Christmas Celebrations at Door Step School

December is usually a happening month in many ways. Lots of events and activities  are conducted for children in Door Step School centers across the city. Some of the children are taken to a nearby park for picnic, while others are busy in planning Diwali / Christmas parties.

At one of the temporary slums in Hadapsar, our children had fun celebrating Christmas. This location is covered by our mobile classroom, the School-on-Wheels bus and some of the children have been enrolled in nearby government school. Children attended party in the bus wearing colourful clothes. They sang songs taught to them in the school and in the class. Highlight of the party was gift distribution by Santa Claus!

We observed children not regular to our classes had come for the party with their siblings and friends. Parents who were reluctant to send their children for the classes, were curiously watching the children having fun in the bus. Events like this help us attract more children and parents towards the classes and eventually to the school.

(Reported by Firdos Momin, Door Step School)

डिसेंबर महिन्यात 'डोअर स्टेप स्कूल'च्या शहरभर पसरलेल्या वर्गांवरील मुलांसाठी निरनिराळे कार्यक्रम आयोजित केले जातात. काही मुलांना सहलीसाठी जवळच्या बागेमधे नेलं जातं, तर काही वर्गांवर दिवाळी / ख्निसमसनिमित्त पार्टी केली जाते.

हडपसरमधे एका वस्तीवर आमच्या मुलांनी अशाच ख्रिसमस पार्टीचा आनंद लुटला. या वस्तीवर आम्ही 'स्कूल-ऑन-व्हील्स' या आमच्या 'चाकांवरच्या शाळे'त अभ्यास वर्ग चालवतो. काही मुलांना जवळच्या सरकारी शाळेत दाखलही करण्यात आलं आहे. ख्रिसमस पार्टीसाठी मुलं रंगीबेरंगी कपडे घालून आली होती. त्यांनी शाळेत आणि वर्गावर शिकलेली गाणी गायली. पार्टीचं मुख्य आकर्षण होता, मुलांसाठी गिफ्ट घेऊन आलेला सान्ताक्लाॅज!

बसमधे नियमित न येणारी वस्तीवरची इतर मुलंही आपल्या भावंडांसोबत आणि मित्र-मैत्रिणींसोबत पार्टीला आलेली दिसली. मुलांना शिकण्यासाठी वर्गाला न पाठवणारे पालक बसमधे मुलांना मजा करताना बघत होते. अशा प्रकारच्या कार्यक्रमांमधून अशी अनेक मुलं आणि पालक आम्हाला आधी वर्गापर्यंत आणि मग शाळेपर्यंत आणायला मदत होते.

(अहवाल - फिरदोस मोमिन, डोअर स्टेप स्कूल यांचेकडून)

Door Step School Vehicles

Door Step School runs various programmes for education of underprivileged children in and around Pune city. These include Educational Activity Centers run at construction sites and mobile classrooms used in temporary slums. All the children covered under Door Step School programmes are encouraged and helped to attend nearby government schools for formal education. Apart from creating awareness about education among parents and enrolling children in schools, Door Step School also provides school transport facility wherever possible. At present, five vehicles (vans and bus) are used for ferrying children to and from schools across Pune. Four School-on-Wheels buses reach out to around 400 children every day, offering education at their doorstep. Along with the teachers and escorts, our drivers (fondly called Kaka) play an important role in both school transport and mobile classroom programmes.

We express our gratitude towards our vehicles and entire transport team (driver Kaka's) on the occasion of Dasara (Vijaya Dashami) Pooja. We are happy and proud to see everyone in the team equally concerned about and aligned towards the organizational goal of 'Education for All'.

New School-on-Wheels for Door Step School

As a part of efforts to educate out-of-school children living in temporary slums and labour habitats on construction sites, Door Step School runs School-on-Wheels programme which is a bus converted into a mobile classroom. Sometimes, even setting up a temporary shelter as a classroom is not possible at locations where children live. The School-on-Wheels bus provides space for DSS teachers to conduct educational activities at such locations. The bus is modified to accomodate 20 to 25 children at a time. It is equipped with a blackboard, learning charts, mini-library of books and toys, etc. The bus covers 3 to 4 locations in a day, conducting sessions of around two to two and half hour duration. Focus of the programme is to make the children - often first generation learners - familiar with a learning environment. These children are eventually enrolled in nearby government schools for formal education. The sessions in School-on-Wheels bus support the education of both school-going and out-of-school children.

A recent addition to DSS School-on-Wheels programme is the bus donated by Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd. Mr. Amit Sharma, MD - TCE officially inaugurated the School-on-Wheels bus and also visited one of the temporary slum class at Baner, along with several other management and staff members of TCE. Door Step School appreciates the concern and support by TCE, which is going to help education of many children across Pune in coming times. Thank you!

Celebrating Teachers’ Month - Taking the School to Children's Doorstep (School-on-Wheels)

The ‘School-on-Wheels’ is a signature program of Door Step School. A bright yellow modified bus full of teaching aids, charts, pictures and other gadgets along with two teachers reaches out to those communities for whom education is still a distant dream. At present there are four such buses; each reaching out to around 100  children spread over 3 to 4 sites in a day.

And who are these two ladies with confident smiles inviting all the children and their parents into the bus? Yes, they are the teachers of the ‘School-on-Wheels’ who willingly put their patience, perseverance and commitment to test as they move from one site to another in line of their duty. After an initial survey they identify a site to park the bus for two hours so that at least 15 - 35 children from the nearby area benefit from it.

Malti and Anagha are the teachers in the Wakad area. They have worked in DSS as teachers in various Education Activity Centers for the last five years. Malti says, "Our work on the School-on-Wheels bus is an extension of our EAC work. The main difference is we cover three different sites in one day; that gives us just about two hours to work with a group of children. And ours is a temporary arrangement until a shed or some other facility is given or identified to start an EAC." That means they have to work smart to be able to give maximum inputs to the children on any given site!

The big yellow bus attracts a lot of attention especially the first time that it arrives at a particular site. Children and adults are curious to know what it is all about. "When we go out to call them into the bus, it is an unbelievable opportunity for the children and they jump with joy! They are very excited to step into this different world. But the parents hesitate, and reluctantly give in to their children’s enthusiasm." Anagha adds, "Some parents are paranoid and think we are here to kidnap their children! It takes a lot of convincing and a few days are spent before they allow the children to come and sit in the bus for two hours."

Malti elaborates, "The first thing we teach the children, is the importance of being neat and clean. We use various games, songs and puppets for this. Some of these children were enrolled in schools. But because of their unclean habits and appearance were treated badly and now they refuse to attend school. We have to change this perception and need to work with the children as well as the schools."
Sonali and Pragya are the School-on-Wheels teachers in Kondhwa area. They both want to know if their bus is suitably decorated! One forgets it is a bus once you step inside. If you were to make a list of things found in a common classroom and compare it with the School-on-Wheels, you would tick every single item on your list and then probably make another list of the more uncommon items! There are two black-boards, one at each end; the one behind the driver displays the number of students in attendance; the other black-board is for teaching and playing games. All the storage compartments are neatly labeled for easy access of their contents. A number of charts and craft items display useful information for ready reference. There is also a list of safety tips for the children; and another promotes good hygiene. Letters of the Marathi alphabet and numerals sway in the breeze. Colorful pictures done by the students adorn the sides. It is an ideal place indeed for any educational activity.

The teachers keep the children busy for the two hours that they spend on the bus. Sonali gives the details, "They are divided into four groups based on their learning levels. Each group is given a language/math teaching aid to start the learning process. It could be a game that encourages them to identify letters or match shapes, find the missing letters from a ‘Barakhadi’ chart, or form words. After they have spent time in seeing, touching and handling shapes and letters, it is time to do some writing work based on their competency levels. After this they read – from charts, books, black board or flash cards. The last time slot is for story telling or some creative activity which is based on the project title for the month and/or the festival during that month."

Maya confidently adds, "The curriculum is very well planned and adapted as per each child’s need. It is a result of relentless research, observations, and feedback collected over the last 20 years of working in the field." She expands further, "We maintain a detailed report of every single child that attends the class. It is a record of what a child does every time he/she attends the class and the outcome is discussed and recorded every week. Is the child able to keep up with the expected outcomes? What is encouraging (or preventing) the child? Is the attendance regular? What is the cause for absence? Does a child have any health/hygiene issues? Which parents need to be counseled and for what reason? Some parents are grateful that their children are getting the attention they deserve; some are indifferent; and some are almost hostile for bringing a change in their environment. We have to deal with all types of parents and convince them of the advantages of education and the change for the better that it will augur."

Lata from the Hadapsar School on Wheels laments, "It is sad to see that in spite of our efforts, there are still some parents who do not send their children to school. They prefer their children do house work and look after their younger siblings. A lot of patience and continuous effort has to be invested before such parents can be convinced of the advantages of education."

"The School-on-Wheels attracts a lot of attention. Some people stop and ask us how we run a school in a bus. Some are curious to know which children attend the school. Some junior college students are keen to see it as they have a lesson in their English text-book about Door Step School. Some regular schools want the bus to come to their school so that their students can see it. All such comments encourage us," says Jyoti rather seriously.

Lata says on a lighter note, "I always liked travelling but I never imagined that I would be spending eight hours a day in a bus like this! My five year old son asks me if I give a ticket to all the children!" Everyone joins the laughter.

Anagha sums up for all of them, "Our families are also very intrigued by the way we conduct our work. They are always keen to know where all we go in a day and how many children we enroll in schools. My daughter is only eight years old but she also keeps a look-out for out-of-school children!"

Yes, it is indeed an interesting way to teach and learn. No wonder, everyone wants to be a part of the School-on-Wheels story!

- Written by Archana Vyavaharkar, based on inputs from Door Step School Teachers

(This article is a part of Teachers' Month series by Door Step School, Pune. For other articles in the series, please visit http://blog.doorstepschool.org/search/label/Teachers%27%20Month%202016.)

DSS School-on-Wheels with REC Support - News in CityPlus

City Plus published news of School-on-Wheels by Door Step School with support from Regional Electrification Corporation.

New School-on-Wheels Bus under CSR Initiatives of RECL

Door Step School, which provides education to underprivileged children at various locations in Mumbai and Pune and runs the School on Wheels program for the children of migrant and unsettled parents, has inaugurated a New School – on - Wheels bus on 17th of May 2013.  The bus has been donated to Door Step School by Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), Delhi under its CSR initiatives. Shri P.J. Thakkar, Director (Technical), REC, flagged off the School on Wheels, today in Mumbai, in the presence of senior functionaries of REC, Society for Door Step School and The National CSR Hub.

“The School on Wheels is a bus that is re-modeled and equipped with all classroom supplies including a computer, TV, DD player and educational audio visual learning material to serve as mobile classroom. The bus reaches out to children of certain locations or construction sites where even a temporary classroom cannot be built and therefore children have absolutely no access to education. The School on Wheels offers space for 20-25 children.

In a day, the School On Wheels visits 2 or 3 locations and 2 hour sessions are held in each location. It also doubles up as school transport whenever required.

The School on Wheels is also used as a mobile reading room for children from the neighbouring communities where they have access to a variety of books available in the bus. The bus is taken to certain communities in the evening for this purpose and parked in one place for two hours offering these services. This is very beneficial to the children who are capable of reading, but do not have access to books beyond school books”

The new School on Wheels Bus will assist in providing literacy to educationally deprived children at temporary road side dwellings and construction sites at Door Step School locations in Maharashtra.

About Rural Electrification Corporation

Rural Electrification Corporation(REC), Ltd.,  a Navaratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Power ,was incorporated on July 25 1969, under the Companies Act 1956. Headquartered at New Delhi, its main objective is to finance power sector projects in the fields of generation, transmission, distribution and renewable energy all over India.REC has allocated budget @ 1% of Profit after Tax of previous year for FY 2013-14 for CSR activities, and is committed to undertaking sustainable projects under CSR initiatives. Focus areas for REC’s CSR Activities include Skill Development leading to creation of employment, Education, Promotional of Non-Conventional Energy sources, Healthcare, including projects for the elderly and persons with disability, etc.and its CSR activities are spread acroos the country.

About Door Step School

The Door Step School was established in Mumbai, India in 1988 and later expanded to Pune in 1992. Door Step School provides education and support to the often-forgotten children of pavement dwellers, slum dwellers, construction site families and many other underprivileged families. Many of these children are not enrolled in school and have limited access to books and a place to study. Annually, the Door Step School serves more than 50,000 children with literacy programs at over 140 locations in Pune and Mumbai.  Each year more than 1500 children who would have otherwise gone without a formal education are enrolled in municipal schools.