Following the leader's footsteps....

After Rajani tai's felicitation for the Teacher Warrior award, we have one of our teacher's, Ms. Monika Hiwale who received the IIHM Teachers Day Award.

Every year International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) felicitates teachers on occasion of Teachers' Day on September 5. This is a unique initiative by IIHM in association with the International Hospitality Council, London & Delhi. Educators across the country look forward to this event as valuable contributions towards improvement of the education sector, are appreciated through this initiative.This year, Ms. Monika Hiwale from Door Step School, Pune was awarded the IIHM Teachers Day Award. 

Ms. Monika joined DSS in May 2007 as a Teacher. Currently she is responsible for our Janta Vasahat Community Learning Center on Senapati Bapat road and manages a class of 30 students. Her strengths include detailed planning, regularity, punctuality and her willingness to learn new things and impart knowledge to her students. Owing to these qualities, she has been given more responsibilities of taking life skill sessions, conducting Science experiments and helping children with their Scholarship studies. She is a very warm person with a great rapport with students as well as team mates.

Heartiest congratulations to Ms. Hiwale for bagging this excellence award!

Ms. Monika receiving the award

One more feather in her cap...

Rajani tai was awarded the Annual Teacher Warrior Award by Scoo News at a function held at the City Palace, Udaipur on August 3, 2018. Scoo News appreciated her invaluable contribution to education and felicitated her with other such warriors at their Global Educators Fest 2018.

With her dream to ensure that every child in the country gets access to education and becomes capable to read and write she continues her efforts to impart education to children across the country, and help the disadvantaged sections of society.

To read more about the Fest and Rajani tai’s talk, please visit  https://www.scoonews.com/news/superheroes

Rajani tai receiving the award

A performance for a cause....

Disha is a XII grade student from Fremont, California. She has been learning Bharatanatyam for the past 10 years under the guidance of her Gurus Smt. Suganda Sreenath and Kum. Shreya Iyer of Jayendra Kalakendra. Recently, Disha completed her Arangetram in the US and wanted to combine her passion for dance and value for education together. While visiting her relatives in Pune India, she came up with an idea for a fundraiser performance and selected Door Step School as her charity. Disha performed various Bharatanatyam items to a captive audience for an hour and donated the amount raised from the event to Door Step School, Pune.

It was a mesmerising performance depicting her passion for dance and inclination to do good towards the society. Disha says,” I visited a few projects of Door Step School in Pune including their School on Wheels and Educational Activity center at a construction site. These visits helped me see the value of contributing to the cause of educating the "invisible children" of construction workers, slum dwellers and migrant workers in Pune. I realized how privileged I was to have a good education and felt strongly the need to help give the same to these children".

True to her name she has helped in giving a direction to the children of DSS by her contribution.

We express our heartfelt gratitude to Disha and her entire family who supported her for the cause and wish her all the very best for her future.

Disha during her performance

Contributed by Mrs. Sonali Kurane.

Rajani tai at IIE, Pune to commemorate the 100th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Chitra Naik

Rajani tai was invited to speak at Indian Institute of Education,Pune on July 15, 2018 on the 100th birth anniversary of Dr. Chitra Naik, known for her contribution in the field of education.  A common thread that binds Dr. Naik and Rajani tai together is their passion for eduaction with focus on non-formal education and education for children from marginalised communitites.

While addressing the students of IIE, Rajani tai emphasized on the importance of offering education to children from underprivileged communities by understanding their needs and challenges. A different and more practical curriculum could also be designed for these children. It is the only way to develop an interest for education in them and hope to spread literacy.

Rajani tai's speech was covered by Sakal Today, July 17, 2018

One more "School on Wheels" added to the fleet.

We are glad to announce the addition of one more School on Wheels to our fleet of 4 buses. Door Step School, Pune inaugurated its 5th School on Wheels on 19th July 2018.Supported under NICE Interactive Solutions India Private Ltd.'s CSR initiative, this bus will serve as a mobile classroom and a mobile reading room for children living in roadside settlements and construction sites in Pune and PCMC.

Hinjawadi : बांधकाम कामगारांची मुले शिकणार चाकांवरच्या शाळेत

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much” – Hellen Keller.

A quote that holds true for so many people and organisations working towards the upliftment of the underprivileged. For those who are working at the grass roots, it is always their work that takes the top priority and it is only through word of mouth that the common man is made aware. However when communication was never so effortless as of today and the reach of media never so restricted, it is but natural to have media houses rooting for what interests them and their audiences.

One of such names is the Borgen magazine, one of the media channel for people interested in global issues, politics and human rights. We are very proud to share with you that Borgen magazine has published our story - Door Step School and the Brain behind it. 

To read more please visit: http://www.borgenmagazine.com/door-step-school/

An inspiration for all!

Sometimes surprises come from unexpected quarters. That day it came from the team of our drivers, eight of them in all. They were all standing in front of us, Mr. Alkunte, the leader was standing in front of them with a bundle of books in his hands. The rest of them behind him, all with a smile on their face and a look of pride in their eyes.

They said they wanted to give a gift of books for our staff library. It was such a pleasant surprise, rather a double surprise for us. We did not know how they thought of it. Firstly, how they thought of giving a gift when there was no such occasion or precedent to follow and how they thought of giving books as a gift.

When Mr. Alkunte was asked the reason behind this gesture, he said, “I never read books before, but Nagesh sir, gave me a book to read. It was a big fat book and I was not sure I would be interested in reading it. But he insisted that as a driver I had a lot of time in between driving trips and hence I  should use it for reading. By the time I finished that book I started liking reading and continued reading more and more books. “Who Moved My Cheese” was one of those books and it proved to be a turning point of my life. I learnt two things from the book. I realised that one has to be ready to accept change and one should share with others what one has learnt. Be a leader and show direction to those who are behind you".

Mr. Alkunte did just that. He motivated others from his team, other drivers, to read. The task was not easy. He faced the opposition but finally he was able to convert them from non- readers to readers. And then one day they all thought of donating books to our staff library. The selection of books was amazing. But more amazing was the thought behind the gift, “The organisation has given us so much. We want to show our gratitude. Gift of books is just a token” they said. 

Our team of Drivers

As shared by Mr. Sanjay Alkunte, Coordinator, Transport, DSS, Pune.

A book fair for all!

The Society for Door Step Schools was started in Mumbai in 1988-89 and expanded to Pune in 1993 with the aim to address illiteracy among the children from marginalized sections of society like children of construction labourers, pavement dwellers, slums (temporary and permanent) and other migrant communities. We have direct intervention programs where we cater to children at the construction sites, slums and migrant communities and school intervention program – Project Grow with Books (GWB) which focusses on improving the vocabulary and reading capabilities of children across 240 Corporation schools in Pune and PCMC.

To inculcate reading in children at any age, it is very important to introduce them to a variety of books and literature. Keeping this in mind, our GWB team organizes different events like Book Fair, storytelling, story writing competition etc. across schools we work in. Our team started this year with a Book Fair at Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s Dnyan Jyoti Savitribai Phule School in Mhetre Slum, Chinchwad in the month of January 2018.

Mr. Jangam, Center Head of the area inaugurated the Book Fair. He was accompanied by Corporator Mr. Dutta Kaka Sane, Ms. Sadhana Malekar, Ms. Yogita Nagargoje, Mr. Kundan Gaikwad & associates, SMC Vice president – Mr. Manik Mhetre, SMC members – Ms. Neeta Gawhane, CEO – Mr. Dnyaneshwar Nagargoje and other members.

The fair was visited by 22 teachers, 60 parents & 607 children from three schools and 10 book fairies from DSS, Pune. The items displayed in the fair included variety of books, teaching aids for First grade Marathi and Arithmetics, multi linguistic magazines & newspapers, art & craft and science projects for children.  The objective of organizing a Book Fair was to introduce children to an assortment of book publications, magazines & newspapers and fun ways to learn.

All stalls were loved by children and adults alike. Specially the children between 3rd to 7th grades read all charts carefully and gave way to their curiosity by asking lot of questions. Teachers also encouraged children by explaining and conducting practical experiments wherever possible. Children exclaimed that they had never read the type of books and magazines displayed; teachers also expressed that they themselves were unaware about so many types of newspapers and magazines in different languages. Magazines like Champak reminded them of their childhood and how one book exchanged hands across an entire village and was enjoyed by all.

The corporator of Chikhli exclaimed that if such programmes were held during his times he would have surely become an engineer by now. A teacher teaching the class 4 students thought that the exhibition was extremely encouraging and would surely help in the academic development of all the students who attended.

Few glimpses....

Contributed by Team Project Grow with books, DSS, Pune.

Empowered parents take a step forward as we say Goodbye …

Saying goodbyes is never easy but if we are prepared for it things become just a bit easy. The PPCE program in Hinjewadi will complete three years in April and it will be time for DSS to exit the field after the school exams are over. For the last three years DSS has been like a guardian to them; giving the school going children and parents support whenever required. To help the parents and children deal with the upcoming break, they are being well prepared through various activities. 

Parents were first told that by April they will have to take full responsibility for their children’s education as the PPCE team will not be visiting them. They were naturally upset but understood that there are others like them who need our help and guidance. After Diwali vacation, in October, DSS had reduced the number of visits asking parents to visit the schools and build a rapport with the school teachers.

As a part of the exit strategy DSS had organized a get-together of parents and children of Hinjewadi area in Man village. 105 children and 57 parents attended the meeting. Mr. Sachin, our field associate, who is a dedicated and tireless worker helped organize it very well. He is very popular with the parents as he helps the children with all their problems. The parents are very attached to him and they had tears in their eyes as they thanked him for his support.   

We also invited the school staff and other influential village members (Sarpanch, ZP members, volunteers etc) who have actively supported us. We once again told the parents about the importance of education and the Right to Education Act that will help their children to continue with their education, no matter where they go in the future.

One of the school teachers addressed the crowd and told them how lucky they were that DSS had come to help them with their children’s education.  Even the school was doing better as they had more students on their roll thanks to Mr. Sachin who encouraged children to get enrolled in the school. Not only that, he also ensured that all the children attended school regularly.  

Everyone enjoyed the games organized for that day and participated with a lot of enthusiasm. It was also an emotional time for both the parents and the DSS team as they said goodbye. They requested us for someone who will support them and is available to them as and when required. 

We wish the parents and their children the best and leave with a strong hope to see the children having a better tomorrow with today’s education.

Parents getting felicitated 

Volunteers addressing children

Paving the way towards a better future…

The Society for Door Step Schools (DSS) has been taking education to the doorstep of underprivileged children since 1988-89 in Mumbai and 1993 in Pune. Through various programs DSS tries to reach the often forgotten children from the marginalised sections of society particularly children of families employed at construction sites, brick-kilns and children of nomadic communities engaged in their traditional occupations such as street performers, artisans etc. These children are enrolled to Government schools and taught basic literacy and numeracy skills at our centres through innovative and creative teaching methods.

To take education to the door step of these children it is important to identify them first. In November 2011, Door Step School therefore launched a campaign – Every Child Counts (ECC), to survey and enrol all 6-7 year old out of school children in school, in the city of Pune. During this program it was observed that there was a lack of awareness among parents about educating their children. They had to be educated about their responsibilities towards their children’s education and the needs of a school going child and addressing those through actions and resources within their means. Hence another program, Parents’ Participation in Children’s Education (PPCE) was started to increase parent’s involvement.

While working in ECC and PPCE programs we always come across children who have dropped out from school. Children often start losing interest in studies from 7th or 8th grade as they find it difficult to cope up with subjects like English, Mathematics and Science.

In our effort to motivate such dropped out students we contacted Don Bosco Institute which runs professional training courses for 8th and 10th passed students. The institute provides residential facility with minimum affordable fees. The important aspect of Don Bosco is that it aims towards overall grooming of the students. Students receive latest technical know-how as well as good job opportunities after completion of the courses as they have tie ups with various Corporates.

On 7th January 2018 we planned an orientation visit for few parents and children from Maan, Hinjawadi, Wagholi and Pimpri-Chinchwad area to the Don Bosco Institute. 4 parents and 9 children accompanied us. Kishor Patole and Gundu Gaikwad from Maan area were in this group. They dropped out of school at the age of 13 when they were in the 8th grade and have not been interested in attending formal school since then. Both of them have been interested in technical work but did not know whom to approach. Now both of them 17, Don Bosco Institute came as an inspiration to them where both saw future opportunities through technical training course. They grabbed the opportunity and enrolled themselves for a 6 months Electrician’s course. Both of them completed admission formalities on their own with their parents support. On 27th January 2018, Kishor and Gundu took a step towards a brighter future.

Kishore Patole & Gundu Gaikwad

Contributed by Ms. Sanika Patwardhan, PPCE - PCMC, DSS,Pune.

DSS Exhibition on “Expression”, an approach to deliver awareness on meaningful communication and educating children.

The Society for Door Step Schools (DSS) has been taking education to the doorstep of underprivileged children since 1988-89 in Mumbai and 1993 in Pune. Through various programs DSS tries to reach the often forgotten children from the marginalized sections of society like children of construction labourers, pavement dwellers and many others. These children are enrolled to Government schools and taught basic literacy and mathematics skills at our centers through various innovative and creative teaching methods. Our teachers are regularly trained and their skills are further honed at DSS Training Center – “Parivartan” which stands as the backbone of DSS since 2007.

Every year Parivartan organizes an exhibition with the aim to provide guidance in relevant topics and specifically targeted for teachers and other field staff. This year too, DSS welcomed the New Year with their first event – The Annual Training Center Exhibition and the topic was “Expression- Abhivyakti”. It was organized from January 10^th to 17^th at the Center in Annabhau Sathe School, Sadashiv Peth, Pune.

The time and effort put in by the entire Training team in planning and organizing the event was evident from the various meaningful props and ideas they used to deliver the message of how important it is to understand one’s expression especially while interacting with children. Various charts and models were exhibited demonstrating how expression shifts in children & teens and how it leads to a mutually beneficial dialogue.

Through a variety of examples, trainers explained the concept of expression particularly between the age groups of 3-6, 7-11 and 12-16. The aim was to educate DSS teachers, trainers from other schools or institutions on listening, understanding and communicating; where children can boost their language development and give them an advantage they may not otherwise have. Knowing how to listen and join in conversations is an art of encouraging individuals to come out of their little world outside, to a more socially inclusive community.

It was very enriching to explore how the team categorized their study within age groups on topics like, ‘my family, my individuality, my neighbourhood, my social responsibility, my hobbies, my school, my dreams, our social media etc’. There was some take away for each and every person making them more aware about their surroundings along with their commitment to themselves and their community.

Clockwise from bottom left: A DSS teacher noting points, followed by our trainers explaining charts, A school Model and another of our trainers explaining charts & models. Center: DSS Training Team.

Write up and photographs by Rashmi Deo, DSS Volunteer, HR professional, also an enthusiast in people and community development. January 17^th, 2018

Balak Palak Sabha (Children & Parents Get-together)

Parents of school going children are important stake holders in their children’s education. To a large extent it is they who decide about their children’s education and so it is extremely important to make them aware of their roles and responsibilities in their children’s progress.

Our teams of field workers regularly organize ‘balak-palak’ or ‘child-parent’ get-togethers where a number of issues are discussed in an informal way – sometimes in a playful way-to empower the parents and their children. We reached 140+ parents through 5 such events in and around the city.

Everybody likes to be appreciated and parents and children are no exceptions! Children’s achievements are announced at these meetings and the parents proudly clap for their wards. They are also encouraged to talk to their children every day about what happened in school. And even if they cannot read or write, they must insist on their child reading aloud from the school book every day. Many important issues are conveyed in a story telling session which the parents and children not only enjoy but also remember. Many volunteers participate in these sessions.

These meetings help and encourage parents to:

• Increase their awareness about right to Education
• Understand the importance of education
•  Actively participate in child’s education
•  Understand the importance of regular attendance
•  Get accustomed to attending meetings regarding progress in school
•  Take responsibility of their children’s admission process
•   Learn formalities to be followed when transferred
•   Ensure the child is enrolled in a school no matter where they go
•   Exchange information about school events
•   Discuss any problems regarding school
•   Realize the importance of hygiene and clean environment
•  Think about the future possibilities (such as various skill enhancing courses etc after Std VIII/Std. X / Std. XII) 

Snapshots from some get-togethers

Balak Palak Sabha....

Activities at Parents and Children get-together

Parents of school going children are important stake holders in their children’s education. To a large extent it is they who decide about their children’s education and so it is extremely important to make them aware of their roles and responsibilities in their children’s progress.

Our teams of field workers regularly organize ‘balak-palak’ or ‘child-parent’ get-togethers where a number of issues are discussed in an informal way – sometimes in a playful way-to empower the parents and their children. We reached 140+ parents through 5 such events in and around the city.

Everybody likes to be appreciated and parents and children are no exceptions! Children’s achievements are announced at these meetings and the parents proudly clap for their wards. They are also encouraged to talk to their children every day about what happened in school. And even if they cannot read or write, they must insist on their child reading aloud from the school book every day. Many important issues are conveyed in a story telling session which the parents and children not only enjoy but also remember. Many volunteers participate in these sessions.

These meetings help and encourage parents to:

• Increase their awareness about right to Education
• Understand the importance of education
• Actively participate in child’s education
• Understand the importance of regular attendance
• Get accustomed to attending meetings regarding progress in school
• Take responsibility of their children’s admission process
• Learn formalities to be followed when transferred
• Ensure the child is enrolled in a school no matter where they go
• Exchange information about school events
• Discuss any problems regarding school
• Realize the importance of hygiene and clean environment
• Think about the future possibilities (such as various skill enhancing courses etc after Std VIII/Std. X / Std. XII)