Educate 300 marginalised children in Bihar, India

Greetings from Diksha!

As part of the effort to contain COVID-19 spread, all the public spaces such as schools, offices, universities, educational institutions had to close down to prevent everyone from the hazardous effects of the disease. Taking the government protocols and COVID-19 safety measures we had to shut down the KHEL centers, during the quarter of April to June we engaged in different activities of the KHEL project and in order to stay connected with our students.

Major Activities –

The major activities that took place in this quarter are as follows:

• TELE-COUNSELLING-

Further, it was getting incredibly difficult for us to stay in connection with our students as we had to close our center due to government regulations. Thus, to remedy the situation we started the facility of tele-counselling whereby children could discuss their situations. During these sessions, we got to understand their financial problems as their parents had lost their livelihoods, due to lack of smart phones digital divide is being created.

• RELIEF WORK-

Under our relief work we provided relief kits including nutritional kits and medicine kits to our students along with distribution of ration in the later stage, by far we have provided these relief materials to 250 students of our center.

• FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO THE PARENTS OF OUR STUDENTS

COVID-19 has resulted in loss of livelihood opportunities especially with the daily wage earners, in order to support our students and their parents financially, we are providing them with grant amount in order to start new business opportunities or to expand their existing business which we help them in sustaining financially also will build a strong relation with our students.

• ENGLISH ACCESS MICRSCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM-

Under this program the students are being trained and groomed by facilitators on different areas of studies that will help them in becoming a global citizen, in this quarter the students learnt about 21^st century skills, Official Communication- IT and computer skills-email etiquette, and pride month.

• LIBRARY AT YOUR DOORSTEP-

Since many of our students don’t have access to digital mode of learning, we brought learning to their doorstep by providing books from our library and helping them stay connected to academia and work on their communication skills.

• DISTRIBUTION OF STATIONERY ITEMS-

We even distributed stationery items to all our girl students of KHEL center, to motivate them and keep them connected to the fun and learning process.

Volunteer Activities –

During this quarter our volunteers even helped us with tele-counselling and keeping a check over students mental health as well as their family conditions and issues/challenges they have been going through, apart from the same they even actively participated in the process of relief work by volunteering in the distribution process as well.

Future Plans –

• TELE-LEARNING-

Through Tata-tele conferencing we will help in bridging the digital divide for our students and help them with their studies, it can be access by everyone with or without internet and also smart phone is not mandatory for it.

• VOCATIONAL TRAINING-

Taking into account the government guidelines and protocols we will re-starting our vocational course training for the elder students by maintain proper distance and also will take consent from the students before beginning the in-person sessions.

• RE-OPENING OF CENTERS-

With decrease in case and government guidelines we will soon re-open our center for the elder students in batches, so that there is minimum gathering and get started with their academia and supplementary classes

• SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH HIGHER EDUCATION-

Through one of our project one of our donors is willing to support around 7-10 students who are financially weak but are focused and dedicated towards their studies and future, by taking charge of their higher education, from preparing them for interested course to college fees to other requirements

Dear Well wishers,

A very happy and healthy New Year!

We hope that we find a solution and cure for COVID -19 this year.

We are grateful for your kind support to us throughout these years. It has been an insightful journey and we have learnt a lot while on it. 

This quarter began with the celebration of Makar Sakranti at Patna KHEL Center. Students joined the festivities with great enthusiasm to celebrate the beginning of a new year with the hope that they would soon be able to join classes in the normal manner. We are trying to open our KHEL Centers now with minimal physical presence while ensuring all the safety precautions. 

We also celebrated Independence Day on 26th January. The students participated in various dance, drama, songs, debate and quiz competitions to expand their knowledge while also teaching us about India and their futuristic mission and goals for the nation. 

The students participated in huge numbers for “Kabaad se Jugaad”- Art and Craft Exhibition. They showcased their creativity through various products that they had designed. It brought forth their talent while also bringing us all together in the lively KHEL spirit. 

We are currently trying to engage students virtually for our English Access Microscholarship Program. We were hoping to start offline classes, however, could not proceed with the same in order to ensure safety precautions against COVID-19. We are trying to open our KHEL doors for our senior students in order to help them with their upcoming board exams. 

Major Activities:-

We have started to enroll students for our vocational learning course of Diploma in Computer Applications for girl students. 

Plan Ahead:-

We are hoping to start in person classes for all batches from April while ensuring safety precautions. In further news, We hope to start Access classes in offline mode in 2 separate cohorts. 

We are also planning on starting afresh with Jagrik, the civic education program in a small cohort. In the coming quarters, we are trying to strengthen our digital library to inculcate in our students reading culture.

Dear wellwishers,

Hope you find some respite from COVID-19 this festive season!

 Thank you so much for your generous contributions to Diksha Foundation. We have achieved some remarkable milestones through these contributions. We are extremely elated to share with you that we completed 10 years of community service this year.  

Through these quarters we had to keep our KHEL Centers in Patna and Hilsa closed due to government regulations and to prevent the spread of COVID -19. We had to find alternate approaches to stay connected with our students and to ensure that learning continues even in these difficult times. The idea to solve these 2 problems was suggetsed by our students in collaboration with the team.

 We came up with the solution named “Khel Ki Door, Aapke Ghar Ki Oor”. Through this campaign the middle school and high school students volunteered to teach younger students in a small group of about 10 children. We believed that if Diksha could reach out to the students at their homes and conduct sessions and activities, it would encourage student’s participation within Diksha while also maintaining the safety and precautions norms against COVID-19. Thus, around 13 adolescents volunteered to be a part of the campaign as student teachers/youth volunteers for our students between classes 1 to 5. We also distributed workbooks and stationary items to our students.

 In further news, we have continued our “Annapurna Campaign” through which we provide ration kits to students and their families. So far we have distributed about 750 kits to the families of our students and other needy families. The kits include all the necessary items that are essential to sustain a family for a month. We have distributed these kits in 6 phases to ensure safety and precautions of COVID-19.

 Major Activities:-

 The children celebrated Gandhi Jayanti with much enthusiasm. They prepared speeches and tributes based on the lives of Gandhi and his principles. We screened “Midnight’s Children” for our children at KHEL Patna. They also submitted essays based on the movie that reflected their perspectives on the same.  

 We celebrated our 10 years anniversary virtually this year. The children prepared short videos of themselves commemorating their fond memories of Diksha. Children enjoyed the virtual event in which there was a virtual band performance Manzil Mystics. It was telecasted virtually across our social media platforms. 

 Plan Ahead:-

 English Access Microscholarship Program (Access) in collaboration with RELO and US Consulate, Kolkata is a program that is helping students in improving their English language skills and making them global citizens. The program is already being run virtually, however, we are hoping to start offline classes. 

 Further, we have strengthened our library setup to ensure  a better accessibility to our children. This will help in developing reading skills of our children, expansion of knowledge base and innovative thinking skills. 

Links:

• Diksha Foundation

Dear Contributors,

Greetings from Diksha!

Thank you so much for your faith and belief in us during this period. This has helped us in achieving some remarkable heights. We are working constantly to make this a better and safe place for children, through various measures.

We are happy to share with you our quarterly updates. This quarter we had to close our KHEL Learning Centre in Patna and Hilsa Due to COVID-19 pandemic. However, in this quarter we are proud to share that 6 children (4 boys and 2 girls) passed their class 10th board examinations with good marks. In the class 12th board exams, 5 more children ( 4 boys and 1 girl) passed the exams with flying colours.

We tried to engage our students through online classes. However it proved to be difficult as most of the students do not have smartphones. Thus, we provided them with tele counselling so that they could cope with the difficulties of lockdown during the pandemic. We also conducted a survey through telephone to understand the issues our children have been facing.

We are also extremely proud to share that 2 girls and 1 boy from our Centre got part time teaching jobs in a Coaching institute. They plan to pursue their higher studies while earning so that they can be independent. In the DCA (Diploma in Computer Applications), 3 girls and 2 boys successfully completed the programme. 

Further, our MLMF programme came to an end with 105 participants successfully completing the course in Patna and Hilsa. After the course, most of them shared that they felt more confident in sharing their thoughts and feelings with their parents. The students have developed better public speaking skills. They also participated in an event organized by Oxfam where they had prepared a youth manifesto regarding upcoming Bihar elections. It included our youth’s perception about a responsive and equitable society for gender equality.

Major Activities -

At  Diksha we believe in celebrating everyday with equal zest. The quarter started with the celebrations of Holi. Children celebrated eco friendly holi in order to save water, earth and environment. The children were preparing for an Art Exhibition that was supposed to be held in March end. However, we had to postpone it due to COVID-19 outbreak. 

In the telephonic followup, most of our students mentioned that they had been facing hardships due to the lack of ration. We spoke to their parents in order to understand their financial conditions and well being. In order to help our children, we started the Annapurna Campaign through which we have been providing ration and personal safety equipment kits to our students’ families in Patna and Hilsa. So far we have distributed 110 kits to our students and their families in Patna.

Volunteer Activities -

Volunteer activities spiked before the lockdown came into force. We had incorporated 2 more volunteers who wanted to teach students various subjects. 1 volunteer also celebrated her birthday at the Patna Learning Centre. This helped in engaging students in understanding the importance of community sharing and learning.

Future Plans -

We plan to extend our Annapurn Campaign to meet the needs of 110 children at Hilsa. This will help our students and their families in combating the hardships of lockdown. Most of our students mentioned that their parents had lost their jobs due to the pandemic. The campaign will provide 1 months supplies of essential items that are required to sustain a family.

In the future we want to build a digital library for our students in Patna and Hilsa. This would help us in combating the difficulties we experienced during the lockdown. Most of the students mentioned that they could not access online classes as they did not have a smartphone. We are hoping that a digital library at Diksha’s Learning Centres would help in conducting classes online if the situations do not improve or we face a similar situation in the future. 

We are happy to have you with us on our journey. It is important for us to share our updates with you so that we could have partnerships in building a safe and innovative society for our children to grow up in. 

Greetings from Diksha!

Dear Contributor,

Thank you so much for all your confidence and faith in our work. We are constantly working hard to make this world a better place for children, the first step for which is education. 

Last year in 2019, the money raised was mostly used to enhance activities, build capacity of existing staff, modify Library and upgrade KHEL Learning Centers.

Despite only a short time passing since our last update, we are happy to reconnect with you and share updates about our project. In the last quarter, we have experienced improvements in the overall percentage of girls over boys and we are thrilled to inform you that with 60% of girls in Patna and 54% in Hilsa, with a total of 291 active and regular students in the last quarter, our goal of empowering girls and making them independent adults is moving forward. 

“To be able to present our thoughts and the luxury of being listened to, has developed a belief in oneself and confidence in us”, 

two of our kids from the youth group, Dharamver and Mithun, who got a chance to take part in the MLMF Funders event at New Delhi, shared this in a Facebook Live Video. This program at KHEL has really helped develop some public speaking skills in our children.

 How a random day at Diksha look like?

1. In a group activity, children searched for pollution related news in the newspaper and also discussed solutions for it. Children also jotted down plans on how they can overcome this at a community and broader levels. Group reports were beautifully made on chart papers.  One chart paper, two newspapers and colour pencils were utilized by the children of Groups B and C, (age group -10-15) for this activity.
2. Saturdays are devoted to creativity and innovations with paint brushes. Children made some beautiful pictures on greeting cards for New Year which showed their skill and articulation ability.  Kids from all the groups have come together and decorated the center and also made a Christmas tree. 

Nurturing self-confidence through:

1. BAL Sansad focuses more on values and respect for children's opinions and capabilities. This innovative platform provides students with the opportunity to actively participate in the running of the center through a democratic process that is above gender, caste, creed or economic situation. Some decisions taken by our Bal Sansad members in this quarter are - Complaint and suggestion box will be prepared by the Ministry of Art.
   - Advisory committee needs to be formed as soon as possible for the Sports Ministry.
   - There should be language inclusivity in math classes.
2. Matrix Mela, the yearly activity at KHEL, is a reason to celebrate Maths and remember the great mathematician Dr. Ramanujan. The games and activities like counting the balls, Raja ka paisa, Tera-Mera, on the day of Matrix Mela have a purpose of igniting an interest and love for Maths in children. Children organized many mathematical activities for this day and the day was celebrated well. Parents and community members also joined us in this Mela and it helped to increase the interest of children towards learning math and also developed their leadership skills.

Celebrating Life!

1. Makar Sankrati, the day was jam-packed with activities like Kite-making, informatory sessions in the classroom and both the staff and the children flying kites on the terrace. 
2. Our children are growing and are becoming aware; they now understand the Constitution. With some civic as well as Environmental Education thoughts in our minds, we devoted this year's Republic Day to Part IV of the Indian Constitution - the Directive Principles of State Policy - Article 51-A (g), making them realize that it is their duty to protect and improve the natural environment and to have compassion for living creatures. Children prepared and made presentation in groups on 'climate change'.

Volunteerism

1. Volunteer activities have also increased at our center in the last quarter; they have come up with some vibrant energy and a wave of enthusiasm for our children. We took help from four Volunteers on the theme of Self-development and organized a session on incorporating the Art of Self Love with the Group C students. The day of Love has got a new meaning, at the end of the session they expressed their understanding through the paintings.
2. Nitika Satya (Miss Corporate India Universe) visited our KHEL center and shared about her journey, inspiring our kids to follow their dreams and aspire high to achieve it. Such sessions demonstrate innovative career paths to the youngsters.  She briefed the kids from Groups C and D (age group 13 to 22)  about the pageant. There were games like Dumsaraz, dance and all where everyone enjoyed their best

Workshops and Trainings

Diksha is devoted to creating learning experiences for youth through workshops, field exposure, internships, camps, and projects

1. We understand that in the journey of becoming Global Citizens, the first step starts with strengthening the roots, the very culture of Bihar. Fifteen children from KHEL participated in “Parivartan”; an event organized by HDFC Bank and got to know about the cultural history of Bihar.
2. Our staff member Shivam attended a self exploration and rural immersion program at Ahmedabad. This program was organized by Youth Alliance where around 30 youth from all over the country came up and participated. There was also a rural visit at Kutch Gujarat where the facilitator learned about the socio-cultural norms of the state and one another. It was an overwhelming experience overall. 
3. Our Communications coordinator, also participated in the first L1 Facilitator Training & Educator Prep Workshop, towards expanding our understanding of SEE Learning and the commitment to use and implement the tools of love and compassion necessary in a classroom.

We thank you for accompanying us on the journey of seeking education to bring in the cultivation of inner values and skills to our children.

As a partner, we believe it is important to let you know your resources are well managed and truly serving the children.

If you would like a complete copy of our Annual Financial Report, please send us an email on contact@dikshafoundation.org