Dallupura

A Visit to Dallupura Village

By Pia Brar

Children playing in the village street

Step out of the New Ashok Nagar Metro Station in East Delhi, onto the crowded streets lined with food stands ready to feed the mass as they travel to and from work or school. Jump in a tuktuk (3-wheeler) for the drive to Dallupura, so that you are sure to fit through the narrow streets once in the village. The ground below you transfers from gravel to dirt. The honking horns are traded in for barking dogs and laughing children. Bright pink and yellow saris drying off village rooftops replace boring street signs. You are only fifteen minutes out of one of the most populated cities in the world, yet you are now surrounded by merely peace and simple pleasures.

Vaibhav photographing the class 6 students.

While in Dallupura, the Pratham team first visited Vasundhara Public School where we joined a group of standard six students. The photographer, Vaibhav Bharadwaj, documented the student’s classroom learning experience of using the WebBox videos, which are part of Pratham’s ‘Learn, Out of the Box’ Program in partnership with Vodafone Foundation India. The goal of this program is to enhance teaching and learning in low-income schools through the introduction of technology as a teaching tool.

Intern, Pia, with the pre-schoolers.

After photographing the students as they interacted with both the math and science WebBox videos, we made our way to Pratham’s Urban Learning Center (ULC) five minutes away. The Balwadi (preschool) was still in session when we arrived and the room was filled with two to five year olds who smiled at us with their large dark eyes. Their colourful backpacks and sweaters matched the walls of the classroom decorated by the teachers themselves.

Abdulla, a five-year-old boy, handed us his favourite book, Butterfly that sat on a Rainbow, from the hanging bookcase on the wall and began reciting the words in a little whisper under his breath. Pratham Books provided this book, and many others like it, in both Hindi and English for the children of the village who attend the Urban Learning Centre. Pratham Books was set up in 2004, as part of the Read India movement, a nation-wide campaign to promote reading among children.
 
Once the little ones were picked up, the older children began rolling in after their day at school. Our team then joined a class of sixth and seventh graders to document how they responded to both the classes and the WebBox videos in both maths and science.

Vaibhav in action at the ULC.

“I really like the videos because the cartoons make it fun to learn,” said Sonum, an eleven-year-old sixth grader.

Fourteen-year-old Chirag also shared his view of the Urban Learning Centre by adding, “In my life, I want to learn everything, that’s why I like coming to the learning centre. The teachers teach well and give us lots of attention, much more than in school.”

What the team took away from this field visit was that the children are extremely happy to attend Pratham’s ULC not only for the interactive WebBox videos, the interesting activities and resources provided, but also for the village volunteers who dedicate their time make each student’s learning possible.