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This movie buff uses films to inspire children

This movie buff uses films to inspire children

(April 2, 2019 )

Mishra merged his love for good cinema with his profession as a social entrepreneur.
Kavita Devgan

  • Mishra has successfully managed to merge his love for good cinema with his profession
  • Mishra and his foundation have also produced films—his 2011 film I am Kalam, a film on the life and ideals of the former president, which won awards and critical acclaim

Smile Foundation | I am Kalam

This is a CEO who has turned his hobby into a means to build up and promote his organisation’s work. An avid film-buff, Santanu Mishra, executive trustee of non-governmental organization Smile Foundation in Delhi, considers good cinema the best way to start discussions among young people about any issue, whether personal or professional, social or moral, local or global.

Mishra has successfully managed to merge his love for good cinema with his profession. Although Smile Foundation, which he co-founded in 2002 with a group of young corporate professionals, primarily works with the underprivileged in the areas of education, health, livelihood and empowerment, it also spreads awareness about important causes in civil society. Thanks to Mishra’s hobby, cinema has become one of the most powerful tools for Smile Foundation to sensitize communities, conduct outreach programmes and promote social venture philanthropy.

Mishra and his foundation have also produced films—his 2011 film I am Kalam, a film on the life and ideals of the former president, which won awards and critical acclaim, drew attention to the need for education for every child. He curated the first Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY) in 2015 to screen good cinema from all over the world for children. The event has grown and he now screens these films at various schools across the country. And it’s his passionate pursuit of a hobby that has helped the foundation find a new medium for awareness-building and support.

Mishra grew up watching Odia cinema. The 1976 classic on childhood love Sindura Bindu and Bhukha, the 1989 Sambalpuri hit based on a play, were early influences. “Both these movies stirred my soul and stayed with me,” he says. “I believe Sidhura Bindu and Bhukha were responsible for making me sensitive to others’ needs,” he says.

When he began travelling for work, he started attending film festivals and was exposed to world cinema. Mishra, a lawyer and an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus, quit his corporate career and got involved full-time with the non-profit in 2005.

His love for films grew stronger and he decided to make films an integral part of his work. The foundation has also produced 60 short films between 2009 and 2013.

Recent world films that have influenced him include the Nepali film Pahuna, which was produced by actor Priyanka Chopra, Norway’s Los Bando made last year, 2017’s animated drama produced by Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie The Breadwinner, Swahili film Supa Modo, and 2018’s The Witch Hunters.

“All these movies come with a special message. Every time I watch them, I am inspired, and take home a different message,” he says. “I lose myself when watching good cinema. It absorbs me completely,” he adds. He makes it a point to track new releases, especially films that would appeal to young people, and also gets recommendations from friends, family and acquaintances.

“I have travelled to over 30 countries to watch and appreciate good cinema and I bring home the best for the children of my country. I want them to absorb the best from every part of the world,” he says. He plans to turn SIFFCY, currently an annual event in Delhi, into a larger national one over the next five years. He plans to take the film festival to Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Bengaluru in the first stage, and later to Pune, Goa and Chandigarh.

Mishra believes that watching films helps him become a better communicator. “It makes me more sensitive towards my surroundings, which promotes a great work culture,” he says. It has taught him to give his employees space for creative thinking and to give free rein to their imagination. He says they are all free to come up with independent ideas to help their verticals grow and improve. This, he says, helps him maintain a strong workforce of over 450 employees and five offices. He believes cinema is also one of the most powerful sources of inspiration. “It teaches one about life by showing more about life than what one can experience,” he says. “You absorb a message unconsciously and start applying it to your daily life.”

Source: https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/business-of-life/this-movie-buff-uses-films-to-inspire-children-1554144374280.html

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Nagnur IDA celebrates World Oral Health Day

Nagnur IDA celebrates World Oral Health Day

( 30 March 2019 )

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Music rhythms with learning

Music rhythms with learning

(March 21, 2019 )

Music has the ability to help students connect with one another. Socio cultural boundaries can be overcome through the power of music, and it becomes an outlet through which students identify with their innermost emotions. Two students, poles apart (demographically, economically, culturally and socially) will still have something to talk if they love the same type of music. It allows them to streamline their thoughts, gives shape to their vision and acts as an outlet for their angst.

For teachers, it is a powerful medium through which they can inculcate basic teachings in children. In primary school, alphabets and numbers are often taught through rhymes and songs. This is because the recall value of music is very high. It sticks in the mind of the child acting as a mnemonic device and engages the child. It takes away the ‘fear’ associated with studying. It allows the child to look at the activity as ‘fun’. In younger grades, music can be used to help break the monotony of the classroom.

A song can improve a child’s attention and focus because it becomes a behaviour cue: students grow accustomed to the length of the song or part of a song and internalise the time they have spent on an activity and the time needed to move on to the next task, which helps them begin to take responsibility for their own learning. Music is a tool to engage each student and provide a pathway for connections and deeper understanding.

Strategy

As students move from primary to middle school, they develop their own understanding of music. They use it as a means to memorise, learn, keep track of and understand things that otherwise they are unable to. They see it in different facets of their academic life.

Using music in schools is a relatively new approach, allowing teachers to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of students. After assessing the strengths of every student, qualified music therapists determine how academics can be interlinked with music theory — whether it includes singing, creating, playing or listening.

History can be studied through a musical lens allowing teachers to talk about cultural traditions and historical events. In Mathematics, musical notes help teach fractions and patterns while using pitch can help with frequency and ratios. Science can be taught from songs that talk about the skeletal system or incorporate mnemonics to help students remember the food chain.

Music can be used to talk about sound waves, with relation to frequency and pitch. In regard to literature, music can be used to improve a student’s ability to pick up on the patterns, structure of language and differentiate between pitches in words that sound similar but have different meanings.

Therapeutic context

Through musical involvement in the therapeutic context, the core personality of the student develops. Therapists actively employ music therapy to counsel students with behavioural and emotional ailments. For children, music therapy is a medium through which therapists shape the child’s outlook.

The primal instinct of any child is to respond selfishly. It’s human nature! So, to enable the development of a child’s emotional quotient and help them grow into dignified and civil adults, empathy needs to be introduced. The narrative with which children are brought up needs to change – they need to learn how to take care of themselves while ensuring that they are able to resonate emotionally with their near and dear ones. Music therapy is designed to create a broad ambit of empathy builders in the community, enable children to make and co-create music collectively, engage the community in activities related to empathy and inculcate skills of leadership in children.

The expected outcomes include enhancement of peer-learning skills and confidence among children, the creation of community change agents and engagement with communities to build long-term empathy and wider participation.

Music has become a strong approach to bridging divides. What becomes evident is that music therapy allows for the creation of new experiences and enables people to be comfortable with themselves and their peers once again.

The author is with Smile Foundation, New Delhi

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/supplements/dh-education/music-rhythms-with-learning-724225.html

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Dental check-up conducted for school children in collaboration with IDA

Dental check-up conducted for school children in collaboration with IDA

( 20 March 2019 )

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बच्चों को वंचित समुदायों के बच्चों से जुड़ने का मौका मिला

बच्चों को वंचित समुदायों के बच्चों से जुड़ने का मौका मिला

( March 20, 2019 )

द गुरूकुल और स्माइल फाउन्डेशन ने विशेषाधिकार प्राप्त बच्चों को वंचित बच्चों के साथ जोड़ने के लिए की अनूठी पहल

वंचित समुदायों के बच्चों ने अपने समृद्ध साथियों, अध्यापकों के सहयोग एवं मार्गदर्शन में चण्डीग-सजय़ के नज़दीक ज़ीरकपुर स्थित द गुरूकुल में दर्शकों, अभिभावकों, अध्यापकों एवं अन्य दिग्गजों का भरपूर मनोरंजन किया। द गुरूकुल ने समाज के इस वंचित समुदाय के कल्याण के लिए एक विकास संगठन स्माइल फाउन्डेशन के साथ हाथ मिलाए हैं। स्माइल फाउन्डेशन के मिशन एजुकेशन सेंटर से लगभग 50 बच्चों ने 19 और 20 मार्च को स्कूल परिसर में आयोजित सालाना ‘उपलब्धि दिवस’ में हिस्सा लिया। दो दिनों के दौरान बच्चों ने अपने बचपन का जश्न मनाते हुए कई गीतों और नृत्यों पर परफोर्मेन्स दिया। एक विशेष एक्ट के माध्यम से उन्होंने बाल मजदूरी और शिक्षा के अधिकार पर रोशनी डाली। स्कूल के छात्रों ने भी अपने परफोर्मेन्स के साथ दर्शकों को मंत्रमुग्ध कर दिया।

‘‘यह द गुरूकुल से जुड़े सभी अध्यापकों और छात्रों केे लिए शानदार यात्रा रही है, जिन्होंने द मिशन एजुकेशन सेंटर के बच्चों में एक नया भरोसा जगाया है, उनमें नृत्य, गायन और प्रदर्शन का अनूठा कौशल विकसित किया है। ये बच्चे बेहतरीन परफोर्मर के रूप में उभरे हैं और स्कूल ने उन्हें काॅस्ट्युम भी मुहैया कराए।’’ विनीत वैद्य, कंट्री डायरेक्टर, चाईल्ड फाॅर चाईल्ड, स्माईल फाउन्डेशन ने कहा। ‘हमने महसूस किया कि हमारे छात्रों में वंचित समुदायों के बच्चों के प्रति सहानुभुति होनी चाहिए। यह अनुभव आने वाले समय में उन्हें भावनात्मक रूप से और करीब लाएगा।’’ हिना शर्मा, स्कूल की प्रधानाध्यापक, द गुरूकुल ने कहा।

‘‘गुरूकुल में हम किताबों और पुस्तकालय के दायरे से बाहर, समग्र शिक्षा में भरोसा रखते हैं। इस हस्तक्षेप के माध्यम से हम उन्हें आने वाले कल के ज़िम्मेदार एवं सहानुभूतिपूर्ण नागरिक बनाना चाहते हैं।’’ उन्होंने कहा। ‘‘लोगों को वंचित समुदायों के लोगों के साथ जोड़ना बेहद महत्वपूर्ण है, ताकि उन्हें एक दूसरे से सीखने का मौका मिले।’’ शांतनु मिश्रा, सह-संस्थापक एवं ट्रस्टी, स्माइल फाउन्डेशन ने कहा। ‘‘जहां एक ओर कुछ बच्चों के पास मूल सुविधाओं और अवसरों का अभाव होता है, वहीं दूसरी ओर अन्य बच्चों के पास सभी सुविधाएं बहुतायत में होती हैं। स्कूलों में प-सजय़ने वाले बच्चों को इन वंचित बच्चों के लिए संवेदनशील बनाया जा सकता है, उन्हें इस उम्र में सहानुभुति के गुण सिखाना, अपने आस-पास के माहौल से सीखने के अवसर देना आसान है।’’ उन्होंने कहा।

चाइल्ड फाॅर चाइल्ड प्रोग्राम के बाद एक ऑडियो-विजु़अल डिज़ाइन के माध्यम से इन बच्चों को इंटरैक्शन, सिनेमा, आर्ट और संगीत के साथ जोड़ने का प्रयास किय गया।

अधिक जानकारी के लिए सम्पर्क करेंः जया श्राॅफ, मीडियाः स्माइल फाउन्डेशनः 9818194294

Source: https://ajmernama.com/rajasthan/313197/

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सहानुभुति और रचनात्मकता के जश्न में बच्चों को समुदायों के बच्चों से जुड़ने का मिला मौका

सहानुभुति और रचनात्मकता के जश्न में बच्चों को समुदायों के बच्चों से जुड़ने का मिला मौका

( March 19, 2019 )

द गुरूकुल और स्माइल फाउन्डेशन ने विशेषाधिकार प्राप्त बच्चों को वंचित बच्चों के साथ जोड़ने के लिए की अनूठी पहल

वंचित समुदायों के बच्चों ने अपने समृद्ध साथियों, अध्यापकों के सहयोग एवं मार्गदर्शन में चण्डीग-सजय़ के नज़दीक ज़ीरकपुर स्थित द गुरूकुल में दर्शकों, अभिभावकों, अध्यापकों एवं अन्य दिग्गजों का भरपूर मनोरंजन किया। द गुरूकुल ने समाज के इस वंचित समुदाय के कल्याण के लिए एक विकास संगठन स्माइल फाउन्डेशन के साथ हाथ मिलाए हैं। स्माइल फाउन्डेशन के मिशन एजुकेशन सेंटर से लगभग 50 बच्चों ने 19 और 20 मार्च को स्कूल परिसर में आयोजित सालाना ‘उपलब्धि दिवस’ में हिस्सा लिया। दो दिनों के दौरान बच्चों ने अपने बचपन का जश्न मनाते हुए कई गीतों और नृत्यों पर परफोर्मेन्स दिया। एक विशेष एक्ट के माध्यम से उन्होंने बाल मजदूरी और शिक्षा के अधिकार पर रोशनी डाली। स्कूल के छात्रों ने भी अपने परफोर्मेन्स के साथ दर्शकों को मंत्रमुग्ध कर दिया।

विनीत वैद्य, कंट्री डायरेक्टर, चाईल्ड फाॅर चाईल्ड, स्माईल फाउन्डेशन के अनुसार‘‘यह द गुरूकुल से जुड़े सभी अध्यापकों और छात्रों केे लिए शानदार यात्रा रही है, जिन्होंने द मिशन एजुकेशन सेंटर के बच्चों में एक नया भरोसा जगाया है, उनमें नृत्य, गायन और प्रदर्शन का अनूठा कौशल विकसित किया है। ये बच्चे बेहतरीन परफोर्मर के रूप में उभरे हैं और स्कूल ने उन्हें काॅस्ट्युम भी मुहैया कराए।”

‘हमने महसूस किया कि हमारे छात्रों में वंचित समुदायों के बच्चों के प्रति सहानुभुति होनी चाहिए। यह अनुभव आने वाले समय में उन्हें भावनात्मक रूप से और करीब लाएगा।’’ हिना शर्मा, स्कूल की प्रधानाध्यापक, द गुरूकुल ने बताया।

‘‘गुरूकुल में हम किताबों और पुस्तकालय के दायरे से बाहर, समग्र शिक्षा में भरोसा रखते हैं। इस हस्तक्षेप के माध्यम से हम उन्हें आने वाले कल के ज़िम्मेदार एवं सहानुभूतिपूर्ण नागरिक बनाना चाहते हैं।’’ उन्होंने कहा।

शांतनु मिश्रा, सह-संस्थापक एवं ट्रस्टी, स्माइल फाउन्डेशन के अनुसार ‘‘लोगों को वंचित समुदायों के लोगों के साथ जोड़ना बेहद महत्वपूर्ण है, ताकि उन्हें एक दूसरे से सीखने का मौका मिले।’’

उन्होंने कहा कि ‘‘जहां एक ओर कुछ बच्चों के पास मूल सुविधाओं और अवसरों का अभाव होता है, वहीं दूसरी ओर अन्य बच्चों के पास सभी सुविधाएं बहुतायत में होती हैं। स्कूलों में प-सजय़ने वाले बच्चों को इन वंचित बच्चों के लिए संवेदनशील बनाया जा सकता है, उन्हें इस उम्र में सहानुभुति के गुण सिखाना, अपने आस-पास के माहौल से सीखने के अवसर देना आसान है।’’

चाइल्ड फाॅर चाइल्ड प्रोग्राम के बाद एक ऑडियो-विजु़अल डिज़ाइन के माध्यम से इन बच्चों को इंटरैक्शन, सिनेमा, आर्ट और संगीत के साथ जोड़ने का प्रयास किया गया।

Source: http://newscrust.com/hindi/?p=1538

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जश्न में बच्चों को वंचित समुदायों के बच्चों से जुड़ने का मिला मौका

जश्न में बच्चों को वंचित समुदायों के बच्चों से जुड़ने का मिला मौका

( March 19, 2019 )

लोगों को वंचित समुदायों के लोगों के साथ जोड़ना बेहद महत्वपूर्ण है, ताकि उन्हें एक दूसरे से सीखने का मौका मिले।- शांतनु मिश्रा, सह-संस्थापक एवं ट्रस्टी

मेरठ, 19 मार्च 2019: वंचित समुदायों के बच्चों ने अपने समृद्ध साथियों, अध्यापकों के सहयोग एवं मार्गदर्शन में चण्डीग-सजय़ के नज़दीक ज़ीरकपुर स्थित द गुरूकुल में दर्शकों, अभिभावकों, अध्यापकों एवं अन्य दिग्गजों का भरपूर मनोरंजन किया। द गुरूकुल ने समाज के इस वंचित समुदाय के कल्याण के लिए एक विकास संगठन स्माइल फाउन्डेशन के साथ हाथ मिलाए हैं।

स्माइल फाउन्डेशन के मिशन एजुकेशन सेंटर से लगभग 50 बच्चों ने 19 और 20 मार्च को स्कूल परिसर में आयोजित सालाना ‘उपलब्धि दिवस’ में हिस्सा लिया। दो दिनों के दौरान बच्चों ने अपने बचपन का जश्न मनाते हुए कई गीतों और नृत्यों पर परफोर्मेन्स दिया। एक विशेष एक्ट के माध्यम से उन्होंने बाल मजदूरी और शिक्षा के अधिकार पर रोशनी डाली। स्कूल के छात्रों ने भी अपने परफोर्मेन्स के साथ दर्शकों को मंत्रमुग्ध कर दिया।

संस्था के कंट्री डायरेक्टर, विनीत वैद्य, चाईल्ड फाॅर चाईल्ड, स्माईल फाउन्डेशन ने कहा की “यह द गुरूकुल से जुड़े सभी अध्यापकों और छात्रों केे लिए शानदार यात्रा रही है, जिन्होंने द मिशन एजुकेशन सेंटर के बच्चों में एक नया भरोसा जगाया है, उनमें नृत्य, गायन और प्रदर्शन का अनूठा कौशल विकसित किया है। ये बच्चे बेहतरीन परफोर्मर के रूप में उभरे हैं और स्कूल ने उन्हें काॅस्ट्युम भी मुहैया कराए।”

स्कूल की प्रधानाध्यापक हिना शर्मा ने कहा कि ‘हमने महसूस किया कि हमारे छात्रों में वंचित समुदायों के बच्चों के प्रति सहानुभुति होनी चाहिए। यह अनुभव आने वाले समय में उन्हें भावनात्मक रूप से और करीब लाएगा।’’

शांतनु मिश्रा ने कहा कि लोगों को वंचित समुदायों के लोगों के साथ जोड़ना बेहद महत्वपूर्ण है, ताकि उन्हें एक दूसरे से सीखने का मौका मिले। उन्होंने कहा कि ‘‘जहां एक ओर कुछ बच्चों के पास मूल सुविधाओं और अवसरों का अभाव होता है, वहीं दूसरी ओर अन्य बच्चों के पास सभी सुविधाएं बहुतायत में होती हैं। स्कूलों में प-सजय़ने वाले बच्चों को इन वंचित बच्चों के लिए संवेदनशील बनाया जा सकता है, उन्हें इस उम्र में सहानुभुति के गुण सिखाना, अपने आस-पास के माहौल से सीखने के अवसर देना आसान है।’’

इस कार्क्रम में चाइल्ड फाॅर चाइल्ड प्रोग्राम के बाद एक ऑडियो-विजु़अल डिज़ाइन के माध्यम से इन बच्चों को इंटरैक्शन, सिनेमा, आर्ट और संगीत के साथ जोड़ने का प्रयास किय गया।

Source : https://shagunnewsindia.com/education-the-opportunity-to-join-the-children-of-deprived-communities-in-the-celebration-of-children/

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In a celebration of empathy and creativity, children bridge the divide of privileges

In a celebration of empathy and creativity, children bridge the divide of privileges

( March 19, 2019 )

Zirakpur,19.03.19-Children from disadvantaged sections mentored by their privileged peers, and teachers, performed to a cheering crowd consisting of parents, teachers and dignitaries at The Gurukul, Zirakpur neighbouring Chandigarh.

The Gurukul joined hands with the Smile Foundation, a development organisation for the cause of the underprivileged section of the society.

Around 50 children from Smile Foundation’s Mission Education centre participated in the annual ‘Achievement Day’ event on the 19th and 20th March hosted on the school premises. Over the two days, the children presented a couple of songs, a dance medley celebrating right to cherish childhood and a mime act highlighting prevalence of child labour and the Right to Education. Their performances were held with those by the students from the school.

“It has been an amazing journey for all involved as the teachers and students from The Gurukul mentored the children of our Mission Education centre to build their confidence and refine their singing, dancing and performance skills. These kids have transformed into impressive performers and the school also provided costumes to them,” said Vineet Vaidya, Country Director, Child for Child, Smile Foundation.

“We felt the need to create empathy among our students towards the realities that the underprivileged children face. The experiences from this interaction will reflect in their behaviour and higher emotional intelligence in the times to come,” said Heena Sharma, school principal, The Gurukul.

“It is important to bring the underprivileged and the privileged sections together through a process that allows them to appreciate and, more importantly, encourages them to learn from each other,” said Santanu Mishra, co-founder and trustee, Smile Foundation.

“While some children lack access to basic amenities and opportunities, others belonging to the “privileged” group have them in abundance, and often tend to take them for granted. While in school these children are sensitive and responsive, so it is easy for them to learn from surroundings,” he added.

The Child for Child programme follows an audio-visual design through which children connect faster and more effectively using direct interaction, cinema, art and music.

Source : http://www.indianewscalling.com/news/81265-in-a-celebration-of-empathy-and-creativity-children-bridge-the-divide-of-privileges.aspx

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Gradeup collaborates with Smile Foundation to celebrate Women’s Day

Gradeup collaborates with Smile Foundation to celebrate Women’s Day

(March 10, 2019 )

Along with conducting fun-filled activities and games on the occasion, Gradeup funds the education of eight girls for this year.

On the special occasion of International Women’s day on 8th March 2019, Gradeup, India’s largest preparation platform for competitive exams, announces its collaboration with Smile Foundation, a development organisation to support and empower girl children through its initiative “She can Fly”. As part of this collaboration, Gradeup will be sponsoring education for eight girls for the upcoming year. To experience the Joy of giving back, all women employees of Gradeup will be visiting Smile Foundation’s Mission Education Center in Noida. Fun filled activities like Potluck lunch, Painting, Dance competition are planned for the children at the Mission Education Center.

Sharing insight into the collaboration, Mr Shobhit Bhatnagar, Co-founder, Gradeup remarked, “At Gradeup, we have always believed in and strongly advocated in favour of equal opportunities for all, irrespective of their gender, financial and social status. Through our initiative undertaken on the wonderful occasion of Women’s Day, we aspire to uplift underprivileged girls and provide them with avenues for their betterment in terms of education. We consider our collaboration with Smile Foundation as a significant step towards the same, and we are certain that this will further help in making holistic empowerment a reality.”

Santanu Mishra, Co-founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation added, “Our mission is to empower the underprivileged through relevant education, innovative healthcare, and market-focused livelihood programmes. It gives us immense joy to know that there are platforms like Gradeup are willing to scale the extra mile to ensure the betterment of women and the society on a whole. We are happy to collaborate with them and look forward to a long and meaningful association.”

Since its inception in 2015, Gradeup has been passionate about and actively engaged in leveraging technology and other resources to fill the gaps in the current education system. The organization’s passion aligns with Smile Foundation’s mission of empowering underprivileged children, youth, and women through education, healthcare, and livelihood programmes. Being a proactive part of the education space in the country, this initiative undertaken by Gradeup with a special focus on girl child in the wake of Women’s Day is being widely appreciated.

Source : https://www.deccanchronicle.com/technology/in-other-news/100319/gradeup-collaborates-with-smile-foundation-to-celebrate-womens-day.html

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International Women’s Day 2019: Here’s why educating girls is the need of the hour

International Women’s Day 2019: Here’s why educating girls is the need of the hour

(March 8, 2019 )

World Bank estimates show that in low income countries like India, less than two thirds of girls complete their primary education, and only one in three completes lower secondary school.

Various studies have shown that effective education is the key to lead a dignified life. However, we as a nation are far behind in providing equal access and education to our girl children. Despite big ticket initiatives announced by successive governments to tackle this inequality, we still have a long way to go.

Recently released 2018 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), shows that the proportion of girls in the 11 to 14 age group who were out of school fell to 4.1 per cent from 10.3 per cent in 2006, which is a positive trend but more proactive and comprehensive policies are required to ensure that the decline happens at a much faster pace.

World Bank estimates show that in low income countries like India, less than two thirds of girls complete their primary education, and only one in three completes lower secondary school.

High dropout rate of girls in India:

The biggest challenge is dropping out of girls from schools which is propelled by multiple social circumstances. These include early marriage, poverty, lack of safety in schools, lower expectations of girls’ education and traditional gender norms.

A 2017 National Commission for Protection of Child Rights’ (NCPCR report), also echoes similar worries that around 39.4 percent of adolescent girls in the 15-18 age group are not attending any educational institution, and a huge majority – almost 65 percent – of them are “either tied up in household activities, are dependents (married), or, are forced to beg, etc.”

The cost the country has to bear for this pattern in girl child education is huge, shows a World Bank report. The report estimates the losses in lifetime productivity and earnings for girls of not completing 12 years of education at USD 15 trillion (Rs 15 lac crore) to $30 trillion dollars (Rs 30 lac crore) globally.

This is because on average, women with secondary education earn almost double of those with meager or no education.

Benefits of education girls:

We as a nation need to think of the benefits around educating our girls. Once we started strategizing towards ensuring lower dropout rates among adolescent girls, we could automatically tackle the problem of child marriage (under 18 for girls), which would naturally translate into reduction in early child bearing, which would further impact both maternal mortality rates and child mortality. This would have a bigger impact on the health of children as well as mothers. Healthy mothers would mean healthy families.

Government policies:

To ensure this happens, the government policies must tackle social practices that keep girls out of school. While the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao initiative launched in 2015 has been an excellent step in the direction. Here, the government is advocating the need to educate and empower the girl child by raising awareness among the communities.

However, more efforts are required to support a quality education system to enable a woman to become self-sufficient, self-reliant and independent.

The immediate objective should be to ensure lesser or no gender based gap in the secondary education and higher education. The school enrollments must be clocked, report cards should be monitored and a focus must be on putting in place a mechanism to identify the girls who are at a risk of dropping out.

Bridge courses for to address the quality education needs of the dropped out girls. Teachers should be capacitated with innovative teaching techniques to create an effective learning environment to cater to each student in the classroom.

Need for vocational training:

To ensure, quality education is provided, there is a need for close monitoring and tabulating results.

Inculcating entrepreneurship skills among the young women will help them drive an economically stable life. Special vocational training in beauty courses, retail, data processing, tailoring etc., along with secondary education, which can get them job ready soon after school, is a good option for urban slums.

This kind of vocational training backed by regular education will help take care of household expenses, and this girl whose education or upbringing, which has been viewed as a “burden” will then be seen as an “investment.”

Moreover, we need to understand that these girls who are educated and financially independent will be more armed to fight against the existing ‘abusive’ patriarchal structure.

Push towards supporting the women to strengthen their self-esteem and leadership, can play a big role in fighting the gender bias.

At the very foundation level, schools and families both need to become more receptive and appreciative of girls and their need to study and be empowered. Teachers and families both must be trained and sensitised to this fact that only when the girl child is educated, she will ensure that her progeny are educated, leading to a change in society on the whole.

(Authored article by Santanu Misra, Trustee and Co-founder, Smile Foundation)

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/international-women-s-day-2019-here-s-why-educating-girls-is-the-need-of-the-hour-1473007-2019-03-08

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1. Smile Foundation collects information from the users in a number of ways, for example when the user:

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3. Smile Foundation is not expressly or impliedly responsible for, or liable to any loss or damage caused to a user by the collection, use and retention of Personal Information by such website in any manner whatsoever. It is important that the users review the privacy policies of all websites they visit before disclosing any information to such websites.

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1. As and when the need arises, Smile Foundation may alter its privacy policy in accordance with the latest technology and trends. It will provide you with timely notice of these changes. The users may reach out to Smile Foundation if they have any queries about any changes made to its practices.

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Supplementing & In Alignment with Government Initiatives

donation for child education in india

EDUCATION

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
National Education Policy
Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao
Digital India

donation for child education

lIVELIHOOD

Skill India
Enhancing Formal Skilling



donation for health care

HEALTH

National Rural Health Mission
Universal Health Coverage
National Digital Health Mission
Promotion of Govt. Health Schemes

livelihood skills training programs

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Anaemia Mukt Bharat
Poshan Abhiyan
Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan
Anganwadi Strengthening