An inspiring story of dedication towards work.

To take the teaching tool bag to Latur, Phadke Sir took a lot of effort to coordinate with Badame Sir who could not take the bag or make any arrangements for the same. Finally, Phadke Sir took the bag to Latur. Sachin Sir, despite being on leave for his brother's wedding, collected the bag from Latur station and took it to the class. Girls in class handled the tools in the bag with great interest and also read all the books in the bag. As the bag could reach the students, it lifted everyone's spirits and classes could be conducted with more enthusiasm.

A beautiful experience parents of a DSS student had, with our teachers and volunteers.

 In the Hadapsar CLC area, Vinit Sir teaches English to students of 6th grade. He works in Cognizant. As some students had some difficulties, with the permission of the supervisor and coordinator, he decided to have a discussion with the parents. Vinit Sir stays abroad and takes English classes over Google meet. He spoke to the parents of Vaishnavi Bansode as to how they should pay attention to her studies. The parents said they will follow his advice. Later, the parents spoke to supervisor Manisha Dhanavde and told her that in spite of admitting their child to a private school with a fee of Rs.10000, no one addresses our queries. However, DSS teachers take regular followup of students due to which we see improvement in our kids. Since Vaishnavi attends English classes, she makes a good effort at speaking English and improvement has been seen. She also takes science classes and a positive change has been noticed. My difficulty is that every time while leaving for work, I cannot keep my phone at my place. So for the class duration, I come to my place to let her use my phone. Sometimes I find it difficult to return and provide her with the phone at the given time. Overall, DSS teachers and volunteers take good followup of our kids. We are not given much importance even where we pay money, while at DSS, all our concerns are addressed and due to their involvement and follow-up, we are seeing immense improvement in our kids.

Our small effort in creating awareness about the importance of education.

 On 12th December 2020, a parents' meeting was organized at Mr. Abdul Ajij's brick baking site at Punavale. The meeting was about admitting kids to school. During the meeting, the importance of education and the law about the right to education was discussed. After this, two parents expressed willingness to admit their three kids to school. In all, 5 parents were present for this meeting.

Testimonial by Manali Oak

I have been working with DSS for over 3 years now. My work has majorly been in creative writing, translations, and social media. It has been a fulfilling experience to be able to contribute in my own small way towards the noble cause that DSS is working for. The team members I have worked with, have always been kind and cooperative and I look forward to working with DSS in various domains where I can help. With the strong leadership and dedicated volunteers that constitute the DSS team, it surely has a long way to go. Wishing DSS all the best and a very Happy Volunteers Day to everyone!

Children's day Engagement Program

 Under the Reading Culture program, on the occasion of Children's Day, some online activities were conducted for students of grade 5th to 8th, on November 25, 2020. Activities included writing information about Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, drawing forts, rangoli drawing, and sending photos of the same. Students had to select any one activity and complete it. For students of grades 1 to 4, activities conducted included rangoli drawing and drawing forts. Kids enjoyed the activities conducted for Children's Day!

Testimonial by Mr. Pandurang Thorat (Shikshan Mitra)

Shikshan Mitra is motivated and enthusiastic individuals from the community who understand the importance of education and are inclined to help parents and children around them towards continued education of children Once such Shikshan Mitra is Mr. Pandurang Thorat who has written a heartfelt experience he had working with DSS.

 

Greetings to all fellow members of the Shikshan Mitra group. Friends, on 15th October 2020, I left Charholi and shifted to my hometown. I wished to work for DSS. The work gave me great satisfaction as it was a small contribution towards the noble cause that DSS is working for, to ensure that no child remains deprived of education. I used to enjoy my work. The work of DSS is really commendable. They do not discriminate between rich and poor, weak, and strong. 

*DSS works to provide education to children of construction site workers. People from small towns coming to Pune or Mumbai to earn a living in the field of construction are not able to continue their children's education. Sometimes, older kids in their families have to leave their education and accompany their parents to take care of younger siblings.* DSS works towards providing education to these kids. I was proud to be working as a Shikshan Mitra with DSS. However, as they say, change is inevitable, due to an unavoidable reason, I had to return to my hometown.

I don't want to part ways with DSS with a thankyou. The support that DSS extended to me and my parents, is unforgettable. The organization I worked with, did not think about me or my family. They were only concerned about their labor work. DSS gave me the real support I required. Like I said before, I do not want to part ways with DSS. I want to continue working with them even from my hometown. While working, I hope that DSS will stand by me. 

Friends, I could be a part of DSS due to Satpute sir Ramteke mam, Gore mam, Gurav mam and I am proud of this. In the future too, they will be with me.

Words won't be enough to express what I feel about DSS. Keep me in your thoughts.

Your Shikshan Mitra

 Mr. Pandurang Rohidas Thorat.

Door Step School would like to thank Monica Manmadkar, for raising around 32K (INR) and Mr.Girish Manmadkar for collaborating with his organization to match the same amount. This will go a long way in helping our children.

"As someone who strongly believes in the prowess of education, I have always tried to do my part in ensuring that everyone worldwide has equitable access to quality education. When I was a child, I'd volunteer with my dad for Asha For Education, helping him and other runners raise funds for children in India. As I was perusing Asha's website, I came across DSS. I immediately loved their mission, as it not only pertains to providing education but also focuses on building key soft skills. Through my organization, FUSD Challenge Success, I worked to raise funds to impact my global community and ensure that no child is left behind when it comes to getting a proper education. Our mission at FUSD Challenge Success and my commitment to ensuring that no child is left behind in education worked perfectly to make our fundraiser successful. We hosted a few events and webinars, where all of the proceeds were donated to DSS. Community members, students, and parents all were extremely supportive of this initiative and generously donated. I am glad that there was no major challenge to our fundraiser; however, I wish we'd collect more donations. I'm gratified to know that I played a role in reducing the barrier and the socioeconomic gap to education - Ms. Monica Manmadkar, USA