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For over decade and a half Ananda has been actively partnering with communities and like-minded organizations for establishment of fundamental child education, literacy, skill development and health care for economic as well as social development.
A. Healthcare
Create awareness regarding personal hygiene, sanitation, preventable diseases, nutrition etc., in all sections of society, including economically weaker sections. Create awareness about the importance of nutritional requirements of young children, pregnant and breast-feeding mothers. Educate men and women about the benefits of family planning, training and education and awareness about adequate living conditions. Sponsor medical aids for physically challenged people. Sponsor surgeries of under privileged, physically challenged and economically weaker sections of the society. Partner with NGOs activity working with children and persons with disabilities for skill development and sustainability. Promote mental health initiatives in all sections of society, especially in the socio-economically weaker sections. Provide family counseling through professional counseling services for students, parents and people of the community.
B. Basic Education, Literacy and Skill Development
Provide high quality education from the primary sections onwards through the promulgation of child-centered and activity based teaching methods (The Ananda Pedagogy). Promote high quality education in higher classes using the Basic Principles of the Ananda Pedagogy through development of quality teaching methods for higher classes. Support education of underprivileged students for elementary, Jr., high and higher secondary schools. Scholarships and financial aid to support the higher education of deserving and talented student/s, from economically weaker sections of the society in particular girl children and differently-abled children. Promote digital literacy in all sections of society to enhance marketable skills, especially among young adults. Promote skill development for enhanced marketability through provision of basic management skills and vocational, accounting and English speaking skills among others. Support adult education and vocational programs to enable adults form disadvantaged households to live in dignity and security and be free from exploitation, physical or mental abuse.
Our mission is to undo the damage done to the development of these kids in the schools they go to, and to provide to them the socio- psychological support they are generally deprived of in the environment they are born and grow up in rural and urban India and to mobilize local resources for empowering the local communities and reconstruct their lives to lead a prosperous and peaceful life.
Our vision is to provide quality education to all children irrespective of the accident of their birth and to build a civilized society through-literacy, knowledge, ability and equality.
ANANDA PEDAGOGY
Basic Principles of the ANANDA Pedagogy
We at ANANDA believe that Every Child has the right to a happy and productive childhood.
The first principle of the ANANDA pedagogy is to give unconditional love to every child, for this is the only way we will get their co-operation. Our job is not to “teach” but to create an environment in the school that will encourage children to “learn” how to read and write and how to manage basic arithmetic, on their own. Children are the main actors. We teachers are the props. We believe that if children are happy, and not bored, it is possible to get them to be the biggest resource in our effort to make them literate. This is why we start with stories and games which all children love, and not with the letters of the alphabet that they cannot relate to. We also believe that every child has some talent, strength or interest in some direction. If we can invoke that talent or interest, they will willingly co-operate with us. We recognize that one child’s learning curve can be different from another’s. Some may have neurological problems to varying degrees. Some of these children may respond better to special methods of teaching. The SL Unit of ANANDA aims at providing such supplementary support. To the extent possible, our objective is to integrate these children in the general class. We believe in the importance of peer support. We desist from comparing one child with another. We encourage children to compete with themselves and not with other children. We believe in the power of household support for the betterment of children and aim at training up parents for generating supportive home environments. We have found good response to the ANANDA method of teaching for children from disadvantaged communities. Our ultimate goal is to be able persuade the relevant authorities to replace the current method of teaching in government schools based on rote learning, which has created a nation of ‘Na-layaks’, by our method which is not merely making children more literate at a faster rate but also boosting their self-confidence and self-esteem.
Prof. Swapna Mukhopadhyay
Director of Arpan Mukhopadhyay Memorial Trust
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