EDUCATION
Our education programme is designed to achieve the rhythm of SDG- Goal 4, that emphasizes to ensure inclusive and equitable ‘Quality Education’ and learning opportunities for all. Our activities facilitate underprivileged children, including the tribal children in acquisition of disciplinary knowledge, mobilise their skill, attitudes, values and problem solving ability. We address grade specific learning deficit through practicing different joyful participatory learning game and creative activities. Strategically we promotes inclusive education and organize different cultural events and workshops to address cultural sensitivity and Pride. We prefer children’s participation in school-based education which help students to reach their highest potentials and to meet complex demands of present situation. We work with learners, existing teachers and parents.
Activities with learners:
- We organise an alphabet card game, a reading competition, storytelling session to enhance reading skills
- We organise activities like sit-draw and build your story game, and many more creative sessions to enhance writing skills
- We organise number card games, games to know the number line, and games to solve problem sums with your friends to enhance basic arithmetic skills
- We organise problem-solving games with a Jigsaw Puzzle and an experiment game to enhance science knowledge
- We organise customised remedial sessions for slow learners
- We have developed customised pedagogical solutions to bridge grade-specific learning deficits
- We facilitate students to observe any special day, organised plantation drive,a nd community awareness sessions to develop their social skills
In order to promote the basic competencies of children, parents and teachers, Sahayog organizes several activities and events focusing on:
Improved learning outcome.
Students’ participation in social activities and development.
Parents' awareness on importance of children’s education.
Modern techniques of teaching.
Activities with teachers:
We have organised a Workshop and Training with teachers on how to make low-cost Teaching Learning Materials, various methods of teaching like problem-solving solving experiment-based sessions, knowing about childhood behaviour, importance of nutrition in children’s education, issues of child protection, and techniques to increase learning skills like listening, memorizing, application, etc
Thus, Sahayog ensures quality work for quality outcome through organizing various school level events such as:
Reading competition
Storytelling session
Quiz competition
Sentence completion sessions
Drawing competition
Observation of important days / weeks
Apart from events and qualitative sessions, Sahayog has organised Free Coaching Centres within the community set-up. Here the community provides space for their children and Sahayog arranges teachers and coaching materials.
Distribution of Educational Materials such as school bag, exercise book, pen, pencil, eraser, colour crayons, drawing books and winter garments for use in school for the students from underprivileged socio-economically backward families was an important domain of Sahayog’s work.
To ensure participation and to build up social responsibility among the students, Sahayog has formed student action groups in six schools of Sutahata block of East Medinipurknown as ‘ShishuSansad’ (meaning ‘student parliament’ in the local language Bengali). It is basically an action group having four arms headed by a team leader called ‘Pradhan Mantri’ (prime minister).Each arm of this parliament is headed by a leader, called ‘environment minister’ or ‘PoribeshMantri’, ‘healthminister’ or ‘SwasthyaMantri’, ‘educationminister’ or ‘ShikshaMantri’, ‘gamesand sports minister’ or ‘KriraMantri’.
It is expected that each arm will act suitably for the group. For example, the Swasthya Mantri will energize the school students to maintain general hygiene. He and his team will check the body weight, nail and hair-cut of every child weekly. They will monitor the habit of hand-wash, before and after taking midday-meal at the school.
Activities with Parents:
We have organised awareness events with parents and community members on importance of school regularity, to stop drop out, importance of education to increase employability, about childhood behaviour, importance of nutrition in children education, about various government schemes and scholarship, importance of games and sports, the value in participation in inter-school event at district and state level, issues of child protection, etc
Activities to promote save environment campaign
‘Save Environment and Save Life’ is the mission of Sahayog’s saveenvironment programme. It carries outplantation workat adjacent fields at schools and different locations with active participation of school students and community. The organisation believes that an ‘Environment Sensitive’ community leads healthy life which in turn leads to prosperity. It has organised several sessions with community women groupson issues of ‘save environment’ like- ‘process of domestic waste disposal’, ‘plantation at home’, ‘the benefitsofhaving a kitchen garden’,’clean environment and healthy life’, ‘arsenic contamination in ground water and health hazards’, ‘rain water- the free source of sweet and arsenic free water’ etc.
Apart from organising awareness campaigns and sessions on save environment issue, Sahayog has involved with the conservation effort of Scottish Cemetery at Korya Road, Kolkata. The model of conservation at Scottish cemetery is not only an effort to revive the history but has an annex attempt towards reuse of the place on issues of clean green environment. Sahayog has worked to involve the local community to maintain clean, green and safe space in and around the cemetery.
The government officials and Kolkata Municipal Corporation has provided hand holding support towards this project.
Initial dialogues with the community on different development issues helped in identifying problems and need for services in the area including:
Garbage disposal on the roadside and pavements
Water-logging during rains
Irregular services to maintain overall cleanliness in the area
Encroachment on footpath and road by garage
Unclean congested residential areas
No free space for children to play
To address the above issues, Sahayogformed women’s groups with a mission to ensure active participation of these trained and aware women. Sahayog has arranged several training sessions to educate these women on importance of environment, healthy living, drug or substance abuse and loss of youth etc. In response to these project inputs, the women have organized community campaigns on proper way to dispose domestic waste, healthy habits and disease-free lifestyle etc. With the help of these women, Sahayog now organizes value education classes at the cemetery for children on a regular basis.
