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In May this year, 10 of us educators will go on a 100 km journey by foot to raise money for Pune Children's Zone (http://www.punechildrenszone.org/). The Pune Children's Zone is a program that aspires to positively impact all children in Pune over the next 10 years to help them have successful life outcomes by focusing on community level change and the entire 'womb to work' lifecycle.
Research has shown that early childhood (0 to 6 years) and adolescence (12 to 16 years) are the two most critical periods for cognitive as well as physical development of an individual. It is now also widely acknowledged that what goes on in a child’s environment whilst he/she is still in the age group of 0-3 years could well determine life outcomes. Any damage during this period may not get reversed even by an excellent formal education experience later.
Our Theory
Through the Pune Children’s Zone (PCZ), we aspire to build partnerships with organizations, governments, schools and communities to work on the levers (health and well- being, parent and family investment, effective education) and focused in the age groups 0-3, 12- 16 and then on career readiness thus completing the ‘womb to work’ journey. We will also run programs directly to support the areas mentioned above where necessary.
We believe that it takes a host of services and collective action to create a conducive ecosystem that will support each child’s holistic development. This is necessary for them to experience social, physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual development, helps them realize their potential and builds them as independent and responsible citizens. As all children go through this cycle, they will be positive change agents for their own family as well as their communities. As each child develops, all children will develop; families and communities will evolve and prosper. This will bring positive change.
The work ahead
We have strategically decided to begin operations in one major community area and with positive signs of impact hope to scale operations to more communities in the years to come.
The anticipated reach and impact of the different programs being run in the 2 different age groups is given below-
- 0 to 3 years – The most crucial age group and experiences during this time will often determine future life outcomes. The PCZ hub will run a host of programs, in partnership with other agencies, with a focus on meeting development milestones for each child such that the child is ready for school at the age of 3 years. PCZ will run Paalak Shaala as our flagship program to develop responsive and positive parenting skills in parents.
- 4 to 12 years – As the child enters school in KG right through grade 8, he/she requires learning experience that will cater to the child’s holistic development. This has to be one that fulfills needs of social, emotional, physical, cognitive and spiritual development. The PCZ hub will support all municipal schools in the area to be able to provide a holistic education and wrap around services to meet needs of all children.
The Need
For the 1st phase of our work, the requirement is Rs. 5,00,000. Please donate as much you wish to and share this page with your friends and family so we can reach our goal.
For the 1st phase of our work, the requirement is Rs. 5,00,000. Please donate as much you wish to and share this page with your friends and family so we can reach our goal.
