Hello everyone!
Project Utthaan is an initiative to set up reading spaces and a book reading culture in Thane Municipal Corporation schools. Phase One of the campaign found success in setting up library in TMC School No: 03, Yashodhar, Thane. Moving ahead, Phase Two the project will be undertaken three Gandhi Fellows namely Ashik Krishnan, Chandrani Roy, Debabrata Saha to organize library and the associated processes in 17 TMC Schools they work with. The 17 schools includes 10 Marathi, 3 Hindi, 2 Urdu, 1 Gujarati and 1 English medium school. A physical library is non-existent in most of these schools and lack in space, infrastructure and money to afford the luxury of one. While some schools have enough books, some have a few and some don't have any. Considering the student strength of each school and the number of existing books, we are targeting to achieve 2000 Marathi, 1000 Hindi, 400 Urdu, 50 Gujarati and 500 English books and provide a library experience to our kids by mid-September. The idea is to provide a book reading space in each classroom and conduct story telling sessions, embark the creativity in them, provide room for critical thinking, inspire them to read more and hence aspire more. You can support the cause in three different ways. 1) Send/Order books to: Ashik Krishnan K, Kaivalya Education Foundation, B-Wing, 501-Pinak Galaxy, Kapurbawdi Junction, Majiwada, Thane (W), Maharashtra. PIN: 400607 We are looking out for children's literature, pictorial and graphic story books that would suit the age group of 7-14 years. 2) Story telling If you are a resident of Thane/Mumbai, drop in by one of our schools and tell a story to our kids. Inspire them to read more and hence aspire more, by story telling. For further details, contact Chandrani Roy on 8583057032. 3) Donate If you are confused about what books to buy, make a contribution via Paytm to 8281948213 and be rest assured that we will get the perfect books for our kids. Also, there will be three official social media spaces where you can see all the updates regarding Project Utthaan. One, this blog: www.utthaan.weebly.com. Two, a Facebook page: www.fb.com/utthaanproject. And third, an Instagram handle: www.instagram.com/projectutthaan. Thank you.
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Friends, co-enablers and countrymen! I am putting up this post to mention the immense thanks I have towards each one of you who supported the campaign till date and also to solicit your further support and hand holding in achieving greater ideals. As you know, the aim is not just to set up libraries or reading corners in underdeveloped schools, but to provide a learning environment for our kids that embarks the creativity in them. Moving ahead, three of us; Chandrani Roy, Debabrata Saha and myself will be working on to set up libraries and the associated processes in 17 of Thane Municipal Corporation schools across various mediums of Marathi, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and English. While some of the schools have enough books, some have a few and some don’t. While some have its own reading space, others don’t. Considering the strength of the school and the number of books the schools already have, we have put up the following target. We are looking out for children’s literature and story books, that too ones that are pictorial and graphic in nature, in the likes of Amar Chitra Katha. Kindly send/courier/order us books to the following address.
Ashik Krishnan K, Kaivalya Education Foundation, B-Wing, 501-Pinak Galaxy, Kapurbawdi Junction, Majiwada, Thane (W), Maharashtra. PIN: 400607 Also, we are looking out for volunteers who are interested in conducting story telling sessions in our schools. Those interested contact Chandrani Roy on 8583057032 or connect to our Facebook or Instagram accounts. Those who wish to donate money for the cause can transact the amount via Paytm to 8281948213. Thank you. Working with the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) schools as a Gandhi Fellow has always opened up multiple learning opportunities for me. It was a revelation upon experiencing the non-existence of libraries or reading corners in the schools I worked with. When I think about it, library and books have been part of my life since childhood and have had a major role in the development of my thoughts and perspectives. It was in December 2016 that I started an online campaign to set up a library in TMC School No: 03, and English medium school located in Yashodhar, Thane. Since then, I had been receiving books from my friends and a few unknown well-wishers whom I address as my co-enablers in the process and conducting book reading and story-telling sessions in the school. I had been carrying different books with me during each of my visit to the school and performing these sessions in different classes. The major constraint in setting up a physical library was that the school wasn’t having any extra room or a cupboard to keep the books safe. Neither did the school have an office room for itself. But it did have a locked room which wasn’t available to the school. Upon constant request to TMC, permission was received to use the locked room as office and another room inside for library. Hence today, 82 books worth Rs. 11046 was handed over to Savita ma’am, the senior teacher in-charge of School No: 03. Also, with the operational restructuring and school reallocation that happened in Thane location, I won’t be working with School No: 03 anymore and Prarthna Mandotra, my co-fellow will be. Now that the school has a separate reading space and books, I wish all the very best to Prarthna in establishing the library process in the school. We all shine on! |
Ashik Krishnan KGandhi Fellow 2016-18 Archives
July 2017
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