Educational Sponsorship for 120 Children - India

Dear friends,

We are happy to present an update on the project.  

A brief on the Sponsorship program:-

IDEA is extending sponsorship support to more than 700 children with the help of donors who have donated through Global Giving & Giveindia , grant from companies like All State Solutions pvt ltd and Hexaware technologies Pvt. Ltd and local individual donors .   Most of these children are from Pune itself but with the help of Hexaware, we could even reach out to Chennai & Mumbai .

Educational sponsorship is provided for children studying from Std 8th to graduation, through which needy children get part reimbursement of their school/college fees, stationary, uniforms, life skill sessions, personality development sessions, exposure visits, basic computer literacy and career counselling.

Around 700 children who are under sponsorship program received school bag and stationary during the months of June & July . School fee was reimbursed to around 200 children during June and July . The remaining children will also be supported for school & coaching class fee.   

68 students appeared for Secondary School Certificate ( SSC) exam ; 34 students passed the exam with distinction .

32 children appeared for Higher Secondary Certificate ( HSC) examination. Except for 2 children all others performed well .

We are focussing on the 6 students who could not clear the above examinations.

 Summer Camp May 2018

This year we organized summer camp on two days 2^nd & 3^rd May 2018. Approximately 30 students attended camp on both days. We planned 1) Bag making 2) Birthday Celebration 3) Art & craft activities 4) Session for adolescent children . On first day, all children introduce themselves in front of all children. This way they became friendly & played some games. They enjoyed some funny games. There was a session to make paper bags & other eco -friendly bags . The participants were told about importance and need of these type of bag. On second day, at morning, session was organized for adolescent children. An expert very nicely interacted with children. At beginning children felt uncomfortable but she made them talkative. After that she took session separately for boys & girls. Made children very comfortable and told about the physiological & psychological changes during this stage of life in very simple language. She also told about hygiene & diet. Children attended the session very sincerely. After that they enjoyed nutritious snacks .

Thanks for helping us to reach out to more children.  

Dear friends,

Greetings from IDEA!

 It is summer here in India, Exams over, schools are closed and children can be seen enjoying their holidays, playing in parks or eating their favorite ice cream. But for some teenagers, this is the time to take tough decisions, “Do I want to serve people as a doctor?” or “Is engineering more suitable career for me?”

 Yes some have more clarity than the others but still don’t know how to go about it. “Can my family afford to pay this fees?” or “Can I avail education loan?” such questions have begun pouring in. After all they are young, restless and anxious!

 We at IDEA thought that this is the perfect time to educate these youngsters who are on the cusp of young adulthood, on everything they need to know about making appropriate career choices. Accordingly a Career Guidance session was conducted recently by Mrs. Pendse and Mrs. Bhujbal, who are both expert Career Counsellors for teenagers.

 The counsellors started the session with ice-breaker games which set the tone for the rest of the session. They conducted the session in an informal manner, encouraging the children to participate and ask questions without any reservations.

 Counsellors asked the children about their current learning status, how are they coping with their studies and life in general. Then they moved on to asking each student, about how they see their future, what are their goals and motivations. The children started opening up to them and started asking questions about the careers that they had been considering for themselves. Some wanted to hear about more career options as they had not made any plans yet.

 The counsellors answered all their questions patiently and satisfactorily. As these were all std. 10^th and std. 12^th students, they were advised on which stream (Arts/Commerce/Science) they should select in college according to their interest and aptitude.

 They were also suggested the different types many other courses – degree/diploma/vocational in various fields, which they might find useful in the future. Children were the most interested in knowing about different entrance exams for like IIT- JEE, NEET for professional engineering and medical courses.

 IDEA thanks both counsellors for conducting such a useful and informative session. The children definitely gained a lot of perspective and insight. They are busy setting their career goals. We thank you dear friends for your continued support to these bright, curious minds as timely intervention and information can really set these children on the right career path. We count on you for continuing the sponsorship support for these children.

Links:

• IDEA Annual Report 2016-2017
• IDEA newsletter February 2018