ABOUT AKANKSHA:
The Akanksha Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to impact the lives of children from low-income communities, enabling them to maximize their potential and transform their lives. Akanksha works primarily in the field of education, addressing non-formal education through the Akanksha center and formal education by initiating school reform through The School Project.
Currently, Akanksha reaches out to over 4000 children through two models: the after-school center model and the school model. Akanksha has 40 centers and 13 schools in Mumbai and Pune. Through the centers, a commitment is made to support each child by providing a strong educational foundation, a good time, self-esteem and values, and to help them plan how they can earn a steady livelihood as a step towards improving their standard of living. The School Project is a venture to open high-quality schools serving children from low-income communities in Mumbai and Pune. These schools are in partnership with local municipalities, with the vision of creating small clusters of model schools in these cities that can be used to impact the mainstream education system.
ABOUT PROJECT:
- On 5th September, while the whole of Mumbai celebrated Teacher’s Day, Akanksha’s kids were out looking for teachers. Armed with a blackboard and a few benches, they set up mock classrooms at airports, bus stops, malls etc.
- Onlookers who witnessed the activity were given more information on the spot and those who were seriously interested could take a short class for the kids for about 5-10 minutes. They were provided with set modules for ease of teaching.
- The idea was to give people a chance to experience the joy of teaching in the hope that some of them will come to teach them more often.
- We collaborated with media (TV, News Papers, Radio Stations) to spread awareness about this activity
- On social media, we spread the message through live updates of our class on FB, twitter etc.
- On Big FM, a build up activity was initiated a week prior to the activity where listeners were encouraged to do something new this Teacher’s day. We held a live class on air, where listeners could call in and teach the kids.
- All those who came forward to teach, be it at the mock classrooms or on radio, and those who responded to the webpage and twitter links will be contacted personally.
- In the second phase of the activity, the people who come forward to be teachers, will be profiled and celebrated on radio and through our website.
Teacher’s Day Activity:
We successfully managed to turn public places into classrooms, and attracted a lot of attention from the general public and the press. Below is a short description of how things panned out on the 5th of September, 2012.
- Airport:
The classroom was setup right outside the arrival gate, so everyone who walked out of the airport saw our makeshift class. Everyone was extremely curious to see a classroom outside – quite a few of them stepped forward to teach, amongst which were celebrities like Roshan Abbas, Lucky Ali, Raj Zutshi, pilots, air hostesses, one famous writer, and a lot of college students, the principal of a renowned school and many more. A lot of people registered to become teachers (full-time and part-time), even those who chose not to teach at the venue.
- Phoenix Mills:
The event at Phoenix Mills started at 4 pm, with an assembly and prayer in the courtyard of the mall, and attracted a lot of attention from people out for an evening out. A lot of senior school kids, college students, housewives and retired people stepped forward to teach. The highlight of the evening was a dance choreographer, who took a dancing lesson with the kids.
- Bandra Carter Road:
We got the kids onto a BEST bus to Carter Road, and invited people who were on their way there to take a small lesson with the kids while we were travelling. A few people, including a Bharatnatyan dance teacher, offered to teach, and registered to work with Akanksha. The bus was then parked at Carter Road, and the kids were led to the Amphitheater, where another class was held. Again, people in and around the amphitheater stepped forward to teach, and a lot of them registered.
HOW TO ACT?
- If passionate, take up full time teaching / part time volunteering with Akanksha school s / centres across Mumbai and Pune.
- Educate those, you think are keen or are looking for an opportunity but don’t know how to go about it.
- Help by donating – Sponsor a child, a field trip, a book library, a school etc. For more details visit www.akanksha.org
CONTACT:
Website: www.akanksha.org
E-mail: admin@akanksha.org
Call: 022 23729880
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/the.akanksha.foundation
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Akanksha_India
