Project Description 

Condition of Rural Schools then – By and large tribal areas are the most remote.  The tribal schools were in a bad condition due to poor infrastructure, lack of teaching aids and parent’s apathy towards child education. It was a big challenge for us to bring all – parents, teachers and student on the same platform. Poor amenities lead to the lack of interest towards education.  Earlier, Teachers have to go house hunting to get students into schools.

How we change Rural Schools – 70% of the Indian population live in villages.  In order to transform the rural kids and bring them to the 21st century, we had to do away with conventional methods of education, hence we introduced E-Learning/Digital classes in 316 tribal schools benefiting 26,000 students.  We refurbished 20 rural schools by repairing and painting the walls with bright colours. We also installed computers with inverters, created a library of story books /CDs and have introduced them to Alexa –the information teacher.

Electricity often fails here, hence we introduced Solar Power in 283 schools and 119 tribal households at Rajgurunagar.  This participatory program helps solve the nagging problem of unpaid electricity bills and avoids a break in the continuity of education.  We also introduced the Nutritional support program for 1,003 kids in 2015 to increase the BMI of tribal students.

The schools in the rural areas do not have proper flooring, compound wall and enough play equipment. Physical activity is a critical component of the elementary curriculum.  It is important to instill healthy behaviors in children so that they establish activity levels that will follow them through adolescence and throughout their lives. Learning without playing was dull.  In 2019 Sportsmed Mumbai Pvt. Ltd., created six  playgrounds  in tribal schools as their CSR activity by installing tyre swings, bridges, climbers and heaving hoops for them in Rohkal, Jaidwadi, Kaman, Shiroli, Bhisambaand Sahanewadi ZP schools. The total cost came to around Rs. 12 lacs and has definately put a smile on the faces of the  students.  

The Impact

The improved infrastructure had its own impact on teachers, parents and students. Students were attracted to the school because of audio-video learning methodology, bright paintings on the walls, library facility, health care, nutritional support programs and play equipment installed on school grounds.With this unique and fun filled experience, the children are now prepared to attend school on Sundays too.

• Tribal kid  are brought up in rough and tough surroundings. They also have inherent qualities which makes them adventurous.  Earlier we improved playgrounds with traditional swings and slides and sea saws to enable children play out there. Sports equipment’s like carom boards, cricket set, volley balls, footballs etc. were distributed to 29 rural schools at Rajgurunagar, Pune.
• Playgrounds normally have recreational equipment to help children develop physical coordination, strength and flexibility alongwith enjoyment.  In January 2019 we created 6 school playgrounds with a very small adventure element.  These are designed by a Start-up (Anthill Creation Foundation) where architect girls from IIT designed innovative rubber tyre play equipment (tyre swings, bridges, climbers and heaving hoops) which we installed in Tribal schools at Bhisamba, Jaidwadi, Kaman, Rohakal, Sahanewadi and Shiroli.This will definitely go a long way to channelize Sports Talent in tribal kids