Swadhar Site Visit
Date: 12/23/10
Time 10:30 am – 2:30 pm
This was my first Site Visit for an Asha Project and it was a real eye opener for me. Dr Suneeti took time out to take me around and show me both the schools the IDWC and Balwadi.
10:30 am – 11:40 am -- IDWC Center (6-12 yrs)
My first visit was to the IDWC, the children were called in a little early because of my visit, so that I could meet them. The children were excited and were happy to show me their drawings and to recite poems. Dr Suneeti and Palleli also showed me the other works of arts and drawing that students have done in the past.
11:45am – 12:45 pm – Balwadi (3-5 yrs)
After IDWC we went to the Balwadi where kids aged 3 -5 yrs were being taught. They sang a song for me .It was lunch time and kids, helped by the teachers, settled down to have their lunch. Every kid carries their own lunch boxes from home.
1pm – 1:45 pm – IDWC (Women’s Self Help Group)
The Women’s Group had gathered at the IDWC. Got a chance to speak to them , i was told of all the different things that they are taught like Beautician Course, Sewing , Embroidery and other handicrafts and how they are making a living out of it , which in turn I sensed gave them a sense of independence and confidence . They mentioned to me in the past that Asha has also organized talks with the Local Police, educating them on how on to file Police complaints and how to handle social issues.
1:50 pm – 2:30 pm -- Balwadi (6-10 yrs)
Went back to Balwadi where the older children had gathered in nice clothes to meet Dr Suneeti and me. The kids were sweet to gift me a self made bouquet of flowers. They recited some songs poems and even sang and danced on a few Bollywood numbers
I spoke to the kids and asked them about their aspirations and they told that they wished to become Doctors, Engineers and Scientists someday and even come to US . I certainly hope we are able to give them enough so that they can fulfill their dreams .
General Impressions
I liked the way the whole project is being taken care of. Dr Suneeti seems to have a good hold on the project and the daily activities.
Dr Suneeti and Palleli showed me the following
- Course material and content at both the schools and
- How they plan the yearly syllabus
- The Weekly and monthly agendas for teaching
- Reports on each child
- Monthly/Yearly School Expenses
- Salaries Paid to the teachers
In short everything is tracked, planned and filed, which is really good!! . I even bought a few handmade mobile covers from them, which they gave me receipts for.
They even organize some kind of Annual Games for kids in which the older kids are encouraged to do the planning and setup, which I thought was really good. They even showed me the pictures of the event.
I had carried some sugar candies and chocolates for the kids, they were excited to have it, but I guess next time I could take something that they could use would be helpful for them.
Current Need
Dr Suneeti mentioned that they have a need for a CD/DVD player for the kids. So that they can show the children educational videos . She mentioned that they can get arrange for a TV, guess someone was willing to donate an old TV. The cost of CD/DVD player is approx Rs 4,000.
I would love to donate the funds for the CD/DVD player, please let me know how I can do this. I am not sure how the process works for this please guide me on the same.
Humble Suggestion
I noticed that many of these kids are good at drawings and I have clicked quite a few pictures of their drawings. I was wondering if we can make postcards or we can print simple cards with the drawings which kids have done. We can post these cards to the regular donors and we can even sell it for a nominal price (like a dollar, which would also make profit considering printing is done in India. I would not mind mailing these cards to my donors and I’m sure there would be many like me. This is a common idea, I am sure you must have thought about this before, but thought I would put it out there again.
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