Just thought of sharing with you a brief about one of the social projects I am involved with at present.

I happen to work as a volunteer at two community learning centers for underprivileged children in Yeshwanthpur and Mathikere areas in Bangalore. The children who come to these centers are in the age group of 6 to 15 years and most of them go to government schools. A few go to private schools nearby. Non Governmental Organizations such as India Literacy Project (ILP) and Paraspara work in these communities and support the educational needs of many children from these communities. Financial assistance is provided by these organizations to deserving children that takes care of school tuition fee, books, uniforms, shoes, etc.

As a volunteer from ILP, over the last 5 years, I have been spending time with these children on weekends at the community learning centers. Many individuals, especially young college students with a heart to help these children also volunteer at these centers. The volunteers generally engage the students in a variety of activities – both in academic as well as in non-academic areas. In academics, the volunteers work with the students in breaking the barrier of English language, help children understand basic concepts in Science & Math through fun experiments & activities, among others. In non-academic areas, the volunteers engage the students in arts & craft sessions, drawing & painting classes, rangoli drawing, singing & dance sessions, organize sports meets, among others. A few committed volunteers also conduct summer camps & workshops in life-coping skills (coping with emotions, stress, anger, communication skills, developing courage & self-esteem, etc.), organize educational visits to places of interest such as the Science & Technology Museum, Aerospace Museum, Planetarium, International Airport, etc. In addition, some of us have even taken the students on outdoor & adventure activities – including trekking, rock climbing and cave exploration, among others. NGOs mentioned above pitch in with funds to conduct many of these activities. Overall, we are striving to create a multi-dimensional learning space for these children so that they too get the kind of exposure that many of us and our children are able to easily get today. Moreover, it is hoped that with exposure to a variety of areas (of educational/learning value), these children will be able to discover their potential, interests, and strengths so that when it comes to making bigger decisions in life, they are better equipped to handle it.

The bigger challenge for us is this second category of children. It’s not that these children are dull. It’s just that they are not academically oriented (due to various reasons). They are bright children, but have interests in non-academic areas. It’s just that the environment – including their home, community & school have not been successful in helping these children develop an interest in studies, nor uncover their potential, discover their strengths or interests. While most children want to become one or the other of the following: dancers, musicians, artists, pilots, engineers, doctors, police officers, teachers, etc., they do not understand much of what these things mean, or how to become one. They are blissful and/or unaware of what options are available to them beyond school education. However, getting their children to start earning at the earliest is their parent’s priority, and it may be rightly so, considering their economic condition.

Of late, some of us, volunteers, are working on an initiative that will identify such children (those who don’t pursue college education after school) who are in the 15 to 18 years age-group, and provide them with exposure to a variety of technical as well as non-technical trades. Depending on the interest shown by these children to one or more areas, we plan to link them up with suitable vocational training centers / institutes / schools where they can pursue a more rigorous training on one or more trades of their choice and obtain necessary skills to find gainful employment. However, at present, the focus of our initiative is more on "giving exposure to a variety of areas", and not on providing job oriented training. Another key aspect is on "learning for the sake of learning", rather than cram a lot of knowledge into children’s heads. The learning is also to be driven from a "need" rather than to merely acquire knowledge. The exposure programme is intended to run anywhere between 4 to 6 months, during which period, the student discovers his/her potential, skills, interests, strengths & weaknesses through a variety of experiential learning sessions (conducted in-doors, outdoors and thro’ field visits). Necessary feedback and orientation, as may be necessary, could also be provided to the students based on the facilitator’s observation. This is somewhat like a "Finishing School", focused primarily at children from underprivileged backgrounds. A long term objective of this school is to help churn out entrepreneurs (not just job seekers). It could also be a center for grass-roots innovation where the diverse exposure the students get here can be used effectively to come out solutions to challenges / issues they face in their daily lives, especially in their communities, and also in the society at large.

The initiative is still taking shape. If you are interested in joining this initiative in anyway, you are most welcome. You could participate in a variety of ways – 1) with your ideas and suggestions, 2) as a facilitator – conducting courses in technical, or non-technical areas (including fine arts / performing arts which I presume you are good at ! J), 3) as a developer of course curriculum & modules, 4) raise funds, 5) help find infrastructure / facility for running this school, among others.

To know more, please don’t hesitate to contact me at:

* Name: Kiran Kumar H S

* Mob: +919845961269