Help us build a tribal learning center for teachers and students
We are collaborating with Vidyodaya (Gudalur, Tamil Nadu) on one of their projects.
Tribal learning center, supporting students and teachers with mission for 100% children's enrollment, engagement and learning.
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150,000 INR Contributed!
We have already provided salaries for 5 teachers to support during the post-COVID lockdown times , so that the education and livelihoods are not halted.​
How you can help us right now
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We are looking for donations of working, smart devices such as phones laptops and tablets to help teachers continue teaching their students effectively in these uncertain times.
Our Motivation
Viswa Bharati Vidyodaya Trust was started in 1993, as a consolidation of the Adivasi Land Rights movement and as a part of the people’s collective, Adivasi Munnetra Sangam order to address widespread educational deprivation amongst adivasis in the Gudalur valley, The Nilgiris. They have been working over the last 30 years with the vision of providing quality education -- one that is meaningful and culturally relevant -- for the adivasi communities here with their active participation. They have focussed all our energies on the development of innovative, alternative and supplementary educational systems for the children, who are most often first-generation learners.
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In the face of rapid adoption to online learning, we are left to wonder what this means for adivasi children living in rural, remote areas. With no electricity, sporadic internet connectivity and in-effectiveness of online learning content, owning a smartphone does not guarantee our children a ticket to education. It is ironic that there is little discussion and debate around this -- only goes to show how some groups are invisible in the process of decision-making, before and during a pandemic. However, these challenges have not stopped us from re-imagining what classrooms can look like for our children. Infact, nature has always been the best classroom and the pandemic has provoked adivasis traditional learning systems to take centre-stage. But with an intent to bridge the deepening learning divide, we are designing and implementing multiple approaches -- from volunteer-driven classes to remote offline learning initiatives over SMS and WhatsApp to community youth setting up study centres at the village level -- to connect and engage with all 3000 children in our community. And as we do, we are keeping children's and teachers’ needs at the centre, constantly asking ourselves the question: What will ensure equity in access and also stay with the children and community for the long-term?
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Payment of teachers
Support the salaries of the coordinators at these centres which will ensure the effective functioning of the centres, through community engagement.
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We have already provided salaries for 5 teachers to support during the post-COVID lockdown times , so that the education and livelihoods are not halted.
Bringing volunteers to teach & create content for e-learning
Creating a network of external volunteers who are willing and also have an aptitude to teach children. By working with these external volunteers, the coordinators at these study centers can be exposed to teaching practices which can further their learning and help them grow over a period of time.