Page 259 - DAIS Insignia 2020-21
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Aseema Charitable Trust is a Mumbai based non-
 ASEEMA  governmental organisation with the main objective                               मन का वातावरण

 of providing underprivileged children with a quality
                                                                                       ृ
 education. Through the use of technology, high-                                      व   क  कटाई, कारख़ान  का बनना,
                                                                                                   ु
 quality educational materials and a nurturing environment, the students are learning    करता हर मन य इसक  चचा ।
                                                                                          ं ु
 new content and developing useful skills with each session. Due to the guidelines      परत यह भी तो परख लो ज़रा,
                                                                                        ै
 provided by the organisation, volunteers are able to provide students with a holistic   ह मन का प रवेश  व छ  कतना।
 and relevant education that they can apply to their daily lives without much difficulty.
                                                                                                                 े
                                                                                                             े
                                                                                     आध नक जीवन क  रल गाड़ी क पीछ,
                                                                                                     े
                                                                                         ु
 As volunteers at Aseema, in the first session, we were introduced to the organisation      सभी आज दौड़ लगत। े
                                                                                         ु
 and its key objectives. Browsing through their website and conversing with one of      ं  कत  या  वचार करने ठहरे हो कभी,
                                                                                              े
                                                                                                                   े
 their supervisors helped us in achieving clarity about how to proceed and utilise each    क ज़रा मन क वातावरण म  भी सफ़र कर।
 session efficiently. Additionally, we understood the role we were going to play to
                                                                                          ोध, लालसा,  रता, ई या ,
                                                                                                     ू
 make a difference in these students' lives. In the first few weeks, we worked as
                                                                                                      े
                                                                                                              ै
                                                                                                            े
                                                                                        सामा य भाव बनत जा रह ह।
 content creators. Each of us were allotted a subject, a topic and a grade-level at the
                                                                                         अ छाई-बराई, उ चत-अन चत,
                                                                                                ु
                                                                                                           ु
 beginning of our sessions. We prepared materials that would be sent out to the
                                                                                                           े
                                                                                                      े
                                                                                                             ै
                                                                                         अतर  ामक होत जा रह ह।
                                                                                           ं
 students  according  to  our  designation.  Whether  through  recording  videos  or
 interactive tutorials, finding or making questionnaires, worksheets or games, we         सन लो ती , समझ लो ती ,
                                                                                          ु
 were completely engaged. I'd like to add that because we had SMART goals, we were      ह ि थ त  द षत मन क  भी।
                                                                                         ै
                                                                                                  ू
 extremely productive with the tasks completely. Eventually, after we developed the      और कछ ह  ह वह  गने-चने,
                                                                                                   ै
                                                                                              ु
                                                                                                            ु
 content that Aseema needed, we began to teach the students, whom we provided          िज ह   ा त स ची मन क  शां त।
 the resources to, directly. During the week, Ms. Sheetal Daver would send across the
                                                                                                  कवन शाह
 aspects that we had to teach to ensure that we had enough time to plan our lessons. Some mathematical skills we taught them included multiplication,   Arzoo Usgaonkar  Manav Shah
 division  and  remainders.  Moreover,  we  developed  their  English-speaking  skills  by  playing  games  and  conducting  conversation  classes.  These
 communication skills are essential for them to improve their job prospects, self-esteem   As part of the Service aspect of IBDP CAS, Kareena Shankta of Grade 11 proposed the Birsa Munda
 and confidence. We have also conversed with them on a personal level and built a safe   School Service club. The objective was to expose the students of Birsa Munda High School in   BIRSA MUNDA
 space  for  them  to  talk  about  their  problems  and  passions  openly.  These  little   Manika, Latehar district, Jharkhand to a range of extracurricular activities.
 conversations, according to me, motivated the children to continue learning and hope
     The project was guided by CAS- coordinators, Miss Nitika Gupta and Mr. Sreeraman Ramanathan and
 for a better future.
     project supervisor Miss Uma Shivayogimath. 10 volunteers - Kareena Shankta, Ria Mittal, Mehak Tiwana, Raghav Agrawal, Ahaan Bhansali, Rajveer Batra,
 Our experience working with Aseema was enriching and unforgettable. We, ourselves,   Devasree Jain , Ria Punater, Dhanya Shah and Sia Harisingani, conducted 6 activities for a total of 110 kids. Activities included singing, dancing, storytelling,
     volleyball, football and badminton over the virtual platform of Microsoft Teams every Friday.
 learned  innumerable  things  while  teaching  such  as  collaboration,  video-editing,
 improvisation and time management. Technology played a very prominent role in   The school was introduced to Kareena Shankta by Dr. Veenapani Seksaria, who is currently heading the COVID-19 relief project – The Shakkar Paara
 making this activity possible. We could connect and interact with the students despite   Project. Akash Ranjan, ex-BSF officer and coordinator of the Right to Food and Brother Markose, was in charge of the school. The school required a dire
     revamp in terms of extracurricular structure and vocational exposure. The school accommodates both residential and day-scholar students. Most of the
 the  Covid-19  situation.  Lastly,  we  would  like  to  thank  Ms.  Sheetal,  our  CAS
     children belong to poverty-struck tribal and Maha-Dalit communities of Manika and are taught by teachers who are mostly part of the same
 coordinators and Aseema to make this experience extremely special.
                                                              community.
 Annette Mehta                                                “We have been teaching the children how to play badminton online.
 Sia Harisinghani                                             Badminton was a popular sport at the school, and many children joined
                                                              in for our sessions, eager to learn. However, teaching a sport online was
 quand nous nous retrouverons:                                always going to be challenging, so we tried our best to make the sessions
 nous verrons nos amis,  TOYBANK                              worthwhile. We started off, by explaining the rules of the game, and
 nos familles,                                                introducing the children to the equipment. After this, we taught them
 nos collègues,                                               how to grip the badminton racket and serve. In the span of a few weeks,
 et ce sera super.  The Toybank Service Club has worked hard   the children were already comfortable playing shots such as the toss and
 over  the  last  semester  to  help  the  NGO                the  lift.  Slowly,  they  were  capable  of  having  long  rallies  amongst
 quand nous nous retrouverons:  provide for ‘at-risk’ children during these   themselves. There were difficulties we faced, for example, often due to
 nous partagerons nos rires,  difficult times. They help them by enriching
 nos sourires,  their  learning  with  different  forms  of   poor wifi our sessions would be cut short- depriving the children of a
 nos expériences,  holistic teaching. We had divided ourselves   learning opportunity. Furthermore, due to lack of equipment, there were
 et ce sera amusant.                                          not enough rackets and no net at the school. However, on the whole,
 into groups to help different parts of the                   watching the children play, and being able to teach them a sport that
 quand nous nous retrouverons:  organization. The groups were the Buddy   they  liked  was  an  enriching  experience,  and  one  that  I  will  always
 nous ferons la fête,  Program  (4  people),  Social  Media   remember. Always enthusiastic to learn, the children motivated me to try
 nous chanterons,  Management  (2  people),  Fundraising  (2   out new things too. From them, I also learnt how to be grateful and
 nous danserons,  people)  and  Playbook  development  (2     make the most of what I have. I hope I can continue teaching them in the
 et ce sera libérateur.  people). The Buddy Program regularly held   future, and be able to impact their lives as much as they have impacted
 sessions with 2 children, teaching them Art, English and Math.
 quand nous nous retrouverons:  The  Social  Media  Management  group  worked  on  a  monthly   mine.“ Dhanya Shah
 nous nous sentirons plus heureux,  newsletter to all of Toybank's subscribers and supporters. They   “We are thoroughly enjoying teaching the children. We have already
 plus sain,  wrote a lot of enriching articles. The Playbook group created a   taught them close to 12 dances and what really amazed us was how
 mieux,  handbook,  which  contained  guides  and  instructions  for  all   actively they participated and took initiative. Not only did we teach them
 et ce sera cathartique.
 different sorts of learning activities, which was then released to all   dance routines, but also exposed them to different cultures through
 quand nous nous retrouverons:  the  Toybank  children.  Students  managed  to  find  innovative   dance genres like Bhangra and Garba. We have planned a cultural event
 le monde sera un meilleur endroit,  learning games and put precise instructions for the children to   and virtual sports highlight that will be broadcast live. Going forward,
 mais  implement  those  games  on  their  own.  Lastly,  the  fundraising   our aim will be to accentuate their local dance as
 je ne sais pas quand ça arrivera,  group  strived  hard  on  their  fundraising  page  to  create  a   much  as  possible  in  order  to  empower  the   T  A  N I
 et vous non plus.  sensitization message. Recently, the fundraiser page went live!. They have already received over Rs. 3000 in   children  and  show  them  the  importance  of   U  S  ABILITY
 donations and aim to achieve much more. The Toybank group have been striving hard to help the NGO reach   S
 Vir Datta                                                    cultural roots.” Kareena Shankta and Mehak
 out and help more at-risk children.
                                                              Tiwana.
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