Vidi village lies in the Anjar taluka of Gujarat's Kutch district. A vast majority of children here are first-generation school-goers, and hence this village has not progressed on the social, economic and educational parameters. People here are involved in laborious jobs, and many of them work as rickshaw drivers and truck drivers. Apart from this, many people here practice seasonal migration to indulge in salt cultivation. Owing to all these factors, children have to change their schools quite often, and this inconsistency has resulted in their poor learning levels.
Three cousin sisters - Poonam Parmar, Kiran Parmar and Vanita Parmar - understood this problem and felt that they should do something to solve it. We met them at their home near the village primary school and tried to understand how they are conducting Pratham's library program for children in their village. "We came to know about this program last year", begins Poonam, the eldest who is in 10th grade. Kiran and Vanita, both in 8th grade, nod in agreement. "We liked the concept and felt it would help children of our village read and write better."
The girls admit that they had forgotten a lot of concepts which they learned in school. Hence they liked the learning material of this program along with the activities and games they had to conduct. "It helps us strengthen the fundamental concepts of children, and that enables them to learn better", says Kiran. "... and it also helps us revise what we have forgotten...", adds Vanita with a smile.
What are their observations about children? "We feel that Math is a bigger problem for children as compared to the language. While children can recognise numbers, math operations is still a concern", says Poonam. "At the beginning, some children had a problem of recognising numbers, but then we taught them. That is why we like the activities", says Vanita. All three of them agree that conducting language sessions is easier. Stories and question-answer sessions are the most popular language sessions among children.
There is one more reason why all the three of them are happy about the library program."Our sessions have ensured that children sit in one place and study. Many of them also solve their school homework along with the library activities. These sessions are like tuition classes, which otherwise only a few rich families in the village can afford", says Poonam. "Yes, everyone can study", adds Kiran. As we near the end of the conversation, we ask the three of them how being a part of this program has helped them.
"This program has enabled us to do something for our village. We are glad that we are helping the children and making them better citizens of tomorrow", says Vanita. "...but this program has changed us as well...", she says. "We were less talkative and did not know what to do. We now use our spare time doing some productive work", adds Poonam.
The Parmar sisters are happy that children in their village are learning well. Out of the three Poonam wants to join the police force. The other two want to continue their education and completing 10th grade is their next goal. We wish all of them well for their ambitions in life ahead.
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| From left to right - Poonam, Kiran and Vanita |
The girls admit that they had forgotten a lot of concepts which they learned in school. Hence they liked the learning material of this program along with the activities and games they had to conduct. "It helps us strengthen the fundamental concepts of children, and that enables them to learn better", says Kiran. "... and it also helps us revise what we have forgotten...", adds Vanita with a smile.
What are their observations about children? "We feel that Math is a bigger problem for children as compared to the language. While children can recognise numbers, math operations is still a concern", says Poonam. "At the beginning, some children had a problem of recognising numbers, but then we taught them. That is why we like the activities", says Vanita. All three of them agree that conducting language sessions is easier. Stories and question-answer sessions are the most popular language sessions among children.
There is one more reason why all the three of them are happy about the library program."Our sessions have ensured that children sit in one place and study. Many of them also solve their school homework along with the library activities. These sessions are like tuition classes, which otherwise only a few rich families in the village can afford", says Poonam. "Yes, everyone can study", adds Kiran. As we near the end of the conversation, we ask the three of them how being a part of this program has helped them.
"This program has enabled us to do something for our village. We are glad that we are helping the children and making them better citizens of tomorrow", says Vanita. "...but this program has changed us as well...", she says. "We were less talkative and did not know what to do. We now use our spare time doing some productive work", adds Poonam.
The Parmar sisters are happy that children in their village are learning well. Out of the three Poonam wants to join the police force. The other two want to continue their education and completing 10th grade is their next goal. We wish all of them well for their ambitions in life ahead.
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