Our Story
The idea emerged over time. We refurbished an ancestral, dilapidated home in a village and started a make-shift school with open and collaborative learning. This happened through careful efforts of designing a student-centric pedagogy that helped them imagine and be curious. In a matter of weeks, hundreds of children and their parents lined up. We simply had to decline admissions for want of space.
Inspired by this experience, we are now building a community school that aspires to instil pride and character in the students. The village is located on the banks of Ganga. We are calling it Gyan Ganga School
The plan is to make a difference in the lives of the villagers, and hopefully, inspire other such initiatives. The village is located in one of the most impoverished regions of UP, and has one of the lowest school-educational indicators. Frankly, generations have been deprived of something so basic and valuable for no fault of theirs. We feel fortunate to contribute and empower them. Children learn through cooperation, not competition. They discover things, rather than memorize them. They participate and imagine. We also involve parents. Frankly, it works like magic. It has been just a few months, and the school is on everyone’s mind. There is a newfound hope and promise that the school is bringing to the region. And you can see that excitement in the air already.
The response was tremendous. In the first month we got 80 children. In two months, as the word spread, more than 250 children from nearby villages had lined up. We could simply take 188 for lack of space. Many of these students had actually quit their schools where they were studying. Very soon, our school, and its innovative collaborative methods of learning had become popular around. The pilot had gone beyond our expectations.
Our hand-picked teachers, who came from nearby towns. They are slowly adopting our new learning philosophy. We also engage with parents regularly making them stakeholders in the process of children’s learning.
Our inspiration to convert our pilot into a proper school is now taking shape.
Our friend donated a parcel of 0.60 acre of farmland to the school. Bhumi Poojan was done in February. Another friend came forward with experience of building community schools in villages to design the school. She took up the architectural imagination. Many more people joined in, to assist in developing curriculum, design ideas and pedagogical approach.
We structured an Advisory Board, bringing in more like-minded people who could help in this effort.
Many of us pooled in our funds. Many more came forward to fund it. It is fascinating how our group is growing. We formed a Board of Patrons, comprised of our donors.
The construction has started, although it got slowed down due to the Covid19 pandemic. Once the construction is over, perhaps as monsoon ends, we will start the school.
(We are still looking for more funds, and we are confident it will happen. If you wish to donate and be part of our Board of Patrons, pleaseclick here.)See below, a short visual of the story:
The response was tremendous. In the first month we got 80 children. In two months, as the word spread, more than 250 children from nearby villages had lined up. We could simply take 188 for lack of space. Many of these students had actually quit their schools where they were studying. Very soon, our school, and its innovative collaborative methods of learning had become popular around. The pilot had gone beyond our expectations.
Our hand-picked teachers, who came from nearby towns. They are slowly adopting our new learning philosophy. We also engage with parents regularly making them stakeholders in the process of children’s learning.
