Agrasar Bachpan
Our Approach
We run community based learning Centres where we enhance the education attainments of children who are out of the mainstream school system. The goal is to bring them up to age-appropriate levels so they can join the formal school system. Agrasar focusses on the holistic development of the children enrolled in its learning centres, building a strong foundation for life-long learning. The teachers facilitate skill development to enhance children's personalities, their academic performance, and their outlook towards the future. The centres work in close partnership with the parents, to ensure their support in encouraging their children and reinforcing learning at home.
Garima Sahni
Program Lead
garima@agrasar.org
Children from underprivileged communities do not go to schools due to lack of opportunity, accessibility or motivation. We are trying to create opportunities and instill a love for learning in them. With your support, we are determined to reach out and develop life skills and enhance learning attainments in children who are at risk.
Our Impact
How We Do It
We teach 1000 children over 4 locations in Gurugram, Mathura and Bathinda every year. More than 100 out-of-school children have been mainstreamed over last 2 years.
Latest round of ‘Impact Assessment’ is Under Process. Shall be updated by 15 March 2018.
Community Mobilization
Need- assessment is conducted to understand the optimum location for a centre.
Home visits, one to one counseling sessions, community meetings, street plays, etc. for spreading awareness
Interested and eligible children as well as their parents are invited to the centre to understand the systems and processes and fill up the application form.
Children in the age group of 5 to 12, who do not go to schools due to various reasons, with a household income of less than certain region-wise threshold are enrolled into the program.
Child-Centric Learning
A child stays at the centre for about a year (depending on the learning capability of the child),in which they are taught through a curriculum that focuses on experential and peer learning to reach their age- appropriate learning levels. It also includes Life skills like – personal hygiene, self awareness, social expression, cognitive ability, creative thinking, co-exist in collaboration, problem solving, managing emotions. We work towards development of foundational abilities and strong affinity for continuous formal education in students and their parents.
Curriculum Development and Teacher Training
The program has been designed to follow a ‘child-centric approach’. The teachers are trained in facilitation skills, group-learning theory, use of Teaching-Learning Materials, and other principles/methods of effective learning. There is an active involvement of parents in learning process.
Co-curricular initiatives
The program has been designed to follow a ‘child-centric approach’. The teachers are trained in facilitation skills, group-learning theory, use of Teaching-Learning Materials, and other principles/methods of effective learning. There is an active involvement of parents in learning process.
Community Engagement
Keeping parents involved in the process of education is one of the main pillars of Agrasar Bachpan. Parents being the influencer in quality as well as consistency of education are engaged at various stages through parent-teacher meeting, inviting them in the classrooms, participation in festivals and other events held at the centre.
Continuum of Support
- Govt.
- Pvt – RTE
- Fund (Crowdfunding, Individual donors/sponsors)
Consistent follow up system is created to support the students after mainstreaming. Children attending government schools face various issues on a regular basis which leads to dropping out eventually- counselling and support is done to tackle this.
Our Impact Philosophy
Even though we understand that designing scalable interventions is important, we do not believe in targeting numbers. Whenever being asked the question - "How is it going?", our team members would normally talk about students and people - successes achieved or challenges being faced in particular cases. We also try to be fair and objective in communicating about 'impact' to all stakeholders. e.g. you would often hear us mentioning that - "Around 20% of the youth who come to our Employability Centres would have gone in similar jobs had they not joined us. Therefore, we need to find even better avenues of placement." We would also talk about children who we were not able to mainstream. We share our successes as well as challenges so as to attract people and organizations in our journey who mean to make a "real impact".
Tidings from the field
This Independence Day, we celebrated the power of courage, truth and development in communities we work with and in the nation as a whole. The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Gurugram, Mr. Narender Singh, graced the occasion and appreciated the efforts of children, their parents and our team for their role in nation building.
Across all our Learning Centres, the teachers gave extra classes, did counselling of the parents and the children, met the Principals of the schools which were identified for getting our students enrolled, made sure that the students appear for the admission process along with their parents, ensured that they have all the required documents and went to the school with them at the time of admission.
Due to the combined efforts of the teachers, the students and parents, around 100 children from Agrasar Bachpan have been mainstreamed this year in formal schools, both Govt. and Private, in Gurugram. We are expecting a few more to get enrolled in schools in the next month.
We celebrated World Environment Day with the students by planting some seeds.
The children wanted to see their 'plants' grow, before they leave for their respective villages in their summer holidays which start from the 15th June.
So our teachers bought 'jaun ke beej' (Barley seeds) and the children were happy to sow the seeds.
Now they are excited to closely observe their plants' growth for next 10 days.
Our Students
Rukhsana
Read Story
Suhana
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Radhika
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Nita
Deputy Coordinator
nita@agrasar.org
My family always wanted me to do a job "suitable for girls". However, I always had different dreams! When I joined Agrasar as a community mobiliser in 2014 I was eager to take up more and more challenges even though I was hesitant to communicate with people. Guidance and support provided by my seniors always motivate me to do my best. Now, I have no hesitation in talking to anybody :)
