Building self-sustainability

I started my journey with Pratham in 2006. Like any other student I came in the organization with one goal “To learn and get experience”. My first field visit was in the Urban slum communities of Ahmedabad. The day was tiring walking in the communities that had small lanes with dirty water and garbage all around you. People were staring at me to know who I was and my purpose for coming in their community. Initially I hesitated a bit to ask where Pratham centers were running and was trying to reach out to the teachers who were supposed to show me how Pratham teaches children. Then I heard somebody calling me from a distance asking “Have you come to see Pratham center”. I was so happy to see her coming towards me with a big smile on her face. While we were moving towards the learning center I found her talking with mothers, children and elderly people sitting outside their house. She was talking to everyone as if she knew them personally.... This connect between teacher and different stakeholders in the community makes Pratham urban program a success among them. Strong marketing and communication skills have been able to create community ownership for the learning centers. Community ownership is a process, people have to see what is being offered, and that identifies with their needs. Then community participation takes place leading to sustained contact helping Pratham to cater to different educational needs of children.
The uniqueness of the learning centre is coming out as a resource centre for the child and community - where the child is encouraged to learn by self and in groups (Peer learning) with experiential learning. The role of the centre head is to be a facilitator rather than being teacher. Children understand concepts and learn beyond ‘just completing homework’. This distinctiveness is not found in conventional centers.   Urban learning center is a help desk for many stakeholders especially parents who find their motivation from us to take a front seat in their children education….today parents ask us which school to keep their children and what to ask school teachers when they attend parent’s meeting in school.
The learning centres have achieved the status of sustaining children’s learning levels, keeping to an effective teacher child ratio and a continued capacity building of the community teachers towards ownership of the model.One of Pratham’s biggest achievements has been its ability to mobilize thousands of community women, across these centers. Coming from traditional, conservative homes, they initially lacked the confidence and strength to fill these roles. But due to the undivided support offered by Pratham through ongoing capacity building initiatives, these women have been empowered to rise up to the challenge of becoming teachers to these community children.
Pratham has found this to be a practical approach since as each community takes ownership of its educational needs; the change that happens is bottom-up, democratic and more likely to be sustainable.
My experience working in urban program has made me always look for practical solutions talking with community at large. It has been an enriching experience for me working in Pratham Urban program. You have the opportunity to think and explore various ways to do programs that help children learn. You are not in a structured format wherein someone’s else plans and you are just implementing…..This monotony is what Pratham culture breaks and gives each individual to bring in the best from the learning’s we get from our field visits. As a leader, I have been given the freedom to express my concerns, thoughts and solutions which gets transferred to the leaders in field. This cycle has kept Pratham moving with people working for years …adopting organizational goals as their personal goals to fulfill various educational needs of children.