Why am I fundraising?

In the scholarly words of the Greek philosopher Plato, "Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”

It is this grand concept that ‘you' can help manifest.

My name is Tooshan Srivastava, and I am a TeachForIndia 2013 fellow. During my fellowship years, I taught grades V and VI in a low income private school in Pune. After completing my fellowship, I have decided to stay back and continue to teach for another year. In a hope to be as effective in helping these kids as possible, I am building a community center that aims at providing these kids with the best resources and learning environment, and I need your help in bringing this space to life.

After attending their school, the kids will come to the center, and experiment, play, read, sing, dance, act, research, etc. This place will not be restrictively another boring space where the kids get tutored and complete their homework. Instead this place will encourage kids to learn via the experiences, and at the same time give equal weightage to their academic needs. Literally, I mean mathematically, Edutainment = Education + Entertainment. By creating this place you can help hundreds of kids in finding their passions, be it academically or otherwise. You can help them get exposed to a lot of utilities available to many high income kids and remove these hindrances that are holding them back.

Each kid has been provided a tablet which they use to better interact with concepts, and most importantly grasp things at their own comfortable pace. They use these tablets for a wide variety of things. Sometimes to research about something new, sometimes to read a pdf book, and sometimes just to play games. You can add a new dimension to this program by helping us arrange for internet access so that the kids have acces to the WorldWideWeb and can learn newer things at an accelerated pace.

With a short stint at teaching, I have realised that sustainability is one aspect that can bring about a transformational education, and its most promising factor is a suitable ecosystem. By building this center you can create an ecosysytem that will help these kids evolve in a holistic manner. You can be the light that brightens the future for hundreds of kids.

Every monetary unit you provide will be utilised to bring out the best in these kids and inch them closer to realising their dreams. These kids are currently in a low income school where I teach and are in dire need of a space which can incubate a love for learning and keep their curiosity from dying. With your help, we will be able to present to these kids a hopeful and promising future.

Come join us in our mission to edutain!

What do I plan to do with the funds?

A lot of kids in the educational scenario currently are lagging behind their grade levels. Also there exist brilliant kids who are well ahead of their grade levels but are restricted due to the lack of access to excellent resources. By building this place, we will be able to help hundreds of kids who are currently struggling and also kids who are at par with other high income kids but lack the necessary exposure and access that can provide them a thrust to move forward.

Bringing this space to life is just not possible without your help. In a hope to enliven this place, I request you to consider a few of the basic needs that will help us in setting up the space.

Books, games, and educational aids

Maintaining the center

Cupboards
Air Coolers
Study tables

Book Shelves
Water Supplies

Slates
White Boards
Art Supplies

Speakers
SIM cards for tablets

Maintenance help

Transport help

Mats

Refurbishing the place.

These are some of the facilities that you can support us with.

FAQs

Q. What is so different about this project from other educational initiatives?

A. I am setting up a community center that will have kids come to a space not bound by rules and regulations. It will promote curiosity in learning and at the same time provide remediation to kids who are academically behind their grade levels. The kids will come to the center after their school hours and indulge in a variety of extra-curricular and co-curricular activities and learn in a relaxed manner. 

Q. Who are these kids that I am helping?
A. I teach in a low income school in Pune which caters to kids from underpriveleged backgrounds. These kids are academically many years behind their grade levels. I remediate with them at regular basis. There are also kids who are at par with their academic grade levels and need the right amount of exposure and access to change their life paths. There are hundreds of kids in my school and they need immideate intervention to bring about a change in their lives. Through the very existence of this space, you will be helping a large number kids uncover their latent talents.

Q. Will I know how my money is being used?
A. There is a facebook page --> https://www.facebook.com/LetUsEdutain , about the community center that will be alive with updates from the classroom and the center showing the progress that the kids are making regularly.

Q. Is this place just a one year thing or is it sustainable?
A. Currently, I am responsible for this place, and as soon as new tecahers keep coming to the school, they are going to be involved with the center as well. This place is NOT a one year venture and I aim to make this place sustainable so that the kids have access to this place and quality resources throughout their schooling. With the help of your funds, these kids will have a better chance of having access to this place for more than just 1 year.

Q. Is there any other way that I can be of help?
A. Of-course, all help is welcomed.
       If you stay in Pune, then you can come to the center and help with teaching the kids.
       If you do not want to donate monetarily, feel free to check out my wishlist on flipkart -->  http://www.flipkart.com/wishlist/LetUsEdutain and help me in collecting these necessary and extremely helpful utilities.

Q. I still have doubts regarding this idea, who should I contact?
A. Please feel free to write to me at ' tooshan.shrivastav2013@teachforindia.org '. I will get back to you at the earliest.