Makkala Jagriti

Vision: Makkala Jagriti is a value based social movement to empower the child & and her/his community towards a bright future. Mission: Makkala Jagriti will facilitate holistic development for children and the diverse groups, in and around the community, to build a sustainable and equitable society. Core Issue: Children from poor settlement communities often belong to unstable homes, as they witness domestic violence, abusive languages, poor living space and other forms of unpleasant conditions. Most of these children have little/no access or opportunity to channelize their energies into creative and productive learning. They turn to peer groups for support and understanding. Often, these peer groups are unsupervised and become a haven for anti-social activities including petty crime, misdemeanours, drug abuse and sometimes more violent crimes. Exposed to such an environment in their formative years, the child's inherent creativity and potential is killed before the child reaches adulthood. Being the first generations learners, most often the schools that they attend leaves them with less quench to learn and aspire. The child thus feels doubly forsaken - at home as well as at school. Our Philosophy: Makkala Jagriti believes that every child has the right to education, a safe and happy childhood with access to quality learning and development opportunities, in non-formal ways, in a non-threatening environment where they are treated with respect, celebrated for their uniqueness, and equipped to aspire for a bright future. We believe that children should be encouraged to imagine, create, believe and become - to discover the light within. Our objective& history: Makkala Jagriti (literally meaning "Awakening of Children") was established in 2003 to provide developmental opportunities to children from socially and economically deprived backgrounds. 1. The primary objective is to create access to quality learning to enable their holistic growth and development. 2. The second objective is to reduce the rate of school dropouts and to reintegrate dropouts into the education system. 3. The third objective is to strengthen the ecosystem around these children. While our project deals primarily with children& youth we also recognize the urgent need to create awareness and build capacity in all stakeholders who interact with this group of vulnerable children: parents, guardians, teachers and child custodians (juvenile homes). Our work model: We set up Holistic Development Learning Centers (HDLC) inside Urban poor settelement communities, Government Schools (urban& Rural) & Juvenile Homes. The space supports children To nurture talents, potential that allows them to blossom& flourish in fullness. Offers a safe space to express without fear, inhibition to exercise freedom responsibly. Encourages natural curiosity to emerge to motivate them to learn in an effective manner. 1. HDLC - inside poor settlement community - open from 11am - 7p.m 2. HDLC - inside government school - open from 9.30 to 5.30 (each class student 1-7th will participate one period everyday) 3. HDLC - Juvenile Home - 9.30 - 5.30 (just now we have put the work on hold due to new developments at the government home management procedures, we will resume shortly) With over 13 years of experience in holistic child development programs we are one of the early pioneers in this space. Today, we have institutionalized the holistic development concept in several government schools (urban and rural), urban slums and juvenile homes to nurture the child-centric teaching methodologies, which enables children to gain confidence, self-assurance and emotional stability to overcome negative influences in their ecosystem and stay focused on achieving their life goals. Our impact: Since inception, we have impacted over 15800 children& youth in the age groups of 6 to 14 & 15 to 22 years; 600 parents in urban slum community; and 700 teachers. Students from our learning centres have become role models in their community by puruing higher studies, taking up mainstream jobs in banking sector, IT Industry, BPO jobs, automobile and manufacturing industries. Some of them have become facilitators in community development, child facilitators, anchors & co-odinators in other NGOs, taekwondo trainers & small time business entreprenuers. At present, our 13 learning centres cater to over 3000 children every day. Our aim is to ensure 75% of the students complete high school and 50% of those who complete high school pursue higher studies; 25% of Makkala Jagriti graduates will be involved in a community give back program through our alumni network and will return to volunteer with Makkala Jagriti in various capacities. Our Program: SPICE is a goal-directed program designed to address six specific aspects of development - Social, Physical, Intellectual, Creative and Emotional development. The objective of the SPICE curriculum is to give these children an equal footing to participate in a dynamic, contemporary world by developing their skills, talents and abilities while addressing their emotional, creative and intellectual needs. The program redirects a child's vision from lack and deprivation to limitless possibilities and choice. In the process, children learn to listen to themselves, discover their talents and voice, and make informed choices to chart a different destiny. The SPICE curriculum list of activities in each area of development is outlined below: Area of development Activity Expected outcome Social 1. Age-appropriate self-awareness workshops 2. Conflict resolution (through debates, activities on teaming) 3. Sustained Leadership program 4. Meditation 5. Civic awareness programs Well adjusted children Increased concentration Ability to distinguish between right and wrong Enhanced confidence Sensitive to their own and others' needs Aware of their strengths and weaknesses Ability to take on leadership roles and influence thought Greater civic awareness and responsibility Physical 1. Taekwondo 2. Football 3. Cricket 4. Indoor games Greater ability to focus Ability to channelize energy in positive ways Ability to collaborate and cooperate Increased stamina Overall physical well being Expsoure to participate in interstate& national level competitions Intellectual 1. Academic development: Novel lesson planning that includes experiential learning to enhance academic performance 2. Reading development: Reading program in the local language and English based on reading ability and age 3. Educational games& puzzles 4. Theme-based projects& exhibitions: To encourage learning through research 5. Educational tours Greater interest in academics Ability to read confidently to age level Motivated to learn Greater appreciation for research Basic research skills Spirit of enquiry and scientific temper Creative 1. Fine arts: art& craft, painting, sketching, clay modelling 2. Performing arts: dance, music& theatre Discover, nurture and celebrate inherent talent Appreciate talent in others Channelize energy in creative pursuits Ability to explore creative avenues Emotional 1. Life skills programs to build emotional intelligence 2. Counselling 3. Mentoring Emotional nurturance to support low self esteem, less self confidence, fears& inhibitions. Ability to cope& manage oneself with greater clarity, better interpersonal relationship to build healthier peer groups. Enhanced emotional intelligence Strengthening the ecosystem:A positive and sensitive approach to handling vulnerable children will build trust and create a healthy environment where children can grow and flourish. We have therefore chosen to walk the path of the child with people who matter to the child. We partner with; - Parents - Government School Teachers - Child custodians to explore the most effective and sensitive practices for childcare. We work stakeholder group to both understand their perspective as well as create awareness about a child's psyche and emotional and social development needs for different age groups. We have invested extensively in this space, developed contextual training material for each group, and hold regular interactive sessions to reiterate the importance of child-centric. We conduct regular capacity building programs for facilitators that include workshops on: Child-centric approach to facilitating Coaching children to manage emotions Empowering children to explore and learn Integrating experiential activities in classrooms Creating a safe learning environment for children Our work with parents is through conducting home visits, counselling sessions and parent workshops to address a variety of child development issues. Many of the parents are semi-literate or illiterate with little exposure to safe and healthy child rearing practices. They have little or no opportunity to access knowledge or information on creating a child-friendly environment at home. We enrol the parents in their children's journey towards their dreams so that they become the most important enablers in the process. By helping parents visualize a different destiny for their children, we convert them into active participants in creating it. Parents workshop address the following aspects; Creating a child-friendly environment at home Understanding and addressing the reason for drop-outs Identifying and addressing behavioural and emotional changes in a child Impact of domestic violence on children's emotional development Different types of parenting models and how they impact child development. Partners: We collaborate with different partners to bring the best to the child. - Hippocampus for reading program - CMCA - Civic Awarness - VSET - Lifeskills - AGASTYA FOUNDATION - Science - Corporate Organisations - volunteer engagement - Colleges& Universities - volunteer engageme