Asha for Education

Project Brief: Formation and Operation of two pre-primary for the children below 6 yrs of age of working women.
Project Type: Pre-Primary (description)
Primary Focus: children of dalits/tribals (description)

Secondary Focus: health and cleanliness

Area: Rural
Supporting Chapter Contact:
Chicago

Status: CURRENT
Project Steward: Archana Adhyapak
Co-Steward: Contact information unavailable
Project Partner(s): Meril K.T
Project Address: Aralu - Pre-primary Centers
c/o K.T. Meril, Jerusalem Colony
Behind Karnataka College
Bidar, Karnataka 585401
Tel: 91-08482-224160
Stewarding Chapter: Chicago

Asha Chicago supports pre-primary centers in the Bidar district. The region in which these pre-primary centers are located has a high incidence of first generation learners. In most families, both parents are not educated. Given this, the parents are not inclined to send their children to school and education is not considered important. Daily wage labour is the sole means of earning an income. Parents prefer their elder children to go to work. There is also a high rate of migration of the male members of the families from this region towards the city. This has resulted in a number of families with single mothers supporting thier children.

In order to solve this problem, Aralu, the local grassroots partner came up with the idea of opening pre-primary or day-care centers. The day care centers were created for the children, aged 6 and under.

When the project began, Asha Chicago started with supporting two pre-primary centers; one in the village of Kamthana and another in Yedlapur.

The three year plan at the time of inceptiuon was continuing the centers and creating a continued aptitude for schooling. A five year plan includes enrolling the children into mainstream education.

With this in mind, over the last few years, Aralu has been working with the local authorities to improve the scenario in the government run Anganwadis or day care centers. The transition started in 2006; beginning with the closure of the Kamthana Pre-Primary Center and the children being sent to a government run Anganwadi.In 2008-09 Asha Chicago began supporting a new pre-primary center in T Marjapur village in Bidar district which was transitioned into a government run Aganwadi leading to the closure of the PPC center in 2015. Asha Chicago continues to fund the other pre-primary center in Yedlapur as conditions are not conducive for a similar transition as yet.

Aralu believes that this model of theirs is proving extremely beneficial in the region and therefore requested opening more pre-primary centers in other villages where the need was felt.