Educate 100 Under Privileged Children for One Year

As important as it is to learn Math and English, it is equally important for our children to explore and learn from field trips. After a break of two years(due to Covid), we organised excursions and field trips for all our children in the last 3 months. Access to different kinds of environments, meaningful interactions, experiential learnings, etc are few key focus areas of these field trips at ACT.

As a part of the experience, after every single trip, children are encouraged to share their experience by writing it down for our records. Here, we are sharing glimpses of the same.

On 19th February children from Class 9 upwards went on their annual Field Trip, where the emphasis is on learning things first-hand, as much as it is on having fun. In the words of ACT Senior Navya Rani’s, here is a sneak peak into the Field Trip to Kokerebellur to learn about migratory birds.

“We started our journey on the dawn of 19th February 2023. We set out on our adventure even before the sun could fully rise, as we wanted to make full use of every minute of the day. The bus was full of giggles and smiles; anticipation filled everyone's eyes. Even though it was a one day trip we all knew these memories are going to be embedded in our minds forever. We reached our first location which was Kokkarabellur, an eco-friendly village where people live in harmony with the migratory pelicans and storks.

After a hearty breakfast we all started our bird-watching adventure. Every tree on every street had migratory birds perched on them. We saw these birds feeding their chicks. We were lucky enough to touch and feel an unhatched egg. Some villagers were kind enough to tell us about the habits of these pelicans and storks which left us in awe of nature’s ways.

Soon after that we left to our second location which was the Balmuri falls. There is nothing better than a cool waterfall in the summer. We all couldn't wait to get into the water. We played until we were exhausted and our bellies began to grumble. We saw ma'am waiting for us to come out of water with a plate of mouthwatering lunch along with freshly fried fish. After a satisfactory lunch we'll started our journey back

In the bus, we danced till our feet hurt and our lungs were out of breath. We had lots of things to snack on during the ride back home.

We had loads of fun. It was indeed an amazing day.”

At ACT, while the high school children and college students went on their tours and came back having learnt a lot and also enjoyed a lot, our little ones were patiently waiting their turn. Finally, the ACT children from classes 4, 5 and 6 went on a day trip to the Vishweshwaraiah Museum and the Nehru Planetarium. Apart from Mrs. Mani and two ACT mothers, our star volunteers Sudhakar and Shubham went with the children - not just to ensure their safety, but also to make sure that they did not miss on the learning experience.

Sharing Eniya’s(Std VI) experience here

“It was so nice. I enjoyed very lot. It was so excited. I went the first time vishweshwaraiah museum and planetarium. In museum I saw what is wind power, solar power, water power, hot air diesel, stroke petrol engine, rotating table, diesel engine, Who invented aeroplane. Ball falling area, lock, clock, camera,ball air. Computer, human water power this is only a saw in museum. In park I enjoyed very lot. In planetarium solar formation, and I saw like picture. It was so nice. I thank for Mani ma'am, Uncle, Anna because they care for us.” 

Now it is exam time and the focus is on studying and doing ones best.

At ACT our endeavour to provide quality holistic education to our children is progressing very well. As schools have resumed, our after-school programs are running successfully. The students are paired up with individual volunteers as well as volunteer groups that help them with their academics through offline and online classes. To ensure all round development of children vocational classes like art, karate, guitar, music and excel classes are being conducted on a weekly basis at the centre.

Science Project

Agastya Foundation

The “Fun with Science” program is continuing in collaboration with Agastya International Foundation.

The second session was held on August 2, 2022. The topic was: Set-up and Usage of Fundamental Microscopic Equipment in Biology. They felt elated that they had a chance to participate and have a hands-on learning experience. The total number of students and teachers who attended this program were 43 and 3 respectively.

The third session was held on August 18th, 2022. The topic was: Laboratory and Clinical Thermometers- Application, properties and their functions.The total number of students and teachers who attended this program were 46 and 3 respectively.

The fourth session was held on September 2, 2022. The topic of the session was displacement, double displacement reaction and decomposition. The total number of students and teachers who attended this program were 47 and 2 respectively.

“It was my first time using a test tube and performing chemical reactions. Before we would only read from our books, but now I can do it in real life. This makes learning more fun.”- Grade 7 student.

DreamKit program

We collaborated with Dream kit to engage our children in STEM learning. Dream Kit Creators Camp is a 2-day fun-filled innovation bootcamp for children in grades between 5 to 12. Through this camp children learned circuitry, robotics, and coding with Dream Kit along with basic app development using the blockly program. We had three camps conducted on 6&7th, 8th&9th, 12th&13^th October.

Day 1

Children were asked to redesign or reinvent everyday objects like wallets, bottles, or toothbrushes. Using methods like 6-fold design thinking, children built a prototype of their design. Children were also introduced to technology with the innovation kit (Dream Kit).

Day 2

Included building the mega project, a shark tank pitch, showcasing the built project, certificate distribution, and an exhibition for parents.

Feedback from our children:

" I never thought I would have a chance to learn robotics and coding, I had an amazing time learning and creating! My favourite part of the camp was building the project and presenting it through a fun play." - Grade 9 student 

" I really enjoyed the dream kit camp! I had fun learning about robotics and building the project with my teammates." - Grade 5 student

Life Skills program

MAP

The Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) is conducting a program called "Journey through Art" for the students of ACT. It is a year-long multi-intervention with the aim of the inculcating life skills through the arts, namely: creative thinking, critical thinking and communication.

The feedback we received from our students regarding the sessions was extremely positive.

"It was my first visit to a museum; it was exciting and fun. I learned more about art and got the opportunity to explore my creative side. I look forward to the next session." – Grade 8 student

"I found the class very interesting; they made us think of creative solutions to save a village from flooding, my team and I made a tree house.” – Grade 9 student

Project Catalyst

The Listener’s collective- Project Catalyst

Project Catalyst is ongoing, in collaboration with the Life skills collective. They conducted individual therapy sessions and a baseline survey for 21 children to gauge their standing on their perceptions and understanding of oneself, interpersonal relationships and the way they see the world around them. The surveys aim to investigate the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of the adolescents on the topics covered.

Reading program

Turning page program

We collaborated with Turning pages to create a reading program for our children in order to boost their literacy and social emotional skills. We had the first introductory session on October 26th, 2022 for children in grades 1 to 3. A total of 28 students attended the session, it began with a fun icebreaker, a story reading titled "The Lion’s feast" and ended with a fun vocabulary learning game and quiz. The second session was held on November 2nd, 2022 for 4^th graders. A total of 12 children attended the session, it began with a round of introductions, fun games, and a story reading titled "The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss."

Regular activities

Birthday celebrations

Birthday celebrations at the centre are anticipated by all. We distributed cake and snacks on the last Saturday of every month. It was wonderful to see the children's faces light up as they celebrated their birthdays.

Distributions

We had a successful provision distribution drive for flood relief. Provisions for 300 children were donated by Amazon, the kit included Rice - 5 kgs, Wheat Flour 2kgs, Toor dal -1 kg, Masoor dal - 1 kg, Oil - 1 Ltr, Vermicelli packet - 825 g, Dhaniya powder - 200 g, Chilli powder - 200 g, Sugar - 1kg. We also distributed blankets for all 300 children.

On the occasion of Diwali, we distributed food provisions to all our families. Each family received: rice - 26 kgs, toor dal - 2 kgs, sugar - 2 kgs, sunflower oil - 2 L.

“Childhood is the most beautiful of all life’s seasons.”- Jerry Smith

We want to express our gratitude to everyone who has joined us in ensuring that all of our children have a happy childhood, a solid education, access to food, and good health.