enLighten 2 emPower- Girl Child in Rural Rajasthan

Our aim is to help our students see the potential in themselves and give them the tools to prevail against limitations that would inhibit or hinder them. This is a collective goal for all of us who are working with the girls during the course of this program. Each of us does this by engaging the children using different modalities. 

The following categories give a broad overview of material that has been covered and events the girls have experienced thus far during the bootcamp.

INTRODUCTIONS.  At the beginning of the bootcamp, introductions were made, and everyone wrote their names on the board and then used alphabet beads to string their name together. They also practiced greeting a person in English and created a model family tree.  

VOCABULARY.  The girls practiced names of different body parts in Hindi and English, and then did some stretching exercises to strengthen the association. Expanding their vocabulary in both languages by consistently engaging with all 4 literacy skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—forms the core of our program.

TABLET COMPUTERS.  The girls have learnt how to use the tablets to access the day's lesson via an email link. They have also engaged with familiar English words related to the use and care of their tablets, such as, charge and touchscreen. Notably, they did not realize these words were in English since they are ingrained in the Marwari vocabulary.

GEOGRAPHY. The girls were introduced to the concept of place and region, and that of geographical comparisons between India, the US, and the UK—in relation to their positions on the globe, rainfall distribution, national birds, and cardinal directions. 

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS.  The girls have been asked, to answer questions such as “What were you doing before returning to school that you miss doing?” and “What do you like about being in school?”

FIELD TRIP.  During a trip to URMUL's Lunkaransar campus, our students met Deeya Bajaj via a video call and heard about her expedition to Mount Everest. While Carol and Brittany Phelps used miming techniques to teach the girls new vocabulary in English. 

EARNING AN INCOME.  The Income Generation Program Head from Urmul Desert Craft spent a day with the girls and talked to them about how women in Rajasthan are providing for themselves and earning a living through embroidery and other scalable enterprises. Following the presentation, the girls participated in a practical demonstration of how to transact business.

PUPPETS.  The students have learned how to create traditional papier mache hand puppets. And, under the tutelage of puppeteer, Lal Puri ji they performed a play about gender inequality and child marriage for their parents. 

SPIRITUALITY.  Morning prayers were initiated by one of our students, as were Yoga sessions, both with the aim of promoting spiritual well-being and the significance of a woman's role in society.

SHAPE.  The significance of shape use was discussed as part of an exercise in drawing the Taj Mahal. The lesson also included a review of various shapes.

MAPPING.  The girls were able to follow a map of India that was outlined with masking tape on the classroom carpet, which helped to bring the idea of neighboring countries to life.

DIVERSITY.  A teacher from Kerala wore her traditional dress and brought Mysore Pak as a treat for the children, enabling the children to experience some of the diversity with India.

COOKING LESSON.  As part of a lesson on nutrition, the girls cooked healthy laddoos.

The Girls’ Experience with the Tablets

Learning how to use a tablet computer has boosted the confidence of many of the girls. Prior to attending e2e’s literacy camp, these girls had never been allowed to use a phone without permission from a male member of their family. Perhaps this had an impact on their response to using tablets, because after the initial excitement, a few girls were afraid they didn’t understand how to use the tablets and didn’t want to handle them. This is where the learning began.

The excited chatter had to be calmed for slow detailed instructions to be heard, and by the second lesson, the girls could open email links, and leaned about Google search and how to change the input language.

The discussion about internet safety, passwords, and social media—including the posting of photos—interested them, and it was wonderful to see the ‘Eureka!’ moment when they realized the potential of social media.

The girls are accessing class lessons, whether videos or PowerPoint presentations, which is building their confidence and increasing their attention level in the classroom.

The girls currently share the tablet computers as we have more girls than tablets; but we have found this aids teamwork and have varied partners for the tablet lessons. It is our goal to eventually provide each girl with her own tablet. In the interim, the necessary software and learning applications have been uploaded and will be sufficient for the duration of the eight-week camp. 

While we are buoyed by the success of our initial camp, we acknowledge that educating the girls of Rajasthan will be a long and complicated process and are committed to doing everything we can to enrich and improve their lives through literacy and education. For this reason, we hope this community will continue to help and support us in achieving these goals.

Success Stories