Asha for Education

Early Childhood Education needs to include a variety of areas that help with the development of the child’s sensitivity to the environment, growing senses, motor skills, imagination and natural empathy besides encouraging independence in everyday practical skills. Rather than emphasize the end result a lot of care has to be taken to ensure that children have sufficient time to explore their work and learn at a pace that is comfortable for them. Even though the areas listed below appear to be a lot - this only comes into the picture while preparing the environment. The intent is not to create a time-table with these as subjects but rather to create practical explorations that the child can choose from - in the following areas and more based on observing the children. The child will naturally be inclined towards some. Eventually the child will look into most of what is offered for exploration. Also when there are many children - they will be naturally curious about what other children learn and hence cover a variety of topics.

Bharathi Trust is a Chennai-based NGO that is engaged in empowering the Irulars, an oppressed tribal community in Tamil Nadu, for the past 10 years. The trust has an active presence over 300 villages spread in Cuddalore and Vellore districts of Tamil Nadu. The Irualars are an indigenous community who traditionally survived through occupations like occupations are honey collection, hunting, coal making, snake and rat catching. However, most of them have lost these traditional livelihoods and now are confined to a life of poverty taking to coolie work and laborers in the fields and mills (some of them are bonded laborers). Asha has been involved with Bharathi trust since 2000 and has supported their motivational school project over the years. (http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=79 has additional information about that project)