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Author: Smile Editorial Team

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Partners In Change

Children celebrate New Year with Smile

Children celebrate New Year with Smile

Child for Child programme works towards instilling a sense of empathy amongst children from the privileged community. The programme also aims at making the youngsters more conscientious towards underprivileged children and the community around them in general. With the start of a New Year children wanted to set a base for an exciting 2021. So, to continue with the momentum Smile Foundation’s Child For Child programme organized an event. Ring in 2021 was conducted on the 28th of January.

 

Competing for a Cause

 

In the New Year we wanted to talk about Earth Foundation’s mission for 2021, “Restoring Planet Earth”. Smile Foundation has in the past organized many environment related campaigns. Most of them were conducted with underprivileged children associated with its Mission Education centers. Often these children have organized plantation drives and environment conservation campaigns. All these were done in association with children from privileged schools. Therefore DPS East, Bangalore found it extremely interesting to organize an event around environment. They believed, empathy towards the immediate surroundings would be a huge takeaway from the event for students.

 

Gearing up for the Challenge

 

The event comprised a competition in Fancy Dress, Dance & Song for children from Nursery to class VIII. The team decided to focus on little children and their parents. The children were keen to participate in the Fancy dress competition. They had to make their costumes from reusable and recyclable materials available at home. So, this led children to start rummaging through all the waste materials within the confines of their homes. They worked doggedly with their parents to come up with the most innovative costumes.

 

The judge for the day was Ms. Arjita Chauhan works in the field of eco-friendly ready-to-wear Indian garments. In spite of that she found it extremely challenging to pick out the winners. All children along with their guardians put their heart & soul in preparing costumes. Waste paper bags, polybags, newspapers, leaves from trees, disposable crockery & cutlery etc were used for the costumes. The message of “Restoring planet Earth” was emulated profoundly. One example is of a child who had prepared a paper dress. Decorated it with teak tree leaves and made a little speech around the importance of preserving teak trees. Another one had dressed up as a cat and spoke about how protecting animals from extinction was just as important as protecting trees and plants.

 

 

The Contest

 

The song and dance categories were filled with elements of entertainment in the day long event. Therefore we were treated to some excellent forms of dance. Ranging from classical like Bharatnatyam & Kathak to Folk like Gidda the children were at their best. They even presented contemporary choreography on patriotic numbers. We were then regaled by high school students. They sang some extremely soulful numbers.

 

Results

 

Finally, there were multiple winners for each of the top 3 positions in every category. Special mentions for diligent performers were also announced.

 

The winners for the fancy dress competition are Krishvi Dave (1st position for Anti Plastic costume), Moulik Khatri (1st position for Good Earth & Dirty Earth costume), Anshika Shekhar (2nd position for Anti Polybag costume), Rikesh (2nd position for Protection during Covid costume), Akshara Aravindakannan (3rd position for 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse & Recycle costume), Aaradhya Prashant Sarpatwari (3rd position for Solar Panel costume) and Special Mention for Advita Pandey (for Honeybee costume) and Ritvik Reddy K (for Biodiversity costume).

 

The winners for the dance competition are Swasti Deepa Sahoo (1st position for Odissi), A G Sadhana (2nd position for Bharatnatyam), Prabhleen Kaur Saini (2nd position for Gidda), Siyashree Mishra (3rd position for Odissi), Ashmita Ananth (3rd position for Bharatnatyam) Special mentions for Eshan agrawal (Contemporary choreography) and Shyam.S (Hip Hop).

 

The winners for the Song competition are Uthra Ramkumar (1st position for Raag Majdar), Abhishek Bhat (1st position for Sri Ganesh Vandana in Sanskrit), Medha Deshpande (2nd position for Raag Malkauns), R.Sreelekha (2nd position for Song from Bombay – multilingual), Nanditha Mavath (3rd position for Jaan Nisar) and Sujai Aravindakannan (3rd position for Patriotic number )

 

Our heartiest congratulations to all participants and special wishes to all who have occupied the first three positions and special mentions!

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In The Spotlight

Girl Child Education: Paving the way for Equality

Girl Child Education: Paving the way for Equality

Girl child education is important for the development of any country. A lot has been done over the years to empower girls through education. However, even after so many years we are far from reaching the goal. There are laws which remain unchanged and cultures which still do not allow basic rights such as schooling for girls. Women and girls continue to receive unequal pay. They experience violence at home and outside and have fewer choices. Girls are still immensely underestimated.

 

Scenario of Girl Child Education

 

According to a report by UNESCO, 132 million girls around the world are out of school. This is also a lag in educating girls which means that 34.3 million girls of primary school age are out of school. 30 million girls of lower-secondary school age do not go to school. 67.4 million girls of upper-secondary school age do not have access to education. In most of the developing or under-developed countries there are major hurdles to education of a girl. Some of them are poverty, violence, lack of toilets, child marriages.

 

Bridging the Gap

 

In India, a lot has been done for to send girls to school. The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign has been successful in increasing the enrolment rates of girls. The gross enrolment ratio of girls across all levels of education is now higher than boys. At the elementary level it is 94.32 % as contrasted with 89.28%  for boys. The secondary level has 81.32 per cent girls as against 78 % boys. At the higher secondary level girls have achieved a level of 59.7% compared to only 57.54 per cent for boys.

 

The MHRD has sanctioned 5,930 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan to boost learning for girl child. These are residential schools for girls who belong to the weaker section of the society. These Vidyalayas have an enrolment of 6.18 lakh.

 

Under the National Scheme of Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education launched in May 2008 an amount of Rs 8.56 crore has been sanctioned to 28,547 beneficiaries. In addition the scheme also provides Rs 3,000 which is deposited in the name of eligible unmarried girls below 16 years of age. The amount can be withdrawn along with interest only when the girl is 18 years of age and after passing standard X.

 

Other schemes like Sukanya Samridhi Yojana, Balika Samriddhi Yojana, National Scheme of Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education and CBSE Scholarship Scheme/Policy for Girl child literacy were introduced to uplift the condition of female literacy.

 

 

Shiksha Na Ruke

 

The spread of the pandemic and shutting down of schools has had a negative impact on school going girls. Girls are not only at a risk of not returning to school but also face a of being more involved in household chores. Many of the girls will be married off and discouraged to get an education by the family.

 

It is equally important and urgent that parents and the community be sensitized for the empowerment of the girls in India. Smile Foundation through it’s campaign Shiksha Na Ruke is working extensively across India to reduce the gap in education. Education of girls is a special focus of the campaign.

 

Teachers are conducting online classes and cluster classes for children who have limited access to resources for their education. Class notes are delivered at home. In some places loudspeakers were installed across the entire village so that the teachers could teach the students together. Furthermore, motivational sessions for teachers and sensitization drives for parents and community were conducted regularly.

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In The Spotlight

Girl Child: Education and Empowerment

Girl Child: Education and Empowerment

“When you educate a woman, you educate a nation.”

 

Education of a girl goes beyond just enrolling her into school. Girls should have equal opportunities to complete their education. They should feel safe while in school. Girls should acquire adequate knowledge and skills to compete in the labor market. They should be enabled to learn life skills necessary to navigate and adapt to a world which is fast changing.  Women and girls should be empowered to make decisions about their own lives; and to contribute to their communities.

 

Importance of Education for Girls

 

Girl child education is a strategic development priority for any nation. When we educate girls we ensure that the community/nation is on a path of development. In fact women who are educated tend to be more informed about healthcare and nutrition. They have planned families and have fewer children, marry at a later age, and their children are usually healthier. Girls and women who are educated are more likely to participate in the formal labor market. In fact they also earn higher incomes. Empowered women can lift the family and society out of poverty.

 

Condition of Female Literacy

 

Progress in the field of education for adolescent girls has not kept pace with the realities they face today. According to a report by United Nations 1 in 4 girls in the world, aged 15-19 years is not employed. She is neither educated nor trained as compared to 1 in 10 boys of the same age. 47 million girls will be pushed into poverty as a result of the ongoing pandemic. 435 million women and girls will be living on less than $1.90 a day.

 

 

Education of Girls in India

 

The sex ratio in India is 940 females per 1000 males. It is still far from achieving its gender equality goals. The patriarchal influence on the society often deems a girl child as a ‘burden’. Gender inequality, gender stereotypes and being treated as the inferior sex is fairly common. Girls are denied a deserving education. They do not have access to quality healthcare, equal rights and employment. Girls and women and are often subjected to abuse inside and outside the house.

 

Interventions in Learning for Girls

 

A number of government initiatives in the recent years coupled with the work of grassroots organization in remote areas and urban slums has been able to change the scenario. According U-DISE data in 2018-19, the Gross Enrolment Ratio for girls at the primary stage is 101.78%. At the elementary stage it is 96.72%.

 

One of the most important interventions has been the provision of incentives for secondary education through the National Scheme of Incentives. Other major happenings have been the opening of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs). These vidyalays educate girls from the upper primary level up to the senior secondary level. Other major developments have been renovations of toilets in educational institutions as well as providing self-defense training to girls of Class VI to XII.

 

Girls face barriers to education as a result of poverty, cultural norms and practices, poor infrastructure, violence, and fragility every day. We should ensure to empower girls with education. In fact they should be taught other life skills to be self-reliant. At last every one of us should pledge and ensure that no girl is left behind in her journey of education.

 

To know more and support girl child education visit https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/she-can-fly/

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Partners In Change

Celebrating the New Year with Smile!

Celebrating the New Year with Smile!

A New Year! A new harbinger of smile and hope for all who have successfully survived the disruptions of 2020, be it the pandemic or be it ill-effects of the same!

 

January 2021 brought in a lot of excitement amongst schools and students with the news that schools would be reopened shortly albeit with certain restrictions in place due to the ongoing pandemic. Students are now in a mood where they can hardly wait to meet their friends, their teachers and more than that, just to spend some time in school classrooms & courtyards. The pandemic made them realize the importance of going to school every day and that study from home is not what they had signed up for. Since the beginning of January schools & teachers are connecting with parents on a daily basis and counseling them about reopening of schools while also assuaging their fears about their wards’ safety.

 

Smile Foundation’s Child for Child team wanted to Ring in the New Year with students who seem to be in an exuberant mood and to join them in their joie-de-vivre. Not only will schools reopen soon, the academic year is also coming to an end. The anticipation is visibly building up for a new class, new batch mates and a back to school scenario. And before students get busy with their exams in the month of February, we Smile Foundation’s team CFC decided to organize a two day fest for about 15 schools who wanted to Ring in 2021 with Smile and who have been our biggest patrons for the campaign Shiksha Na Ruke. These are the schools who have even during the pandemic displayed an exemplary level of empathy towards the underprivileged children in the society. This Fest was an ode to their big heartedness! Some of the schools which participated include Bhawan Vidyalaya Jr, Chandigarh; St. Soldier International Convent, Mohali; Mt. Litera Zee, Bhatinda; L’ecole Chempaka and Sarvodaya Vidyalaya from Trivandrum; Gopalan International School, Bangalore; Sarla Birla Gyan Jyoti, Guwahati; Guru Nanak Public School and Laurel High The School from New Delhi; St. Sebastian, Goa to name a few. Over 200 students registered for the event from these schools.

 

 Day 1 was Fancy Dress Competition & Day 2 was a Song & Dance competition. There were judges for the contests and there was Bhuwin Khursija who joined in the 2-day fest to deliver a Live performance with his Guitar & vocals. He regaled and completely floored the audience with his mellifluous vocals and his rendition of Sufi numbers while also playing the guitar. The entire event was on Zoom platform. But, for the occasional technical issues, it felt like a 48 hours concert where there was display of some exceptional talent and visible outcomes of sheer hard work.

 

The theme for Fancy dress was picked up from the Earth day Foundation’s mission for this year, “Restore Planet Earth”. We saw children dressed up as Garbage Witch, Paper bags, Planet Earth and what not, all trying to spread the word about saving & restoring Mother Earth. The winners for the Fancy Dress Competition are Arav Khanna (1st position for Mother Earth costume), Tanish Lodha (1st position for Newspaper costume), Aadya Jain (1st position for Garbage Bag witch), Riddhi  Jain (2nd position for Mother Earth), Reeda Zakiya Nawaz (2nd position for Crude oil ), Vasu Bhanderi (2nd position Save Earth), Mayank Kochar (3rd position for Dirty Earth), Adi Anand (3rd position for Forms of Water) and Parth kathuria (3rd position for Raincoat made of waste plastic).

 

The Dance & Song competition on Day 2 was packed with a phenomenal outpouring of participants & saw some excellent classical & contemporary performances. The winners for the dance competition are Ishabir (1st position for Western Fusion), Esha Paramesh (2nd position for Bharatnatyam), Arshdeep Singh (2nd position for Bhangra), Krishtee Barman (3rd position for Sattriya) and Ojasvi Aggarwal (3rd position for Kathak Fusion). The winners for the Song competition are Mishti Garg (1st position for Raag Khamaj), Kamakshi Das (2nd position for Raag Khamaj) and special mention to Sanskrit Chakraborty (Jab Deep Jale Aana).

 

 Our jury for the 2 days, Ms. Rena Banik, Ms. Sulagna Sarkar and Mr. Kshitij Mathur who had a wonderful time while judging and found it incredibly difficult to arrive at the results.

 

Smile Foundation conveys heartiest congratulations to all participants and special wishes to all who have occupied the first three positions!

 

To know more about Child for Child visit https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/childforchild.html

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Insights

Online gaming and Cyber safety for children

Online gaming and Cyber safety for children

The Covid-19 pandemic era will be known as an era where humans adopted technology without any qualms. Fortunately technology has evolved to a level across the globe which enabled people to adopt & adapt with the situation of working from home.  There has been a radical transformation in the way we work, the way we communicate and the way we learn. Offices moved online, e-commerce industry received a massive boost, digital content creators kept the Instagram Reels buzzing and product companies moved online to ship their products once the logistics sector was back on it’s feet. Another aspect which gained prominance along with all this was cyber safety.

 

Since the pandemic led to the shut down of schools, team Child For Child decided to e-connect with its school patrons. The team wanted to continue with its quest to inculcate empathy amongst children from privileged schools through online initiatives.  While interacting online with students, teachers and parents, the team realized that it would also have to start focusing on children’s mental wellbeing. Thence sprung the idea of organizing webinars on multitude of topics, some of them being Cyber safety awareness and Yoga for Peace.

 

One of the most transformational changes was viewed in the education sector. Not only did the classes move online, there was a surge of EduTech companies that flooded the market with their online edutainment programmes. Social Media organizations jumped the bandwagon with their handles and pages promoting all types of webinars and digital programmes with a gusto. Schools adopted Zoom, Webex, Teams and different online applications to conduct classes online. Those who could, increased the wifi connections in their homes and doubled up on their gadget purchases.

 

While the education industry was going through a 360 degree makeover, one disturbing trend that caught the eye was the uncontrolled spread of the tentacles of the digital gaming industry. Products of this industry initially proved to be a boon for children and young adults who could not step out of their homes in the initial days of the lockdown to indulge in sporting activities. In the beginning it seemed like a good way for children to ward away their boredom. But in the long run, there was a noticeable upswing in addiction of children as young as 8 years to games like Robolox, Among Us and Fortnite.

 

As students began spending anywhere from 4-10 hours on digital gadgets Team Child for Child felt the need to organize sessions on Cyber Safety Awareness across schools on a regular basis. A lot of focus was given on cyber bullying and cyber self-protection. Over time a need for organizing sessions dedicated to self-protection during Gaming was also felt. The focus pf Team CFC in the sessions for 10 year old students has primarily been on making them aware & wary while playing online games.

 

 

To most of the students the first advice was to Research on details like Age classification and the level of violence and strong language being used in the games, before they even downloaded the games. Secondly they were advised to not download any game that was available for free. A proper check is to be conducted by parents on platforms for downloading games like Apple store, Google Play store, XBOX , Nintendo & PlayStation. Students should also be careful before Uploading personal details. Parents’ details should be shared for receiving all types of notifications. The next and probably the most important alert was towards their online gaming buddies and the chats that they participate in. Often gamers on various platforms create Chat groups and once a bon homie sets in among the gamers, young ones often share personal details inadvertently which could be misused.

 

One Mantra that works well online ..”if not required do not accept &/or share”! While we always discourage children from getting onto online games which are age inappropriate, it would be a huge help if their guardians also step up. Parents & guardians need to play a much stronger role by monitoring the games their wards play or the online activities they are involved in. Regular checks and conversations with their wards can go a long way in their cyber safety.

 

To know more about child for child visit https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/childforchild.html

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In The Spotlight

National Youth Day: Empowering the Nation’s youth

National Youth Day: Empowering the Nation’s youth

“Youth is the best time. The way in which you utilize this period will decide the nature of coming years that lie ahead of you.”- Swami Vivekananda

 

National Youth Day 2021 is celebrated every year on 12th January to honor the teachings and ideals of Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda was vocal about the importance of education and empowerment of youth of a nation as an important part in the process of nation-building. Smile Foundation through its Smile Twin e-Learning programme for youth aims at creating a pool of young and independent people, from the underprivileged section, through skill enhancement in tandem with market requirements. It is an effort to bridge the gap between demand and supply of skilled manpower in the fast emerging services and technology sectors of modern India.

 

– Kalyani (STeP trainee) says,

 

“I think real strength is that which helps you take tough decisions and follow through. Such is the story of Kiran Bedi. She is a true inspiration for me, not just because she is strong, but because she became a strong woman despite facing so many struggles and restraints.

 

 

After passing out from high school, I did not have the option to continue higher studies. I had to let go of my dream of becoming an IPS officer. Coming from a poor family is one of the biggest restraints, especially for a woman. So, I decided that if I had no choice but to contribute to the household, I will do my best. I also wanted to acquire as many skills, save up and continue my studies. I enrolled myself into the Smile Twin e-Learning Programme and started the skill training course immediately. There was no looking back from then on. After a few months of progress, my teachers told me they were truly happy with my hard work and dedication. They were sure of my success and an opportunity for a job placement.  

 

I work hard to be able to help my family financially. As soon as I land a job, I’m going to start planning for further studies. Today on National Youth Day I have promised myself I won’t let the world tell me I should stop dreaming because I am a woman. It’s a long road, but I am not afraid to take this journey anymore.”

 

To meet the market demands and to continue providing opportunities to the youth during the Covid-19 lockdown the first batch of Smile Twin e-Learning Programme of capacity-building sessions for the healthcare sector was started.

 

The programme is relentlessly working towards creating livelihood opportunities in the rising health sector, where young students are provided with training sessions to be employed as General Duty Assistants & are also trained on other core employability skills. More than 1500 students are currently being trained through 40 centers in Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Chennai and Pune.

 

-Vazida Begum (Step trainee) says,

 

 “I belong to a poor family. My father is a rickshaw puller and my mother makes beads to sell. When the pandemic stuck both of them lost their livelihoods. In the initial few days we survived with whatever savings we had but we had to something more, something concrete for the future. My sisters and I decided to enroll for the Smile Twin-e Learning programme of Smile Foundation to train as General Duty Assistants.

 

 

At a time when people were scared to go out of their homes we went out to get trained to serve our society. We had to face a lot of discrimination but we did not give up. Now I work as a Nursing Assistant at a hospital in Bengaluru taking care of patients and my sisters are following my footsteps and are undergoing training to become GDAs. Our parents are very proud of us.”

 

Smile Foundation’s STeP programme is aligned to the objective of gainful employment for the youth. It is working towards building a digitally skilled workforce from less privileged youth that is prepared to face the new world thrown open by the pandemic. More than 50,000 young women and men have been trained so far through Smile Foundation’s STeP centres across India.

 

To know more about the STeP programme visit https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/e_learning.html

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In The Spotlight

Implementing Early Childhood Education in the grassroots

Implementing Early Childhood Education in the grassroots

Agrassroot organization has the advantage of knowing people, culture, and political environment and can take the innovation and better implement it on the ground. Grassroots initiatives are community-based approaches created to address problems at a localized level. Moreover, projects backed by local organizations can quickly gain momentum because they are generally enacted by people in local communities. In a country like India a lot of the population is rural based and dependent on agriculture. There is a great need to work on various issues at the grassroots level. Creating awareness and sensitizing the population comes first. The importance of NGOs working for early childhood education at grassroots specifically in this context takes priority.

 

Education for Meaningful Progress

 

Education is the backbone of any grassroot campaign. Only an educated society can make meaningful progress. It is important therefore to raise awareness about issues such as education for children from an early age. There is a need to communicate effectively why it is such a concern. A higher level of visibility garners more support locally. Information can be used as power to make a difference, thus increasing the collective impact of the group. NGOs like Smile Foundation, working at the grassroots level can act as a catalyst. A lot of change can be bought in rural areas and urban slums. There is a section of population who either have first generation learners or have children of school going age. Most of the children are still out of schools. They mostly engage in daily wage earning.

 

Implementation of NEP for Early Childhood Education

 

The implementation of NEP 2020 pitches for a “5+3+3+4” design. It corresponds to the age groups 3-8 years which is the foundational stage. Next comes the age 8- age 11 which is the preparatory stage. 11-14 is the middle stage and 14-18 is the secondary stage. This change in policy brings early childhood education (also known as pre-school education for children of ages 3 to 5) under the ambit of formal schooling. NGOs working for education therefore will now be key players in remote, rural settings. They will thus act as catalyst to bring children of age 3-5 under the folds of education.

 

 

India is a vast country with a huge demographic and geographic divide. Hence, NGOs working for education play a key role in bringing people together. They play an important role in supporting the most vulnerable children access their Right to Education through innovative ideas. Firstly, by holding awareness workshops with parents they ensure that children are sent to school. Secondly, parent committees are formed to ensure that schools are run properly and that the children receive proper care and nutrition.

 

Awareness and Sensitization

 

The country is currently facing dynamic challenges in the realm of education. There is a need to implement policies in accordance and generate awareness amongst key stakeholders. Firstly on the importance of receiving education, imparting education, mobilization of society and engage communities for the delivery of education that is both productive and sustainable and in time can secure gainful employment for the beneficiary. It is the amalgamation of efforts by the government, not-for-profit organizations, societies, communities, corporates and individuals which can lead towards a successful approach in stitching customized and pragmatic solutions.

 

Smile Foundation an NGO working for education reaches over 48,000 children through 156 Mission education centers in 21 states every year. Cluster classes, remedial classes, mainstreaming children to formal schools are some of the activities done under Mission Education.  

 

To know more about Smile Foundation’s initiative on education visit https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/me/

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In The Spotlight

Innovations in Education: Shifting to Online Education

Innovations in Education: Shifting to Online Education

A lot has changed in the education system in the past year. Due to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown There was a sudden shift to online education and learning . More emphasis was laid on the mental health of students everywhere. In India the New Education Policy with its new innovations announced a new era for education system with a lot of policy changes as opposed to the last education policy. However, amid all these additions and changes the focus remained same; quality education for all and to make both school and college education more flexible and multidisciplinary to help bring out the unique capabilities of each and every student.

 

Shifting to Online Education

 

The pandemic has put restrictions on the classroom-based teaching and learning. Schools, colleges and educational institutions have now moved to online learning. Along with students teachers have had to prepare for this transition. In the face of a global crisis such as Covid-19 teachers globally have come together to ensure that the process of teaching and learning does not stop.

 

Changes in Education System Around the World

 

The Finnish education system is considered to be one of the best in the world. The system directed schools to ensure and arrange education services in exceptional conditions. The Finnish National Agency for Education guided schools to plan and organize different kinds of flexible learning arrangements for the children. Children have been learning at home with access to all course material. Similar arrangements were made in the United States and the United Kingdom. In countries like Belgium, China and Japan educational programmes are being broadcasted on national television. This was done to emphasize the importance to continue home education. Schools were provided with teaching resources and teaching plans. Social media was used to announce how to access those resources.

 

New Education Policy 2020

 

The National Education Policy 2020 has been a blessing in disguise for the changes in the Indian educational sector. Both online education and NEP 2020 are the need of the hour. The action points in the policy promises to establish a curricular framework for the schools. The framework will focus on promoting creativity, critical thinking, and innovation. The policy includes more transformational features like focusing on vocational studies, developing high-quality study modules. It will also dedicate units for online and digital learning and provide textbooks to teachers as well as students. These materials will be useful for homeschooling with a lot of self-learning components.

 

Innovations in Mission Education centers

 

Educators from the Mission Education programme made sure that no child was left behind in their studies. Teachers ensured that parents were also sensitized about the importance of letting their child continue with their education. Regular visits to villages and parent-teacher meeting were conducted to encourage children and parents alike. To make it easier for the children many teachers prepared notes and delivered them to the students. Teachers ensured that children did not drop out due to lack of resources.

 

 

Teachers from Mission Education centers of Smile Foundation conducted sessions for parents to help their children in online learning. Thus, regular online classes were held for children and notes and lessons were shared through the medium. In places where children did not have access to online mediums teachers began to conduct cluster classes. The Mission Education Centers explored every possible method to stay in touch with students coming from poor communities. In order to carry forward with the approach of blended learning, teachers made sure that lessons, homework and assignments continued. Despite all odds and there was no hindrance in the education system.

 

Smile Foundation’s Mission Education programme ensures that no child is left behind in the journey of education. Through its relentless work on ground the programme has been able to benefit more than 232,000 underprivileged children so far.

 

To know more about Smile Foundation’s initiative, Shiksha Na Ruke visithttps://www.smilefoundationindia.org/me/

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In The Spotlight

Digital Fest and awareness for child education

Digital Fest and awareness for child education

The year 2020 has been such a tumultuous year for not just the afflicted but equally so for child education and for the children who have been practically under lockdown for almost 10 months now. With their outdoor activities curtailed & their schools shut, their happy memories are getting replaced by morbid images of the pandemic. While some students have adapted very well to the changes and practically metamorphosed into tech geniuses, there were still some who do not have the necessary devices to partake online education. CFC team decided to surge ahead with their mission of inculcating empathy amongst the privileged children and getting them galvanized for supporting the cause of Shiksha Na Ruke, an initiative for child education.

 

To put together an online fundraiser, the Child for Child team decided to organise a mini digital festival to say Goodbye to the year 2020 and raise awareness about child education, especially for underprivileged children. The two day digital fest over the 29th & 30th of December was also an attempt to get parents enthused about the mission of Smile Foundation and to apprise them of the work being done at the grassroots level  under the Shiksha Na Ruke campaign.

 

By the 22nd of December posters & event details were circulated amongst 4 schools, Swami Sant Dass Public School, Guru Amar Dass Public School, Cambridge International School & A I International School. The Principals of these schools too got caught in the fervor and ensured that their students participated in the contests with equal enthusiasm. Parents too felt that that this was the moment when children from within the confines of their homes could work for something that excited them immensely and slogged just as hard side by side to ensure that their wards put together their best performances. Children who were familiar with the Zoom platform immediately registered and started preparing for the contest day.

 

 

Theme for day one Fancy dress contest was “Environment Matters”. Children were at their creative best when they came up with the most vivid costumes for the competition, and what was also apparent was the effort that had been made by parents to put together the look for their wards. Students worked hard over a week to make their costumes that reflected elements of nature. They focused on various aspects of Mother nature;  from the polluted rivers, the plastic pollution on this planet, the junk food that have replaced healthy diets, the trees that are being cut irresponsibly to noise pollution in our cities.

 

Theme for day two for the Song & Dance competition was Contemporary & Classical. Fancy numbers from movies were discouraged. The talent that was on display over the 3 hours of the event was phenomenal. It was heartening to see how beautifully students were using the room space within their homes to put up spectacular performances. Students picked up Punjabi Folk, Ghumar, Fusion, Tandav, Kathak, Thumri and Contemporary numbers as their choice of dances. The atmosphere created by students in the rooms where they had practically set up mini stages was stunning and the efforts made by parents were also visible. For the singing competition students chose Gurbani, Bhajan & patriotic numbers as their choice of songs for the competition. Students not only sang, they also played musical instruments like the Harmonium during their performance. In the 3 hours that went by it almost felt like a concert had been put together by these students.

 

To regale the audience during event recesses, students from DPS Bangalore, East and Lotus Valley International School, Gurgaon performed Live as well as shared their pre recorded performances.

 

Agastya Trikha on Guitar & vocals, Agrim Sharma on Guitar, Tanvi Kundri on Drums, Shreyas Subramaniam on Tabla, Tanisha Mathur on Piano,  Dhaiwik Naidu on Veena, Rahil SK on the Keyboards, Noel Jajo for his vocals and the combo of Mrunalini on Vocals & Varda on Guitar. Their performances were highly appreciated and added to the richness of the 2 –day event.

 

The digital fest went off smoothly and the judges for both the days Ms. Khushboo Singh from Jamshedpur for Fancy Dress competition and Ms. Rena Banik from Kolkata for Song & Dance competition too had a wonderful time doing their enviable task of watching, enjoying and sharing words of encouragement for the children. However, they definitely had a tough time arriving at the final decision for winners.

 

The winners for song competition were Shrey Thaper (1st position-Gurbani), Harleen Kaur (2nd position- Bhajan) and Nivi Thapar (3rd position- Patriotic). The winners for the dance competition were Prisha Duggal (1st position- Kathak Tarana), Maanya (1st position- Fusion), Shipra Tripathy (2nd position- Shiv Taandav), Angel Singh (2nd position- Fusion), Pranvi (3rd position- Thumri), Sukhleen (3rd position- Ghumar) and special mention to Jaspreet Aitan for his amazing bhangra performance.

 

The winners for fancy dress competition were Mayra Gaba (1st position- Ganga River), Aastik Gaba (1st position-Ozone Layer), Kavya (2nd position- Poly Bag), Harshika Kaul (2nd position- Reusing Newspaper), Harmanpreet (2nd position- Tree), Gurleen Kaur (3rd position- Plastic waste), Tejvinder Kaur (3rd position- Plastic bag) and Diya Gharu (3rd position- Tree)

The entire team of Child For Child too joined in from different parts of the country. The amalgamation of students and audience from pan India and the coming together of all elements for a special two day digital fest, have  left us at CFC feeling extremely motivated to organise an even bigger digital fundraiser event to ring in 2021 and raise awareness about child education at the same time.

 

Let us all hope & pray for a better 2021! Many congratulations to all Participants and Winners of the 2-day Digital fest!

 

To know more about Child for Child programme visit https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/childforchild.html

Categories
Partners In Change

Children spread the Christmas cheer!

Children spread the Christmas cheer!

The year 2020 has seen unprecedented situations unfolding before our eyes, disruptions in their truest sense have left their mark in every aspect of our lives, but life as we know carries on. The way with which children have been patiently dealing with the pandemic, the lockdowns, the so called new normal, as also adopting new technology, has been reflective of their indomitable strength of character. Whatever the situation, we need to remember that certain things are constant, and one such thing is the enthusiasm & fervour with which children participate in competitions. Children have adapted marvelously to the changes that impacted their education, their mode of education and their ability to physically participate in the umpteen activities that had been integrated with their daily routines. 

 

 

And so, it was time to muster up some competitive threads, weave in speckles of altruism and stitch together a festive bunting. Child For Child team of Smile Foundation decided that with Christmas 2020 round the corner, it was time to have some fun and bring out the celebratory spirit amongst children from across as many schools as possible pan India. 

 

The Annual CFC Christmas Fest started on the 8th of December all the way till the 20th of December. A Christmas themed poster making competition & Essay Writing competitions was put together for children who could participate by either making a poster &/or writing an essay depending upon the category they would fall in. The theme of the poster, draw a favourite fairy tale character or a favourite digital character next to a Christmas Tree and Essay competition based on the topic, “Your understanding of a Charitable Christmas” revolves around Christmas.

 

The winner for the poster competition in category A (KG-2nd Grade) were Vivaan Verma (1st position), Prabhleen Kaur (2nd position) and Anumegha Maitra (3rd position). In category B (3rd-5th Grade) the winners were Ojasvi Aggarwal (1st position), Kaashvi Mahajan (2nd position), Keertesh Sharma and Kriday Arora(3rd position). In category C (6th-9th Grade) the winners were Aditi Sharma (1st position), Somil Mahajan (2nd position), Arunika Varshney and Mohul Banerjee(3rd position). The category D (10th-12th Grade) winners were Prajit Deepak Naik (1st position), Samridhi Gupta (2nd position), S Ram Phutane (3rd position).

 

For the essay competition the winners for category A (6th-8th Grade) were Dhruv Dhingra (1st position), Evangeline Shekina (2nd position), Jaishree (3rd position). Winners for category B (9th-12th grade) were Anshika Prasad (1st position), Madhumitha Siddeshwar (2nd position) and Manya Sehgal (3rd position). Brinda Kari was the winner for the Digital Posters competition.

 

The jurors for the competition were Ms. Sangeeta Murthy for the Painting competition & Ms. Deepa Pal, juror for Essay writing competition.

 

To know more about CFC visit https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/childforchild.html

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