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Author: Smile Editorial Team

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In The Spotlight

Nurturing Women Entrepreneurs: Swabhiman Team Helps Yashoda Fulfill Her Dreams

Nurturing Women Entrepreneurs: Swabhiman Team Helps Yashoda Fulfill Her Dreams

The pandemic affected each of our lives. It tested us in the biggest and most unusual ways possible. However, for most us, the entire experience has made us stronger. In some way or the other, we have found the strength within us to do bigger and better things. Through our Swabhiman programme, we have managed to help and empower many women even during the pandemic. Entrepreneurship has been one of the major outcomes of the pandemic. Nurturing women entrepreneurs is among the main goals of Swabhiman. With their help, many women have developed their own enterprises too. Here is the story of one such woman, Yashoda.

 

Yashoda’s origins

 

Before the pandemic, Yashoda was just a regular young woman. She lived with her one-year old child and her husband in Bengaluru. Her husband was a cab driver. However, when the lockdown was imposed last year, the family started facing financial constraints. Soon, things turned bitter.

 

‘My husband was at home, and always stressed out. With such a small child to take care of, I did not know what to do. I was emotionally and financially distressed,’ shares Yashoda.

 

However, despite the difficult circumstances, Yashoda did not lose hope. She had made up her mind to fight back. ‘I came to know about the Entrepreneur Development Training programme from Smile Foundation through a community mobilizer. I attended all the training modules they were offering. Meeting women from different backgrounds and getting to know about their problems, I felt I was not alone,’ she shares.

 

Swabhiman team nurturing women entrepreneurs

 

The Swabhiman team conducts training sessions for women on various things. For instance, menstrual health, organic farming, cooking nutritious meals, entrepreneurship development, financial literacy, and so on. All these are aimed towards empowering these women. The women engaged with us are able to improve their lives in a number of ways. Many of them become confident enough to take up jobs or start their own ventures.

 

Setting up an enterprise: Yashoda’s dreams

 

Yashoda enjoyed these sessions very much. She met other like-minded women through these sessions. They all enjoyed the session and learned a lot from them. Yashoda not only completed the training herself, but also gathered women in her community who were suffering like her. Soon she emerged as a leader of her peer group and set up a business of handmade organic cosmetics with them. ‘Two of my group members are college-going girls. We segregated our work and proposed our business entity. They gave us specific training on how to make lip balm, kajal, bath salts, bath powder and tooth powder. They motivated us so much. I got all my confidence back,’ says Yashoda.  

 

Smile’s team provided them not just with know-how but also with the raw materials they needed to start the business. Yashoda and her team named their business Kadamba Naturals, which is now registered too! She says, ‘I’m sure we will make it a big brand and become financially independent. My dream is to expand my business and train a lot of women like me and make their dream come true.’

 

Together, the team not only manufactures but also markets the products by themselves.

 

A source of inspiration for many and a true entrepreneur

 

Yashoda has motivated other women in her community to start their own enterprises too. Some women are not able to initially arrange the resources for their own business. She involves these women in her own business to help with production.

 

COVID-19 turned her world upside down, but she emerged as a true leader who has changed the lives of women in her community forever. Doing this for herself has helped her take the first step towards financial independence. Moreover, she has got the much-needed self-respect and confidence back. She is a true change-maker who has overcome her problems. At the same time, she has also emerged as a leader who has motivated others.

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In The Spotlight

National Mathematics Day 2021: Marking S. Ramanujan’s Birth Anniversary

National Mathematics Day 2021: Marking S. Ramanujan’s Birth Anniversary

Since 2012, India celebrates National Mathematics Day on December 22 every year. This day marks the birth anniversary of world-renowned mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.

 

It was then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who declared S. Ramanujan’s birthday as National Mathematics Day to honour his contribution to the subject. Now, this day is celebrated all over the country in various government and academic institutions. It marks the importance of mathematics in our life and encourages people to develop self-learning and rationale skills, much like Ramanujan.

 

 

A brief history of S. Ramanujan

 

S. Ramanujan was born on 22 December 1887. He belonged to a Tamil Brahmin family of the city of Erode, Tamil Nadu.

 

He was a child prodigy, and largely a self-taught mathematician. At age twelve, he had mastered trigonometry thoroughly. So much so that he was inventing sophisticated theorems by that age. By the age of fourteen, he was helping his school with logistics and completing his exams in half the allotted time. He won a scholarship to study in college at the age of seventeen. However, due to his failure to crack the other subjects, he lost this scholarship.

 

Solving algebra and trigonometric problems came so easily to him while his fellow students struggled to crack these.

 

His rise to fame

 

In 1913, Ramanujan sent a long list of complex theorems to three Cambridge academics: H. F. Baker, E. W. Hobson, and G. H. Hardy. Hardy recognized the young man’s genius and invited him to visit the University of Cambridge. Thus, at twenty-six, Ramanujam went to Britain for his theorems on infinite series, continued fractions, improper integrals, and number theory.

 

The genius mathematician was the first Indian to be elected as a Fellow at Trinity College. He also became the youngest Fellow of the Royal Society in London for his work on Elliptic functions and theory of numbers.

 

Ramanujan came to be known as ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’. This was because of his infinite love for and contribution to mathematics.

 

In Britain, he compiled more than 3,000 mathematical results and equations. He finally returned to India in 1919. Due to tuberculosis, he passed away the next year.

 

Ramanujan contributed greatly to mathematical analysis, infinite series, continued fractions and number theory. His path-breaking work is an inspiration for future generations.

 

One of Ramanujan’s most famous quotes is:

An equation means nothing to me unless it expresses a thought of God.

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In The Spotlight Partners In Change

Students as Mentors: Child for Child’s Buddy Mentor Initiative

Students as Mentors: Child for Child’s Buddy Mentor Initiative

There is a famous quote from Galileo Galilei, “You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself.” How true is this for our students who are every day learning new things and are being encouraged to explore new ideas! It is with this inspiration at Child for Child that we decided to include children from privileged schools to become part of our student mentoring system. Students as mentors? An exciting idea, isn’t it? Here’s how we did it.

CFC students as mentors

We spoke to some of the students who have been associated with us for almost a year. All of them are working on some project or the other. We have six students from Bangalore who are members of an organisation called LEAP, an acronym for Leaders of Environmental Awareness and Protection. They are Rahul, Konik, Siddhant, Stuti, Smriti, and Shrishti. All of them work towards the common cause of environmental preservation. They seek to mentor other children regarding best practices in ecology preservation. Well, they reached out and we connected them to our project children in the lovely hill town of Kalimpong, West Bengal.

Students as mentors

Then we reached out to Shivani, Zaara, Rishi, and Aryaman, our bunch of tech nerds from Mumbai who have set up GenZ Codes. The project teaches coding at extremely low costs to the less privileged. They have been associated with us and want to teach our beneficiary children the advantages of coding and how to do it with ease. They were happy to come on board with their tutorials, their applications, and their bundle of talent. So, we connected them to the children in our Darjeeling project who want to learn coding but do not have the means to do so.

K-students also join in!

Not to be left behind were Hyeyoon, Yedam, and Seokwoo, our very own K-students from South Korea. All three currently reside in India and are extremely excited to teach math, music, and, of course, Korean to those who were keen. They too joined the bandwagon of student mentors who want to guide, teach, and motivate the project children. We connected them to our extremely enthusiastic bunch of tweens and teens living in the quaint villages of India’s Queen of Hills, nestled amongst world’s most gorgeous tea gardens in Darjeeling.

As connections were built, introductions made, we noticed that new relationships were emerging. The mentoring quickly progressed towards formation of bonds that are visible only amongst siblings. The shy giggles from our project children gave way to eager questions. Our children accepted their mentors as buddies and wanted to know more about them, about the world outside, the music they listened to, and the pop bands they followed.

From mentors to buddies

Now, where in the world do you see the progress so quickly from being mentors to buddies? At Smile we saw that. We absolutely love this and we pray that this bond never breaks. We are happy to share that now we have a bunch of super intelligent Buddy Mentors who have taken it upon themselves to motivate their brethren mentees to do the right thing, choose the right path, and to always be inquisitive. And the amazing part…it’s all digital! How beautiful it is to see that Buddy Mentors login from south India, central India, as well as the capital of India, and connect so well with their mentees from the foothills of Himalayas.

The mentors and mentees have already celebrated Children’s Day and Environment Day together. They have also indulged in a some pre-Xmas celebrations. Let’s hope that we see this magic evolve into a relationship where children, despite the physical distances, continue to remain in touch and continue to learn from each other. As the lyrics go of a famous song by the British Rockband, GTR:

When the Heart rules the mind

One look & love is blind

When you want the dream to last

Take a chance, forget the past”

The empathy, the love & the maturity displayed by our Buddy Mentors will ensure that this Dream will definitely last!

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In The Spotlight

Smile Foundation Creating Sustainable Livelihoods through STeP

Smile Foundation Creating Sustainable Livelihoods through STeP

Asustainable livelihood is one which can sustain a range of dynamic stress factors and shocks. Creating sustainable livelihoods that a skilled worker’s capabilities are not limited by external factors. A person can have a sustainable livelihood only if they acquire skills that remain relevant in the long-term to ensure a source of income.

 

At Smile Foundation, we are continuously working on creating sustainable livelihoods through the STeP (Smile Twin e-Learning Programme) initiative. Skill training and enhancement, in accordance with market requirements, are the main measures under STeP, along with personality development.

 

Till now, we have trained close to 50,000 youth. Here are the endearing stories of some of the trainees. With Tayyari Kal Ki, we are geared up to skill and support many more such youth.

 

Neha

For a better and brighter future, it is important to dream. If your father is a daily wage labourer and mother is a domestic helper, those dreams may sometimes seem far-fetched. After completing her graduation in commerce, Neha started looking for a job. It was very important for her to procure a job as soon as possible to add to her family income of Rs 10,000-15,000 per month. It has been her dream to be independent and contribute to her family’s income. She also dreamt of having a corporate job.

Neha found out about the STeP initiative through a community mobilizing session in her locality. Soon after, she joined the digital marketing skilling training programme by STeP.

 

Over the duration of the course, Neha gained the skills necessary for a job in digital marketing. With the correct training and guidance, Neha has now got a job as a Digital Sales Marketer at Innovative Technologies, Noida. She proudly earns a salary of Rs 13,000 every month and makes her parents proud.

 

She is currently working as a Digital Sales Marketer in Innovative Technologies, Noida at a salary of Rs. 13000 per month.

 

Mohammad Ibrahim

 

The future depends on what you do today. Hard work and perseverance will never fail you. Mohammed Ibrahim will surely stand by this. He is a resident from Talab Katta, Hyderabad. Ibrahim belongs to a lower middle class family. His father is a daily wage earner and his mother a housewife. Due to financial problems, he had to discontinue his studies.  

He came to know about STeP from his friends. Ibrahim felt that learning from the STeP centre would give him the much-needed skills and training he required to get a good job. As he did not finish his studies, he faced problems in finding a job. The STeP training centre provided him the best possible platform and infrastructure to excel in his career. The expert trainers made him industry-ready, while the placement training helped him to enhance his soft skills and made him stand out from others.

 

First, Mohammed Ibrahim got placed in 99TV channel. He knew he had to work even harder to chase his dreams. After putting in a lot of extra work, he is now working as a Marketing Executive at Tata 1MG. He now earns a good salary of Rs 25,000 per month.

 

“Finding a good job was my concern and how to proceed further was something I was completely unaware of. During my research, I got to know about STeP employability training which further helped me in building my confidence and polishing my skills,” he shares. He wants more young people to avail of this opportunity so that they can build a future for themselves.

 

Bijan Halder

 

Bijan Halder is a 20-year-old resident of Sonarpur in West Bengal. Soon after he completed his higher secondary studies, he started looking for skill development courses to improve his chances of getting employment. STeP’s on-ground mobilization team conducts various surveys to find potential trainees. They found Bijan through one such survey. He seemed like the perfect candidate who could upskill himself and realize his dreams.

 

Bijan belongs to a lower-middle class family. His father is the only person in the family who is earning. As a daily wage labourer, he makes about Rs 12,000 per month. Bijan wanted to take some pressure off his father and support his family financially. He always had a knack of helping others and he finally decided to put this to use for earning an income. After contemplating for a few days, he decided to enroll in the nursing course at STeP.

He joined the three-month programme in 2020. The healthcare course under STeP not only provides the required theoretical knowledge but also the practical knowledge. This helps new healthcare workers to hit the ground running when they join the industry. Communications classes are also held as part of the course to make sure the students do not face any problem communicating with their patients or colleagues in the industry. With the tireless help of his mentor, Bijan was able to successfully complete the course.

In 2021, he started his career in the nursing industry with Hindustan Health Point as a trainee. He is now working at New Town Nursing Home and earning Rs 9000 per month.  

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In The Spotlight

What has NFHS-5 revealed about malnutrition in India?

What has NFHS-5 revealed about malnutrition in India?

Malnutrition is among India’s most serious development challenges. It contributes significantly to the country’s disease burden. Stunting and under-nutrition continue to be the big challenges. The National Family Health Survey (NHFS)-5 has revealed some more insights into the problem of malnutrition. The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India. It is second only to the Census.

 

What NFHS-5 revealed about malnutrition in India

 

There are improvements on various dimensions. These include educational attainment, infant mortality, vaccinations, and institutional deliveries.

 

There are three main indicators of malnutrition: stunting (low height-for-age), wasting (low weight-for-height) and being underweight (low weight-for-age). There is an improvement on all three indicators. It is important to remember that the survey was conducted in two phases. In Phase, the malnutrition indicators had shown worsening; in Phase 2 none of the states show worsening. This anomaly may have something to do with COVID-19, which possibly affected the way data was collected.

 

As per the NFHS-5, 35.5% of children below five years were stunted and 32.1 per cent were underweight in 2019-21.

 

Among the stunted children, 37.3% are in the rural areas as compared to 30.1% in urban areas. If we look at state-wise data, Meghalaya (46.5 per cent), Bihar (42.9%), Uttar Pradesh (39.7%), and Jharkhand (39.6%) have the highest rates of stunting while Sikkim (22.3%) and Puducherry (20%) have the lowest.

 

Two states that had the lowest stunting rates in children in NFHS-4 (2015-16) but showed a substantial rise as per the NFHS-5 are Goa (from 20.1% to 25.8%) and Kerala (from 19.7% to 23.4%).

 

Moreover, the proportion of overweight children, women, and men also increased. This also reflects malnutrition which can lead to serious health consequences.

 

What this indicates

 

Stunting is a health condition caused due to malnutrition. It can have consequences on human capital, poverty, and equity. A child suffering from stunting may also study less and have fewer professional opportunities.  The World Bank says, “A 1% loss in adult height due to childhood stunting is associated with a 1.4 per cent loss in economic productivity.”

 

From what the data reveals, it can be inferred that collaborative measures will prove to be useful to overcome this menace. Thus, the government, health institutions, academic, as well as civil society organizations need to work together.  Health and nutrition programmes need to be converged to address these issues right from pregnancy until the child reaches five years of age.

 

Change at the behavior-level is also needed. For this, information, education, and communication sessions should be held. Effective social behavioural and communication (SBCC) strategy is essential because behaviours are ingrained in society and in family traditions.

 

Effective monitoring and implementation of programmes to address malnutrition and prioritise the reduction of child undernutrition in the national development agenda is the need of the hour.

 

Smile Foundation’s work on malnutrition

 

As part of our work with women and children, we have actively been working on reducing malnutrition. At our Mission Education centres, we ensure that children get healthy and nutritious meals. We also educate their parents on the same. Through our Swabhiman programme, which works for and with women in particular, we are constantly educating and empowering women to take charge of their own lives and health. For this, we conduct various informative workshops with them to teach them how they can take care of themselves as well as their newborns through the means of good food. Nutrition is a vital aspect of our work towards the improvement of society. After knowing what NFHS-5 has revealed about malnutrition in India, it is more important than ever to intervene on this aspect of development.

 

You can also do your part by ensuring nutrition for someone else. Know more here.

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Insights

Mid-day Meals and Their Role in the Education of Children

Mid-day Meals and Their Role in the Education of Children

There are millions of children in our country who face many obstacles in their education. Socio-economic causes are the main deterrents to education, apart from others like geographical difficulties. However, it is important to keep working on educating such children for the many benefits it will provide to them and to the society at large. Some of these benefits also act as incentives for students to come to school and parents to send them. The mid-day meal is one of these. Mid-day meals play a vital role in the education of underprivileged children.

 

What are mid-day meals?

 

The Central Government of India established the mid-day meal scheme in 1995 to give free prepared meals to children in government and government-aided primary schools (classes I–V; ages 6–10 years). The National Programme of Nutritional Support for Primary Education had planned to cover all government schools. However, due to institutional constraints, only a few states promptly ramped up the programme.

 

Data from the 1999 National Sample Survey (NSS)–consumer expenditure survey (CES)–suggest that just 6% of all girls aged 6–10 years received mid-day meals at school.

 

However, between 1999 and 2004, the programme’s coverage expanded in many states. This was after the Supreme Court ordered state governments to provide prepared lunches in primary schools.

 

In 2004, 32% of Indian girls aged 6–10 years were covered by the programme, which increased to 46% by 2011 as significant funds were provided to the plan. Throughout this time period, boys received comparable coverage.

 

The study also discovered that the 14 states that implemented mid-day meals in the late 1990s had improvements in child height before the rest of the country. Following the Supreme Court rule, these states expanded the mid-day meal programme in the 2000s.

 

The findings imply that acting during the primary school years can make significant benefits to lowering future child stunting, particularly given the cumulative exposure that school nutrition programmes can provide. Because they target numerous underlying factors of undernutrition in vulnerable groups, these mid-day meal programmes have the potential to stimulate population-level stunting reduction.

 

What studies indicate

 

A new study discovered that girls who received free food in elementary schools as part of the mid-day meal programme had children with better growth. The study, titled ‘Intergenerational Nutrition Advantages of India’s National School Feeding Programme’ was published in the journal Nature Communications.

 

The study examined whether mid-day meals help intergenerational increases in a child’s linear development. This was done using nationally representative data on mothers and their children from 1993 to 2016.

 

How are mid-day meals helping

 

School, without a doubt, plays a vital part in the socio-economic development of society. It is a place where youngsters from all origins mix, establishing a culture of unity and brotherhood. Their education at school prepares them to reach their goals and be successful in life. However, the majority of students in government schools come from low-income families. Even when education programmes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan are being introduced, some youngsters are forced to pick jobs over school due to financial constraints. And this is where the true value of a mid-day meal emerges. The mid-day meal serves as an enticing incentive for parents to take their children to school. This way they can ensure that their child will receive at least one plate full of food for the day.

 

Social structures are used to channel policy actions. The resilience of these social institutions guarantees that social differences are maintained and that rewards are distributed based on one’s place in the social hierarchy. All policy interventions began in this manner. In the case of Mid Day Meal, the situation is rather different. It is worth noting that MDM governmental intervention is not included in that assumption of social structure. Rather, it has opposed the influence of an inequitable social structure by allowing disadvantaged students from low income categories, as well as female students, to complete their studies. Furthermore, advancements in girls’ education will lead to benefits in social development. Continued education postpones marriage and improves women’s participation in family decisions.

 

Role of civil society organisations

 

The Government of India encourages civil society organisations to participate by providing enough support in order to enhance the benefits of mid-day meals. These include

 

  • Avoiding classroom hunger
  • Increasing school enrollment
  • Increasing school attendance
  • Improving caste socialisation, 
  • Addressing malnutrition and 
  • Empowering women through employment.

 

Smile Foundation understands the concrete and long-term impact of a mid-day meal. Thus, through our various programmes we are providing meals and good nutrition to as many children as possible. As a result, it takes on the responsibility of providing mid-day meals for impoverished children.

Know more about our work here.

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Insights

NEP and the Education of Tribal Children

NEP and the Education of Tribal Children

The National Education Policy (NEP) has recommended a number of measures for the education system. This is a centralised policy for all states. A few key recommendations of the policy can have a huge impact on certain sections of the society. It is worthwhile to consider the effect that the NEP can have on the education of tribal children.

 

The language recommendation

 

The new NEP emphasizes on the use of the mother tongue. It recommends that the region’s mother tongue is used to impart teaching in primary classes.

 

Where tribes are concerned, several states have been using multilingual mode of education. However, there is still a huge gap in this for a number of reasons. First, tribal communities have their own languages and an even larger number of dialects. For instance, in Odisha, the tribal communities have around 21 languages, and nearly 75 dialects. With these kind of numbers, it is difficult to decide the medium of instruction.

 

Moreover, language training of teachers and curriculum development in the concerned language has not been addressed yet.

 

Multi Grade Learning Centres and strength of schools

 

India has several Multi Grade Learning Centres. These are also known as single teacher schools. Many tribal areas of the country has such schools which cater to just one or only a few villages. And many of these schools have less than 30 students.

 

The NEP recommends that schools with less than 30 students should be closed. These schools are deemed to be “economically suboptimal and operationally complex to run”. The policy has not stated clearly whether this would be applicable to all schools and all children. If it is, then hundreds of such schools would be shut and all the students studying in these schools would face the impact.

 

A related recommendation is to create cluster schools region-wise. Educationists who are against this policy say that due to different demographic patterns of different states, having cluster learning centres will deny education to many tribal children. For them, the cluster centre might be inaccessible.

 

History of tribals’ education

 

According to data in the Statistics on School Education 2010-11, the dropout rate among tribal students is quite high. Around 71% of tribal students between classes I to X drop out. Considering that the tribal population stands at 8.6% of India’s population, this is a significant number of students dropping out of school. A large number of tribal children also remain outside the formal education system.

 

Despite geographical and socio-economic barriers, modernization and industrialization have made inroads into the habitat of the tribal communities. Massive encroachment on their land and way of life has led to their displacement and exploitation. Most tribal communities are now in abject poverty.  All these factors have an impact on the education levels of tribal communities, which is still much lower than desired.

 

NEP and education of tribal children

 

Education is the key to any kind of development. It is no different for the tribal community. Due to poor educational status among tribal communities, their development is also quite slow. Only drastic measures can improve the status of the tribes of India.

 

Sensitization as well as preservation of culture should play a key role in the education of tribal children. The culture and integrity of tribal communities is an asset and a major part of their identity. Thus, teaching methodology and curricula need be designed keeping these aspects in mind. It is important to assimilate and incorporate tribal culture and values to ensure that education is an inclusive and enjoyable experience.

 

The NEP must keep these things in mind when implementing the new system. Socially and economically marginalized groups like the tribals need to nurtured to ensure their development. The vocational training that is part of the NEP could be a step towards this. It can ensure that tribal children learn skills that will help them get jobs in the modern economy, and they can move beyond the traditional occupations such as agriculture.

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Insights

How to Foster Creativity in Children amid Virtual Classes?

How to Foster Creativity in Children amid Virtual Classes?

The official schooling system has been severely disrupted, throwing children’s routines out of whack. It is important to have activities to keep them motivated and foster creativity in children during virtual classes.

 

You may have witnessed pupils struggling to complete work, or to participate and contribute creatively to school work near the end of the previous school year. The novelty of online learning had worn off, and there seemed to be a new wave of bad news every day. This has undoubtedly had an impact on everyone, but most notably on children.

 

We’re learning as we go

 

Most schools and teachers were unprepared at first to convert every lesson and school resource to an online platform, especially overnight. Students were also not entirely comfortable. Many were stranded at home without a dependable Internet connection or necessary gadgets such as a laptop.

 

Students have been in social isolation and under stay-at-home orders for months now. However, the new school year is swiftly approaching. By this time, some students are feeling more prepared and comfortable in their virtual classrooms. This new virtual learning environment raises the question of how instructors can continue to encourage and develop creativity while working from a screen.

 

Attempt to change things up

 

Trying to balance remote teaching duties with everything else might be difficult for instructors who are new with online teaching platforms. This type of juggling leaves little opportunity for spontaneity and can disrupt the entire class’s creative flow.

 

Consider for a moment what is missed while teaching electronically. For one thing, it’s far more difficult to pick up on students’ nonverbal communication while they’re online. Additionally, students may struggle to be active listeners. It is also considerably more difficult to provide tailored assistance with assignments. As a result of these virtual learning disadvantages, pupils are prone to grow dissatisfied and disheartened. Without in-person direction and monitoring, some students may become stuck or lost. One dead end after another leads to students being unable to reach the learning objectives.

 

Alternate between tasks to foster creativity in children

 

The University of Southern California (USC) recommends alternating between tasks to boost creative thinking for a better online experience. Task-switching gives pupils more choice and can help to minimize certain shortcomings while enhancing strengths. Setting firm stops and working in short spurts is recommended by USC. They further say that rotating between projects several times rather than focusing on one item provides a fresh viewpoint and encourages more innovation.

 

Though task switching isn’t something new for teachers, doing so online is. At the onset of the pandemic, teachers had found it simpler to focus on one activity at a time. Now that some time has gone and they are more aware about the ins and outs of the virtual classroom, it’s time to shake things up and get the creative juices flowing again.

 

Stay connected with nature

 

All of the restrictions and stress that children are experiencing during the pandemic will be reflected in their work and creativity. It is important to encourage pupils to take regular breaks away from screens outside of their homes. There are various scientifically documented advantages of spending time outside.

 

Improved mental health: Going for a walk, hiking, or riding a bike are all excellent ways to minimize negative thinking, reduce anxiety, and enhance your mood.

Improved immunity: Improved well-being is also beneficial to your immune system. Vitamin D, an immunity-boosting vitamin, is not produced naturally by humans. Fortunately, sunlight is the best source of vitamin D. Aside from this, spending time in nature can help the immune system in many other ways. There is scientific proof that being outside in nature protects you from diseases like ADHD, cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes, and obesity

Enhanced creativity: Spending time in nature may be extremely motivating, boost cognitive processes, and revitalize the creative mind.

 

Motivate kids to go outside or make an assignment that requires them to spend some time outside. Of course, students should be reminded of COVID-19 safety precautions before they do so. This simple activity may appear to be a small thing. However, with everything going on around the globe, this may be the only time students get to take a break and reconnect with their surroundings.

 

To sum up

 

It goes without saying that this year has been quite difficult thus far. These past several months have been cognitively, emotionally, and physically exhausting for everyone. This is true for teachers, students, as well as parents. This is something to think about when you plan your next creative move in the classroom.

 

As virtual learning technology advances, educators may find themselves having to master new tactics. Students and teachers both encounter distinct challenges. One of them is definitely how to foster creativity in children in a virtual classroom. With the help of correct technology, resources, and motivation, teachers will assist and motivate students to overcome these unprecedented times and rediscover their creative spark.

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In The Spotlight

Human Rights Day 2021: Reducing Inequalities and Advancing Human Rights

Human Rights Day 2021: Reducing Inequalities and Advancing Human Rights

Human Rights Day is observed on 10 December every year. On this day in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This day is celebrated to raise awareness about people’s social, cultural, and physical rights. Further, it seeks to ensure the welfare of everyone.

 

Each year, the day is celebrated by holding cultural events, public meetings and seminars, and other educational activities at various institutions.

 

Significance of Human Rights Day

 

This day encourages nations to create equal opportunities for everyone and address the issues of inequality, exclusion, and discrimination. There are some absolute rights which all human beings are entitled to. And this is irrespective of their race, colour, religion, sex, language, ideologies, birth, and so on. This important day seeks to celebrate this and remind everyone about their duty towards this.

 

Since 1968, the International Year for Human Rights, the UN has been awarding the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.

 

Theme for this year

 

The theme for this year is ‘Reducing Inequalities and Advancing Human Rights’. This theme is related to Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This Article states, ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It is noteworthy that the UDHR is the second most translated document in history.

 

This theme is significant for a number of reasons. Equality and non-discrimination are at the heart of human rights. This particular theme indicates that the international community is making efforts to find solutions for deep-rooted forms of discrimination. The victims of such discrimination are women, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, indigenous people, racial minorities, and so on. It is important to adopt a human rights-based approach to ensure equality and inclusion for all.

 

Previously, the themes have included ending discrimination, protecting victims of human rights violations, fighting poverty, and so on.

 

Smile Foundation’s work towards equality

 

At Smile Foundation, we believe that everyone deserves equal rights and equal opportunities. India has a large number of vulnerable people who do not have equal access to education and opportunities. We are constantly working to ensure that these people get the chance to be at par with the privileged few.

 

Whether it is education, health, our work with women, or training youth for a sustainable livelihood, we are working towards equality in each of these fields.

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The Role of Nutrition in Economic and Social Development

The Role of Nutrition in Economic and Social Development

The development of a country and the state of hunger and malnutrition in that country are directly related. This means that it is important to explore the significance of nutrition in economic and social development of an individual and the country.

 

Nutrition and development

 

The International Conference on Nutrition (ICN) was held in Rome in 1992. Here, the relationship between nutrition and human resource development was established and described. The Plan of Action developed at the conference stated that nutritional well-being of all people is a pre-condition for the development of societies and is a key objective of progress in human development.

 

The issue of nutrition

 

Till a few years back, being health-conscious meant eating a low-carb or low-sugar diet. Some foods that became popular as super foods were also considered as essential to being healthy.

 

A lack of essential nutrients in one’s diet is the main cause of mild to severe malnutrition. In India, there are a great number of facets to the problem of malnutrition. These range across sectors and factors. One has to look beyond stable and varied food supply to ensure good nutritional status.

 

A country’s political, economic, and social environment plays a critical role in the nutritional well-being of its people. Additionally, its institutional and delivery capacity also impact the nutritional status. Any country’s potential resources also affect the nutritional outcome. When the basic needs of a country’s citizens are not met, it leads to a potential loss in the development process.

 

The cost of malnutrition

 

There are wide-ranging social and economic impacts of nutritional disorders, both on individuals as well as society.

 

For instance, one of the effects of malnutrition is intellectual and developmental disability. A child with IDD has lower learning capacity, decreased productivity, and low income-earning capacity. This may become a burden for the family as well the state which has to support them. Having dependents increases the expenditure of individual households as well as the government.

 

Another example of such an impact is iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women. IDA affects not just the pregnant woman but also the child born who is born of a mother with such deficiencies. Newborn with iron deficiencies can face other related health problems, and so can the mother. Moreover, the new mother would not be able to care for the newborn either if her own condition is weak. Thus, IDA affects the potential growth and development of the next generation too.

 

Why we need to invest in nutrition?

 

Investing in nutrition is an important aspect of development. The efficient use of resources can ensure that the social and financial costs of malnutrition are averted. Moreover, health, education, and agriculture will also see improvement.

 

Benefits of good nutrition include good quality of life, increased productivity, and good economic returns. It leads to better performance of children in school and also helps build their cognitive ability.  In adults, it can improve productivity and income substantially, resulting in a higher standard of living and overall improvement in the quality of life.

 

Studies such as this have pointed out in various ways why it is important to strengthen nutrition from a young age. Firstly, children suffering from malnutrition tend to receive less education. There are several possible reasons for this: their caregivers invest less in their education, schools are not equipped to cater to them, or perhaps their proneness to sickness increases their absenteeism from school. Secondly, due to malnutrition, some children might start their schooling at a later stage. Thus, they receive lesser amount of schooling. Additionally, malnutrition may also reduce learning capacity due to the impact on cognitive development.

 

Investing in nutrition has great productivity gains. These gains are enough to justify the economic investment made for this. There is a widespread belief that resources invested in nutrition programmes are wasted and can be better used elsewhere. This is a false assumption because nutrition has many economic and social benefits, as has been highlighted above. This means that the role of nutrition in social and economic development is vital.

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