We are on a mission to bridge the digital divide. Join Us!

Computers are part of global business and education. So digital literacy has a direct effect on the country’s economy.  India as a country is facing several challenges in the implementation of initiatives like Digital India.  Moreover, digitally literate teachers appreciate the creative potential of technology rather than accepting it unwillingly as another training exercise mandated by the government. Digital literacy ensures that teachers use the digital tools that can unlock their deeper teaching potential and make learning exciting.

Many Municipal Schools in Mumbai have computer labs with working computers, but unfortunately, they do not have teachers who can impart necessary IT skills. Students and educators from the vernacular mediums also find it difficult to grasp the content as computers are programmed in English. To help the students and teachers of MCGM schools, 'The Computer Literacy Program' (CLP) was initiated by Citizens Association for Child Rights CACR in June 2013 with content partners IITB -The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

IIT had developed multi-lingual audio-video lessons called ‘Spoken tutorials’ which trained students to learn Libre Office suite- word, powerpoint and spreadsheet using easy to understand content.  From 2013-14 to 2014-15 the CLP project saw a 100% increase in the number of schools covered and drastic improvement in the students' computer skills as conveyed by the former CLP project head, Dr Richa Singh. "The newly acquired skills will increase with employment opportunities and self-confidence" she added.  

Our young minds engrossed in their Computers!

But in 2015 the teaching methodology of IIT Spoken tutorials underwent a change and required the computers in MCGM schools to be upgraded to a better Operating system (OS) and Antivirus. Since such major hardware changes were not possible to be implemented by the government's education department in a short period, the collaboration with IITB had to be called off until the hardware upgrade. Given the training momentum that was built in the last 2.5 years, CACR decided not to abandon the project but continued training students. Zinal Shah stepped in and continued the project for a year, teaching students basic IT skills using Microsoft Office.

The present project head Ar. Deyasini Choudhary tells me that volunteers provide one-on-one attention to each school student. A PowerPoint Presentation takes volunteers through each session so that they come prepared with the topic they will cover and with a proper understanding of how they should teach that subject. About 1250 children in 18 municipal schools have benefitted from CACR’s Computer Literacy Program. Team CACR is hoping numbers pick up substantially in the coming months. 

The incredible progress CACR has made with the Computer Literacy Project.

CACR has even gone a step further to train the teachers, who must take over once CACR volunteers complete their program with the school students. The 'Train The Teacher' program, is in its second year now and the volunteers also called  'Master Trainers' have already trained 325 teachers and conducting Refresher Courses in various schools currently. The aim of the project is not to adopt the Municipal School or its responsibilities but offer support and training. More than 100 student volunteers have participated in the CACR's 'Train The Teacher' initiative. These 100+ volunteers can proudly say they have gone on to educate thousands of students and teachers of numerous municipal schools around our city.

Teachers engaged in the program.

CACR has successfully lobbied with the MCGM departments to ensure each of the 200 School buildings get its very own full-time computer teacher. This will be a first major development in the history of computer education in MCGM education department.  CACR has been fostering Digital Literacy at the school level via these two programs that aid India's  National Digital Literacy Mission, which is working towards a bridging our country’s digital divide.

We are on a mission to bridge the digital divide. We Hope You Join Us!

-By Noella Pereira a volunteer with CACR an NGO working in MCGM schools to improve health and education.

Edited by +Richa Singh ichaSingh Projects Director CACR 

Why teaching isn't the best methodology for learning

As everyone celebrated Children's Day in India on November 14th, it took me back in time when I was in middle school. I distinctly recollect that mathematics wasn't exactly my strong suit. Pursuing the search for ‘X’ didn't appeal to me while I greatly enjoyed my time in the science lab and playing throwball on the school ground.

Fear of Mathematics

But surprisingly, all this changed in high school when Geometry and Algebra became my favourite subjects to the point that I scored full marks in two consecutive exams and loved solving tougher problems and puzzles even after school. The biggest factor contributing to this change was the new teacher- Motwyn Sir, the teacher who started teaching us math. The theorems and corollaries that earlier appeared dry and difficult were now fun to learn. Even today you will find a strong correlation between a student’s favourite teacher and subject; the contrary is true as well.

What did the teacher do to change things? Surprising, he didn't teach us much, I recollect. Yes, you read it right.

He did NOT believe in teaching students but rather helping them to understand, to communicate their findings, and to learn from each other. The impetus in the classroom was not to give us notes and solve the sum but to talk to us about the ways we thought the problem could be tackled and encourage all students to participate in the discussion. We never moved forward until every doubt was solved.

Unfortunately, in most schools, the focus is still on teaching, memorising, and rote-learning. Very few institutions appreciate the benefits of allowing the student to develop an original thinking, reasoning, and analysis. This problem is not only found in our Indian schools but also in higher academic institutes.

The question we need to ask is – Do we want to create crammers or innovators?

But if cramming gets you 90% marks on that school report card, parents and the school really don’t bother to reflect on this. This gains importance only in later life when young college students or graduates are compelled to debate, give their opinion, and solve real-life problems and those who can’t think critically suffer.

Today, I am on the other side of the classroom. Teaching students myself as a CACR volunteer and project head for computer literacy project that aims to bridge the technology divide in India. When I interact with students from municipal (inner city) schools in Mumbai, I keep the same principle in mind – not to merely teach students but listen to them and encourage them to ask questions and think.

Having taught students under this project for the past 2 years, I can say for sure that the students are more capable of learning new things on their own and from each other than we can imagine. For instance- Despite coming from low-income households that don’t have access to computers, these students picked up the content pretty quickly for children who were exposed to technology the first time. When we returned to take sessions after vacations, the quick learners had already taught a thing or two to their classmates and brought them up to speed.

Now with the advent of self-learning software, virtual education, and free e-learning materials widely available on the web, the teacher’s role in classrooms has changed from teaching the students to motivating them to learn new skills and encourage experimentation.

A teacher plays a pivotal role in a student’s life to lay a robust foundation for future tasks and challenges she/he will face. It is about time all the stakeholders -the education system, parents, students and teachers recognise this and pave the way to give society thought leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, risk-takers, artists, sportsmen and the like. Together let us create a system of innovative learning, not just teaching.

Education should mould minds

The article first appeared Here on LinkedIn Pulse and has been reproduced by author's permission. 
+Richa Singh is member of CACR a Non-profit working in areas of education and healthcare in government schools of Mumbai 

Image: http://www.mcny.edu/student_serv/lecblog/math-phobia

Global Handwashing Day celebrated by 150 municipal school students on 15 October

3.7 Million. That is a HUGE number indeed. 

No,it is not the bank balance of a millionaire OR the budget of a company or institute BUT is sadly the number of children aged from one month to 4 years who DIED globally in 2013, due to bad hygiene practices.

Students wash their hands with soap

 Imagine, millions of lives can have been saved by adopting small sanitation and cleanliness measures. In developing countries, child mortality rates related to respiratory and diarrheal diseases can be reduced by introducing simple behavioural changes. This simple and seemingly trivial action "HWWS- Hand washing with soap" can reduce the rate of mortality from these diseases by almost 50 per cent.

With the goal of spreading awareness about the importance of this low cost and easy intervention in mind, WHO (World Health Organisation) designated October 15th as the Global Hand Washing Day in 2008. For the last 9 years, different organisations worldwide have been celebrating it by planning unique programs. 

How did we at CACR celebrate? - View this 30-second video to get the gist

NGO Citizens Association for Child Rights(CACR), organised an activity based programme at Nityanand Municipal School, Andheri East , Mumbai.

Students participate in Q&A

I am very happy to share that more than 150 children participated very enthusiastically in The Global Hand Washing day celebrations and communicated their hand wash messages via painting bed sheets and singing the hand wash songs popularised by Sachin Tendulkar. 


There was a discussion followed by a Q and A session with UNICEF consultant Bharathy and Former Deputy Education officer Manasi Apte. Soaps and pamphlets with the correct hand washing steps and the importance of making washing of hands with soap a habit were provided to all the participating children. 

CACR has been implementing the hand wash behaviour change program in 11 MCGM schools with 683 students for the past 2 months. This project is a behavioural change program aimed at students from class 3 to 8.
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Students painting their handwash messages on a bedsheet

Bharathy Tahiliani, State consultant UNICEF India said "The 12-week programme, is implemented for the first time in Urban India. We are providing close guidance to CACR to put in place behaviour change activities so children can adopt appropriate hygiene and sanitation behaviour for a lifetime" 

CACR Founder Director Mr Nitin Wadhwani shared that "NGO CACR has initiated this important programme in 5 locations from Andheri to Bandra and it also comprises of a 3 Star Assessment of School Infrastructure on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene based on Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya (Clean India Mission) guidelines"

A Marathi newspaper Janashakti carried the details of the OCT 15 event as seen below 

Global Handwashing Day event published in a Marathi Daily

PPH website featured CACR

The Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing, which is a coalition of international stakeholders who work explicitly to promote handwashing with soap and recognise hygiene as a pillar of international development and public health featured CACR on its website 

As Seen HERE on the RHS image 

I sincerely hope to keep the GHD momentum going by scaling up this project to more schools and new locations. But I need your good wishes and volunteers to make this happen. If this project interests you then volunteers with us  http://www.ngocacr.com/be-a-volunteer/ 

Hope you join us to make lives healthy. 

By +Richa Singh  loves to work in the public health space and  is the Projects Director with CACR, a section 8 nonprofit working in public schools in Mumbai from past 3 years.

Edited by +Vidya Vaidya , Artist & Director, CACR

Coloring Mumbai Railway Stations: From Boring to Beautiful

BMC school students at Santacruz East station with CACR 

Art is something that brings a smile on my face and a pleasant sigh making me feel “Today is going to be a great day!” So, imagine my happiness when every step I took at the railway station I found a painting; especially when a Van Gogh’s “Starry Nights” played right in to my vision. I was standing there for a few minutes just looking at it, giddy with happiness hoping to stop everyone and say “This is a Van Gogh, even though it is not the original.”  

As kids, we loved doodling; on our walls and in our notebook. Unfortunately the wall thing was banned both by school and parents as it was a risk to their sanity. But giving it an outlet through decorating your railway station is an exciting idea. It kills two birds with one stone; one’s fantasy of painting on walls, with the added benefit of beautifying one’s stations.

Mumbai First and Making A Difference (M.A.D) initiative in collaboration with the Western and Central Railways came up with the Beautification programme, called ‘Hamara Station Hamari Shaan’ as part of a Nationwide voluntary initiative called Daan Utsav, executed from 2nd to 8^th October 2016.

Citizen Association for Child Rights (CACR) decided to take this opportunity to the MCGM Children too, giving them a chance to explore the world of art and be a part of the Clean India movement. Not only did they get a chance to see their works on the wall being viewed by millions, but they also got chance to be meet other artists and support PM Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat dream.

CACR members Vidya Vaidya and Ar Deyasini Choudhury supervised the entire project. MCGM school students from both western and central side participated in this program for a day each. There are 21 stations in western suburb and 15 stations in central suburb. A total of 164 BMC school students from seven schools helped in coloring six railway stations (two in central suburb and four in western suburbs).

In order to understand this program, I went to Santacruz East Station on 8^th October, where Ar Deyasini Choudhary and Vinita Menon of CACR and Viren Shah of MAD were coordinating the project. A total of 60 MCGM school students from Juhu and Andheri were ready to give the walls of the station ticket counter area a much needed makeover. They all were eagerly awaiting instructions with paint brushes in one hand and paint in other. While some were painting the trains, others were painting flowers, butterflies, leaves and grass.

At Mulund

At Vile Parle

At Bandra

A few students from NMIMS Mukesh Patel School of Technology – Vidhi Shethi, Daanish Gandhi and Vinay had also volunteered their help. Our graduates and under graduates have realised that to make a change, we have to be a part of the change and participate in such programs, stating “Where there is a will there is a way”.

CACR volunteers from NMIMS-MPET

Along the way I also met Allwyn Pereira, the R N Podar School Art Teacher with some of his student volunteers painting on the walls of the foot over bridges(FOB). It is great to have teachers going beyond the four walls and supporting such initiatives.

I also met the artist of Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’, Snehal Patil (an independent artist) who had beautified the outer walls of Station Master’s cabin, the Ticket Window and the FOBs.

Art is really underappreciated in our country, in spite of our vibrant cultural history and our living arts. So through this program, we are providing a medium to both art and artist to showcase their potential to the world, especially in a locale where the commuter otherwise would not have the time to go beyond his/her daily routine to view art.

Also, art plays a very big role in a city’s holistic development. A “smart city” that we talk about so much should have both art and technology going hand in hand.

It is also important for children to participate in such initiatives from an early age to respect public spaces, to understand the concept of ‘giving back’- especially for MCGM School children, who have very few avenues of participating in such events, giving them a sense of belonging and help inculcate in them a sound civic sense, of responsibility, and the most important the joy of creating beauty!

From tomorrow onwards, the people of Mumbai will have something exciting and interesting to see on the platforms, FOBs and ticket windows daily, rather than the dark and dirty drudgery they are accustomed to.

It just depends on how many are willing to pause for a second and appreciate these efforts.



Visit www.ngocacr.com to know more.

Project Hand Wash – Clean Hands Movement

 

CACR- Project HandWash 

Every day you wake hoping for a better today. There is a sprint in your step; there is a gleam in your eye; there is freshness in your soul. All these fantasies crash when you get out of your apartment and start walking. You realise that the possibility of enjoying the blue sky is zero, zilch, nil. Because every step is like being in a video game where an unknown enemy in the form of potholes, bodily fluids, faeces, garbage, spits, is in front of you.

So, it is great to have a Prime Minister who considers cleanliness an important part of the country’s policy portfolio. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan has helped to create awareness about hygiene and sanitation and small initiatives have been started by individuals, groups and corporations as part of this programme.

One such initiative started is by the NGO CACR (Citizen Association for Child Rights), ‘Project Hand Wash’ under the UNICEF guidelines. It was started in August by its Director Nitin Wadhwani, and Project Head Dr. Richa Singh. It is a 12 session program of 45 to 60 mins with one session per week.

CACR - Project Hand Wash

As a pilot project started in 14 BMC schools between Bandra and Andheri, it benefits approximately 545 students. As per the UNICEF guidelines the sessions have a mixture of theory and games to explain the hygienic and correct way of washing hands and other safe sanitation practices. Activities like the Hand wash song,  catch the ball game, storytelling, are used to explain bacteria and germs, their effect on our immune system and the ways to prevent their proliferation in our body.

CACR - Project Hand Wash

This programme is a step towards bringing about behavioural changes in the children’s hygiene and sanitation practices. By educating  students when to wash their hands, the correct way of washing hands, proper garbage disposal, safe sanitation practices, we hope to lessen the effects of common diseases like diarrhoea, viral flu, cold and cough on the immune system. These behavioural changes will help create awareness among others too, along the way.

Journey from Volunteer to Coordinator

 

Teaching computers to BMC students a year ago and now being a coordinator for the same is a very fulfilling experience; a chance to give back to the society, a chance to bring balance in society. 

Making the future generation computer literate empowers them to be at par with the world.
It's always a good experience dealing with children, there is so much to learn, so much to teach & share with them. Their eagerness & enthusiasm to learn drives you to bring something new to class every time & keeps you engaged and interested in teaching even the most basic things.

 Children grasp quite well inspite of the language limitation because of their interest in the subject. This is Sustainable Development in the true sense. I strongly believe in educating children and am working towards it. I've done numerous odd jobs but nothing is as fulfilling as social work. I appeal to everyone to use their time or money or effort for a cause like this one.

I was part of CLP (Computer Literacy Project) last year, but as volunteer responsible for teaching in few schools which I thoroughly enjoyed. This year, my responsibility increased and I coordinate between volunteers and schools, so the growth has been tremendous.

  

The exposure is good, the perks, workshop and meetings with like-minded people who want to help, both young and experienced, promotes growth.

All in all it’s been a smooth and evolving process, working with CACR and I wish to continue indefinitely.

-Krupesh Pandya
Krupesh is a co-ordination with NGO CACR , a social enterprise working in Public schools of Mumbai to improve education and health