'Holistic Development'for 300 Poor Kids in India

Dear donors,

Wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Our mission is to create equal opportunities to underprivileged sections of society for their all round development.’

Here is an attempt to bring underprivileged children in mainstream and provide them maximum opportunities just as any middle class child has an easy access to.

Film screening: movies can have a positive influence on children. It plays a critical role in creating political and social awareness. Children also learn values by observing good role models in the film. And most importantly, young generation is easily attracted by media. Therefore we planned to use films to educate children and create awareness. Recently, we screened a Marathi movie called ‘Rege’ for the teenagers. It talks about how vulnerable today’s youngsters are, how they get attracted to the glamour of underworld and eventually get trapped in the evils of it. This was very relevant to the environment children observe

Children are exposed to diverse culture outside their slums because of media. Our resource person understood this very well and took them on an environmental ride through films and dialogue on tree plantation, ground water and consumption of water. These films threw light on the present status of river pollution and tree cutting. Children have not seen water shortage because they live in a city which has ample water. Watching a film on ground water was an eye opener for children. We were overwhelmed by the feedback we received from them. It was definitely one step forward to become a responsible citizen.

Exposure visits:

• IUCAA (Inter University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics) Galaxy Show (Taramandal): Under Scientific Public Outreach Program of IUCAA, 51 children from IDEA’s study centers and sponsorship program watched an interactive galaxy show in an inflatable dome. They could also visualize galaxy on an open air platform in IUCAA’s premises. It was a great beginning to understand basics of sky observation and astronomy.
• STEM Program: 5 girls got an opportunity to attend a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) Program organized by Avsara Academy during Diwali. They thoroughly enjoyed ‘learning by doing’ science experiments. Watching those pictures many other girls exclaimed, “We too want to participate in this next year”
• Science Park: 20 children visited Science Park in Pune. It included various innovative science experiments, 3D movie show on functions of human body and a galaxy show(Taramandal) in the planetarium. Solving science quizzes and puzzles outdoor in the park was fun for children!

Thank you donors for creating such wonderful opportunities for these children. It is certainly an essential part of education. Wish you all a very happy and healthy new year. Please continue your support to bring many needy and deserving children in the mainstream.