are there… but the finances or not.

Makkala Jagriti is one such NGO in Bangalore that resonates with stories of many such aspirants, who are often forced to view education as a luxury. To support aspirations, Makkala Jagriti has been collaborating with the Naresh Bala Excellence Fellowship (NBEF) since 2019 to aid students with the interest to study, but limited means to do so. NBEF’s scholarships for students give them the platform to access higher level of education and a level-playing field for suitable and sustainable job opportunities after the completion of their higher studies. We are right now working with over 29 scholars across three batches.

Makkala Jagriti, an educational NGO in Bangalore, in its own way currently plays the role of friend and guide to all the scholars and their respective families. We are a small part of their academic journey. It all begins with an invitation of applications to the scholarships from aspirants, hundreds of deserving candidates. Over several weeks of thorough scrutiny – which includes home visits and interviews – culminates in the selection of the scholars who will benefit from this endowment. While academic performance is a key factor in this decision, it is not the be all, end all. To qualify for such a scholarship, a desire for excellence in the field of study and a commitment to one’s aspirations is essential. And it is this commitment that has consistently been seen among our scholars.

Makkala Jagriti works with scholars to discover within them a sense of ownership and responsibility. In a time when aspirants are many but opportunities are few, it is important to grab the right opportunities and work towards a larger goal. Makkala Jagriti organises life skill training sessions, career counselling, job interview training, experiential learning, and so much more, for the selected scholars.

Our scholars have some stories to tell:

Monika, from Vellore, Tamil Nadu, belongs to family of six. She was part of the first batch of the NBEF scholarships for students. With the help of mentorship of Makkala Jagriti and support from NBEF, she successfully completed a degree in Commerce. Today she has a job that supports her family. Monika says this is only the beginning for her. She wants to pursue a Masters degree Business Administration from a reputed university and cement her position in the corporate world. She says she is ‘forever grateful to NBEF and Makkala Jagriti’ for providing her with unimaginable opportunities. Monika further states that on receiving these opportunities she feels more responsible and works hard towards her goals. She strongly believes that learning never stops and education is a basic necessity. She believes many students like her should be able access such opportunities and have a fair playing field in today’s world.

Shashank is young student who has an inspiring story. He belongs to Devanahalli, along the outskirts of Bangalore. He lives with his younger sister and mother at his uncle’s house. Losing his father at the young age of six was not something that was easy to overcome. The options available were meagre. But, Shashank dreamed big. He aspired for careers that would have large impacts – from a career in government to one in medicine. He never stopped dreaming. As he grew older, he was curious of the role of an engineer and decided to pursue that dream. Today, he is close to completing his engineering degree at a reputed college and continues to do exceptionally well throughout his journey. He shared with us that Makkala Jagriti and NBEF have played a crucial role in his success up until and now. The scholarship for Shashank lifted the financial burden off of his shoulders and helps him live a comfortable and healthy life with his small family. He believes that scholarships are not the only things required to succeed. Makkala Jagriti’s mentorship truly helps make most of the opportunities that come one’s way. “Without this mentorship, one could be lost,” says Shashank.

Scholarships often times not only provide financial assistance but also help build healthier communities. Like Monika, Shashank and their families, many children and their parents take on more than they can handle to make ends meet. Makkala Jagriti, with the support of NBEF, helps overcome such obstacles, bringing youngsters closer to their goals.

After all, where you are from should not limit how far you go.

Shravya Muralidhar

26Nov

The Importance of Schools Reopening

November 26, 2021 makkalajagriti 2

November 2021 brought with it some mixed emotions as our children returned to schools and Anganwadis. One could observe the feelings of joy, excitement, confusion, and nervousness among the children and their parents. A child’s first day back at school – whether after a short vacation or an extraordinarily long gap like this one – is a landmark moment in a child’s life, setting them off to a lifetime of memories and a path of learning and growth. Thinking about our school days, most of us can remember countless minor details – what clothes we wore, our friends, our teacher’s name, or who we sat next to! For many of our children, the COVID-19 pandemic took away these moments. The uncertainty of when they would step into a classroom again loomed large.

I remember when I was in school. As the summer vacation was ending, my preparation for the new academic year began well ahead. Bags packed, uniform pressed, books in place, and the eagerness to meet my friends and teachers. On my first day back at school, I woke up early and dressed up to leave the house. The day looked very different – chirpier and happier! As the bus pulled over, my heart raced like never before. This was a day that remains fondly in my heart.

Cut to several years later; I saw children returning to the grounds of their second home. Except, COVID-19 was not an exciting summer but a long halt from learning in person. The excitement that came with schools reopening was beyond measure.

We visited the Rajanakunte Anganwadi to meet an exuberant bunch of preschoolers on their first day back. Back to learning after one and a half years! All the children had their masks on, complying with the prevailing safety norms. This painted a clear picture of the children’s eagerness to be back at school, ready to be a part of the new normal. The teachers greeted every child lovingly before they set foot into the classroom. The facilitators of Makkala Jagriti, a Holistic Education NGO in Bangalore, were present and paid extra attention to ensure every child was comfortable. The facilitators addressed parents on effective interactions with children and reassured them of their child’s wellbeing.

When we visited government schools on the first day back, teachers recalled their efforts during the pandemic. Though resources like online lessons, workbooks, and basic stationery were made available, and facilitators put their best foot forward to reach every child in their homes through virtual means, it was challenging to cater to the individual needs of every child. Hence, coming back to school was a moment cherished even more than before! Teachers expressed the magic of a school that gathers many children, all of whom get targeted attention.

During the closure of schools, teachers observed the struggles children faced and often felt helpless. Parents would sometimes have to forgo going to work to address the needs of their children but were not well-versed in tackling the situation. So, it was a time of great relief for parents to see their children back in their learning environment. While the parents breathed a sigh of relief, the teachers are working on getting fully equipped to tackle post-pandemic learning. With children jaded by online learning, it was time to bring innovations into teaching to ensure children remained interested and engaged.

When schools reopened their doors, it felt like the doors to a safe haven were open for many children. A safe space brings a sense of comfort and reassurance for them, parents, and teachers. However, teachers were slightly anxious to work with children post lockdown. They re-addressed their approach to tackle the long learning gap. However, what kept teachers’ anxiety at bay were their children. They had never seen children skip, hop and dance their way into school before, nor the smile that could not be wiped off of their faces! It was always a scene teachers hoped to see, and now this scene has become a reality!

As a parent rightly said, a child’s mind is not fresh at home. When children as young as six years are at the Anganwadi, they are curious! The variety of activities, interactions, and learning processes at such spaces cannot be replicated at home. There are limitations at home but endless opportunities at school! This dent in curiosity was also seen amongst children older than six years of age.

Children now understand how pivotal schools are for their holistic and all-round development. They now wholeheartedly participate in all activities arranged and planned for them. The enthusiasm seen amongst the children is like never before! Earlier, going to school was a drag for many children, but now they cannot wait to enter the premises. They even wonder why they need holidays and prefer spending their days off at school! What was missed most was the collaborative learning experience between peers. With all this coming back, learning can be a healthy, fulfilling experience again.

An NGO for education in Bangalore, Makkala Jagriti has worked to make this transition as smooth as possible. Blended learning continues with online videos to aid teachers, parents, and students, while workbooks and activities help ensure creative learning. Many months of virtual learning have caused gaps in foundational learning, which children otherwise received at schools. Our teams have gone the extra mile to bridge these gaps by facilitating basic literacy and numeracy courses. We have also kept a special focus on children’s socio-emotional learning, their well-being and helping them ease back into school. Peer learning, creative learning material, and activity-based learning have been adopted to ensure effective growth and development opportunities. While times have been tough, we look forward to happy learning, development, and growth for every child!

Our children shared that they understood the true value of schooling and being with their teachers in person after this long gap. Here’s wishing them a safe and enjoyable time back with schools reopening, with a fruitful road ahead!

Shravya Muralidhar

28Oct

Volunteering – A Key Part Of Makkala Jagriti

October 28, 2021 makkalajagriti 0

Archana is a software engineer at a leading multinational corporation in Bengaluru. One Friday, she received an email. It was an internal one sent across the organisation, one from its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team. She had only been at the company for four months, and this was the first such email she received. She clicked on the link – her world was about to change.

It was a call for volunteers to help with an online workshop on spoken English through Makkala Jagriti. Archana had been wondering for quite a while about how children – especially from under-resourced communities – were getting access to education during the pandemic. Going through Makkala Jagriti’s website, Archana learned more about what the organization does in ensuring equitable access to education. She wrote back to her CS our team immediately, confirming her willingness to volunteer.

Santhosh is a student at a liberal arts college in the outskirts of Bangalore. Being in the final year, he had fewer classroom hours and more time for research. He found that he had a few hours to spare every week, which he wished to use productively and responsibly. While searching for the “best NGO in Bangalore to volunteer”, he hit the first link that he saw. It was Makkala Jagriti’s website. Fascinated by what he read about the organisation, Santhosh entered his email address in the place calling for volunteers. He didn’t know what he was going to do at Makkala Jagriti, but he knew that the experience would be enriching for him and the children with whom he would work.

These are but a handful of stories of several hundred persons who have spent time with us at Makkala Jagriti. Volunteering for Makkala Jagriti has been more than just about the completion of tasks – it has been about the sharing of experiences, knowledge, and lives. After all, this is the hallmark of Makkala Jagriti’s mission of creating and fostering a social movement. Having more hands and minds working together is always beneficial in ensuring a wider reach to children and under-resourced communities. This social movement comes alive when more people outside the organization are aware of the impact of the work done by Makkala Jagriti and actively involve themselves in it.

On the one hand, our children and communities gain significant exposure from interacting with volunteers from various backgrounds. On the other hand, volunteers get to know of challenges faced by our communities. They can propagate the story further, talking about what more can be done to improve situations.

Makkala Jagriti has been fortunate to have volunteers from different backgrounds for nearly two decades now. Volunteers with varying skill sets can provide valuable input to cater to any project’s needs. Some events and workshops require the demonstration of specific skills, and this is where volunteers come in. For instance, a group of volunteers with a strong background in science will be able to conduct educational workshops in science experiments for children, thereby increasing the interest children would have in the sciences while exposing them to a world beyond their textbooks.

The team at Makkala Jagriti, too, has benefited tremendously thanks to our volunteer community. Volunteers from different specialisations have helped build the organisation’s capabilities in these same specialisations. A significant example of this was on display when the lockdown began owing to the pandemic. With face-to-face teaching coming to a halt, several teachers and facilitators had to quickly adapt to technological means to reach out to children, particularly through platforms like Zoom, WhatsApp, and YouTube. It was undoubtedly a challenging prospect. It was thanks to the volunteers who contributed their time to teaching our teachers and facilitators the basics of using a phone to communicate effectively, send messages, log into and use online meeting platforms, edit instructional videos, and so much more. Well over a year later, our teachers and facilitators are conducting their activities online with boundless confidence and aplomb, and this in great measure has been thanks to our volunteer community.

Play ground at Anganwadi Schools - Makkala Jagriti

Makkala Jagriti’s core organisation, too, has significantly gained through volunteer experience. Through their know-how of best practices in organisations, volunteers have helped the organisation create internal policies to ensure smooth functioning. For NGOs like ours, volunteers have formulated human resource policies, financial management policies, procurement policies, and the like.

From teaching children how to make a baking soda volcano to painting a lovely mural on the wall of an Anganwadi, volunteers have gone above and beyond to help us make education fun and accessible to our children. They are the very embodiment of the social movement that is Makkala Jagriti.

If you’d like to know more about how you can volunteer and be a part of our movement, we’d love to hear from you – so write to us at volunteers@makkalajagriti.org

02Oct

Why I work at Makkala Jagriti

October 2, 2021 makkalajagriti 0

Hi, my name is Nikhil Vasuki, and I manage communications at Makkala Jagriti. This account is a story of how Makkala Jagriti’s story and my story met.

The first 15 years of my career have been widely varied. My ties with the corporate world began in finance, moving on to the world of defence contracting. This exposed me to so much geography: Arabia, Europe, the Americas, and Central Asia.

When I moved to India in 2014, I started my stint in news media. In the field, I got a more nuanced understanding of the socio-economic situation of the people of India, especially the people of Karnataka. As much as administrations are doing their best to bridge the gap between the rural and the urban, it does take time. To identify areas that need extra support needs many more boots on the ground than are currently available. One major area where I saw a large rural-urban disparity was education. From pre-school to tertiary education, there were stark differences in what children and youth were exposed to. With the fraction of rural children and youth who transitioned into an urban setting for further studies and employment, a significant barrier was that of language, i.e. English. With minimal exposure to the language, this would often lead to difficulties in maintaining confidence. Consequently, any opportunity for tertiary education and post-university employment would swing in favour of the urban student.

With these thoughts was born a dream to find a way to bridge and eventually eliminate this gap. I ran through many ideas in my mind, a physical centre that provides bridge courses, a mobile centre that goes from district to district, taluk to taluk, village to village, an app that can provide lessons at a single click, or something as simple as a YouTube channel. Quite overwhelming, as I didn’t have the depth to understand every aspect of making access to education equitable.

A bit of soul – and internet – searching led me to the Facebook page of this Bangalore NGO called Makkala Jagriti. “Fascinating name,” I thought, “quite telling in what they’re all about.” Makkala Jagriti – the “awakening of children.” The awakening of knowledge, possibilities, opportunities, and success.

The more I explored, the more I got to know how deeply entrenched Makkala Jagriti is in a child’s development. With programs for children under the age of six, primary school children and pre-teens, and high school children and young adults, there is so much time and effort invested in ensuring no child or youth is left behind.

I thought to myself, “Here is an organisation that is already doing so much to bring equity in access to education; it is a good place to learn, contribute and build myself up to fulfil my mission in the development sector.” However, I was still not aware of the full extent of the work done by Makkala Jagriti. The knowledge of their reach dawned upon me when I began having conversations with the team.

Makkala Jagriti institutionalised the S.P.I.C.E. model of holistic development – building on children’s Social, Physical, Intellectual, Creative, and Emotional development. Studies have shown that such a wide spread of interventions is beneficial for a child’s growth into a physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy adult. To see this in active practice at Makkala Jagriti was wonderful for me to see.

When I came on board in January 2021, Makkala Jagriti was well into solving a significant problem that came into existence – learning was interrupted across the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It took some adjusting from the field team to start managing their facilitations remotely. However, there was one more divide that was created immediately – the digital divide. While most children in an urban setting had access to an electronic device that enabled them to continue learning online, this was not the case, especially in rural areas.

Makkala Jagriti, with the help of the organisation’s supporters, marshaled resources together and put together thoughtfully designed learning kits, stationery and lesson plans to reach children. The assistance included creating area-level WhatsApp groups in which representatives of Makkala Jagriti played a crucial part. Children would complete assignments in the workbook and send their feedback to Makkala Jagriti’s staff through the WhatsApp groups – such a detailed and continuous overview of every child’s work! On top of all of this, teachers and parents would be continually brought up to speed with lesson plans, the best ways to teach and guide, and to make the overall experience enriching and fun at the same time.

Furthermore, the Bangalore NGO’s work did not restrict itself to academics. These were trying times, and ensuring everyone’s mental health – staff, children, parents, and teachers – became a top priority. The organisation brought sessions in yoga, counseling, and talking circles – facilitated by experts in the field – to check in on and ensure all these stakeholders were aware of safe spaces available for them to let their hair down and use them as frequently as they need them.

What humbled me further was Makkala Jagriti’s efforts in ensuring food security within the communities where they work. Residents of these largely marginalised communities were daily wage labourers, and with work hard to come by because of the pandemic, money to put food on the table was scant. Makkala Jagriti’s team identified the communities needing help, mobilised relationships with food vendors and community leaders, and distributed dry ration kits to the families. The organisation has served nearly 15,000 families this way.

With all the beautiful things that Makkala Jagriti does for society, I am often asked what makes it the best NGO for children… why do I enjoy working here? My answer would immediately point to the people with whom I work – a selfless bunch of folks on a mission to serve, build up and springboard children and youth to a soaring journey of success, with values instilled in them to pay it forward.