Udaan - Wings of Dreams
Udaan is an effort to make education a part of lives of scrap pickers so that they can come out of their limited world of illiteracy, poverty, unawareness etc.
About You
About You
First Name
Rosane
Last Name
Neumann
Twitter URL
https://twitter.com/#!/Panchtatva4Soul
Facebook URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Panchtatva
Organization Website
Organization Country
India, UP, Saharanpur
Country where this project is creating social impact
India, UP, Saharanpur
Is your organization a
Non‐profit / NGO / Citizen sector organization
Your role in Education
Administrator, Counselor, Social Worker, Teacher.
The type of school(s) your solution is affiliated with
Other
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
How long has your solution been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Scrap picking and selling - this is the only thing their life revolves around. The time in the morning when all other children go to schools, these children go to pick scrap lying on the streets. By selling this scrap a 6-7 years aged child earns about70-100 rupees per day. This amount of money is more than enough for them to spend their life in eating, fighting and roaming on roads making noise only. According to them they are earning money without being educated so what is the need of education for them. Going to school is wastage of their important time which they utilize in earning living for them. Their parents also don’t want to send them to school at the time when they go to earn money for their families. The need is to educate them as per their suitability and requirements.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Our solution is not only to teach them but also to create the need of education in their lives. First thing we did was to convince the elders of the society for the school to their children. Then we decided to run the classes in the evening when they don’t need to go to work at all. Another decision we took was to teach them somewhere near to their home so that going far for education could not become an excuse for them to not to go to school. Now it was challenge for us to keep them motivated to come to school regularly. These children didn’t know anything. Their IQ level was nil. They used to quarrel and abuse each other even in front of us. They did not take bath daily. They did not brush their teeth daily. In the beginning it was difficult for us to make them silent and listen to us. But, gradually implementing daily something new and interesting in the classes we could be able to tackle all these initial challenges for us. They started coming daily and listening to us carefully.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
Our model is first to create the classes interesting to them. If they find it interesting they would be regular in coming. Next step is to sync their learning with their life so that eventually they will know the importance of education in their lives and will do efforts by themselves to go to school.
By using the traditional methods of teaching it is not possible to create the interest in the classes. So we use methods like stories, games, drawing, dance, music etc. In all the methods we emphasize mainly to make their involvement. For example, while telling a story we make different roles and involve children to play those roles; then ask questions from the stories, make them curious for many things. We arrange small competitions and award the best performances. To give them exposure we invite other people to celebrate their children’s b’day with them. We go to small trips like visiting malls. We tell them about personal hygiene in order to avoid diseases such as fever and cholera.
After completing the teaching course, we have a plan to give them some technical training that can help them to start their own profession in future. For example, for big girls of the society we have started providing sewing training.
Overall through Udaan, we do not only want to teach them but strive to make them good citizens. With the help of other groups we provide facilities like medical chekup, teeth checkup, eye checkup. We dream to make them persons who can live their life in a better way by contributing in growth of the development of the country.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
We don’t have any competitors. Yes many groups which are supporting our project are as our peers. Although we don’t face any challenges given by competitors or peers, we have another kinds of challenges posed to us in running our project. Now-a-days many groups are helping us, but we need more steady sources of funds. Also, as more slum children are approaching us to enroll them, we need more space to accommodate all of them.
Now that you have thought out your entry, help us pitch it.
Define your company, program, service, or product in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
To make education a part of scrap pickers's life so that they can come out of their limited world of illiteracy,poverty,unawareness etc.
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
Not only to teach them but to create the need of education in their lives by teaching them as per their suitability and requirements.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
About 120 children of the society have been impacted by this project. Intially due to their unhygienic life style they used to face ignorance of other people but now this does not happen to them. Their parents and head of the society have also appreciated us by saying that we have changed the face of the society completely.
Till now the results of our activities are as follows:
• Now students come to the classes regularly
• They have started cleaning teeth and taking bath daily
• They now ask questions in class
• They don’t quarrel with each other
• Their parents told us that at home also they live well. They help their brother and sisters.
• Many children have started teaching their parents and elder brothers and sisters
• Head of the society told us that Udaan changed the environment of whole society
• Other groups have starting calling Udaan children in activities like dance competition, drawing compitition
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
The society in which Udaan is currently being run is having about four hundred children. Due to our limitation of space and funds, to start off the project we had taken only about 120 children based on age criteria. So, our next milestone is first to take all the students from the current society. And, after that we want to target other similar slum areas of Saharanpur. There are four such societies in Saharanpur itself. Four societies mean about 1000 children. So, our target is - in next 1-3 years we will be having setups which can accommodate all thousand children of the city.
Our next step would be to give them some technical training that can help them to start their own profession in future. For example, for big girls of the society we have started providing sewing training.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Maintain the interest of all 120 students to keep them coming to school
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Classes full of fun and learning.
Task 2
Create need for education in their lives by synchronizing their learning with their routine life
Task 3
Efforts to make their parents know the importance of education
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
A campus to accommodate all 400 children of the society
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
Open a school in the society itself which can accommodate all 400 children of the society
Task 2
To teach 13-15 years old children in a way so that they can give 5th class test of other schools if they want to go there
Task 3
Organize classes and syllabus structure
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world [125 words]
From Ajay Singhal:
Since last few years, on seeing small children working at those hours when other children go to school, I used to feel upset. This process of being upset increased day by day and I used to feel some restlessness all the time. This restlessness made me feel an urge to do something for those children. And that urge of doing something compelled me to know everything about a slum of scrap picking people on the way to my office. The outcome of my survey and the discussions with the heads of that society is as follows:
* All generations in the society are illiterate
* The time when schools open in the morning is the critical time when their children go to their work of picking scrap so that by selling it they earn living for them and family. They don’t feel education is so necessary that it be given priority over their work
* About 400 children live in the society
I got the children for whom I could do something instead of being grieved only. This all started Udaan.
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
For now, different social groups are helping us in different needs. For example, one group provides clothes, shoes to the needy children. One group which works on imparting training to teachers, also visits us and supports our project.
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section? [75 words]
Our team is mainly composed of volunteers. Computer engineers, teachers, house wives. These persons save some hours from their schedule to work with us. Also, we have hired some staff to run the classes.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
Needs: Currently, we run the classes in tin shade on rooftop of a temple. This arrangement causes problem in conditions like rain, winter etc. So, the main need of the project is a building to run the school.
Offers: As we have been successfully running the classes for last one year, we can offer our innovative methods, ideas, experiences to other novice groups.
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 | 4 days agoporwalji@gmail.com said: Manzil Unhi Ko Milti Hai Jinke Sapno Me Jaan Hoti Hai Pankh Se Kuchh Nahi Hota Hauslon Se (Udaan) Hoti Hai about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 4 days agoajay singhal said: One of the best school of our city called our children for interaction between their and our children. A great experience for udaan kids ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 4 days agoajay singhal said: Thanks David ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 9 weeks agoajay singhal said: Udaan children are those who have a fear from society because society have hate feelings for them. We are working as a bridge between ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 9 weeks agoRosane Neumann said: ravigsi, thanks for your interest. the role of education to is to train people to be critical and creative. By creating, inventing, ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 9 weeks agoRavi Saxena said: This is making a huge difference in these children's lives! Can you discuss in your entry how the children are learning to deal with ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 9 weeks agoRosane Neumann said: You are totally right, in fact we are doing this, some students are teaching them dancing classes. This way we are working with both ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 9 weeks agoPankaj Dubey said: Real good to know that you are working for children with low self esteem and low quality of health and hygiene too. your approach of ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 10 weeks agoRosane Neumann updated this Competition Entry. |
| 10 weeks agoRosane Neumann said: Dear Neil, Yes we are in touch with Pratham coordinator but we are managing things without their help as we want to motivate others too. ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
