Education Centre for Tribal Children

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While looking for land to build a residential centre for some of our children from Mumbai, Aseema stumbled upon the realities faced by the tribal people of Igatpuri – a town in Maharashtra. While speaking to people in the villages of this region, we discovered that about 45% of the population here was below 18 years of age. In spite of such a large child population, many wadis or hamlets had no provision for education and those that did, lacked in basic amenities. Older children had to walk for about an hour each day simply to get to school and motivation to continue studying was very low.

The urgency of the need for quality education and the potential of this region drove Aseema to set up an Education Centre for Tribal Children here. Aseema now runs two anganwadis (Pre-Primary centres) and is constructing a centre for older children as well.

Dance
General
Group work
School Building

In the year 2007, Aseema set up the Sitabai Kavji Mengal Anganwadi in the village of Jambhwadi in Igatpuri. The land for this anganwadi was donated by a tribal woman and the school has been named after her. As her grandchildren continue to study with us, she takes great pride in having been able to contribute to her community.

Aseema began this project by training four local women to be teachers. Regular interactions with the community and persistent efforts ensured that parents agreed to have their children enrolled in school. A secure and nurturing environment was created where children were happy to come. 40 children between 2.5 and 6 years of age now come to school every day and learn in their mother tongue – Marathi.

Children at work
Children enjoy coming to school
Montessori work in classroom
School Building

Having immersed ourselves in the culture and lives of the people of Igatpuri, Aseema no longer remains an ‘outsider’ in this region. We have become one with the people here and share their vision of an educated, self sufficient and prosperous future. It is our dream that the highest quality of education be made available to these children and their families who have been so marginalized. It is with this objective that we have commenced construction of an Education Centre on a fourteen acre plot of lush land. When complete, this centre will offer holistic learning to children from 2.5 to 18 years of age. The education will not be limited to any one ‘board of instruction’ but will focus on developing values, understanding, questioning and analytical skills, appreciation of art and beauty and above all, a deep respect for oneself and others and a love for learning. Children will also be provided with vocational training in areas of their choice and those who are academically inclined will be helped to prepare for public exams.

One class has already been set up in March 2010 and 50 children have enrolled. With construction of the Pre-Primary section being complete in early 2011, we look forward to reaching out to many more.