Fund after school classes to bridge learning gaps by Bhumi

3,044 children were impacted across Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Patna, Pune, Mumbai, Trichy. In Maths, Topics Covered were Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Money Value, 2D/3D Shapes, Days/Weeks/Month, Place Values, Word Problems, Fractions, Perimeter, Division, Symmetry, Area & Conversion, Data Handling, etc. It was seen that Grade1,2 & 5 children performed well across all numeracy and operation modules. In computers, children performed independently at Introduction to Computers and Paint without the help of a teaching volunteer. Children also performed well in Excel and Internet independently without the guidance of a volunteer. In English (Reading fluency & comprehension, writing, speaking & listening), Children of Grade 3 were able to perform well across modules. -> Delivery of virtual classes in English, maths, science, computers, robotics, life-skills & mentoring, arts & dance. English: Listening, speaking, reading comprehension/fluency, and writing skills. Activity-based learning through Alphabets, vowels, verbs, listening skills-stories, nouns, introductory sentence, Crosswords, comprehension, jumbled sentences, state, and capitals, an overview of parts of speech (pronoun, adjectives, Adverb, preposition, interjection, gerund, conjunction) Common noun, proper noun, vowels, etc. Math: Fundamental arithmetic skills to eliminate the fear of conceptual learning. Activity-based learning through Number identification, reading and writing numbers, operations (Addition, Subtraction Multiplication, and Division), Place values, Money Values, 2D and 3D shapes, Perimeter Science: Conceptual learning of general Biology followed by real-life applications/scenarios of the concepts Computer Science: Basics of computers, internet & office suite, HTML, etc. Activity-based learning through presentations, live demos, and video modules; post-class practice worksheets via WhatsApp/E-mail Robotics: Learning through AV content: Circuits, Voltage and Currents, Ohms law, Resistive circuits, Motors, Algorithm thinking Life skills and Mentoring: Holistic development through SEL and mentoring through Right to Information, Personality & Career Development Communication skills, Public Speaking, Good touch and bad touch, Healthy food and adulteration, Team Building, Patriotism, Menstrual Hygiene, Social Awareness, Anger Management and Honesty, Public Speaking, Self-Awareness, Gender stereotype, Winning or Losing Arts: Holistic development and creative arts expression through Origami (Birthday cards), Pencil Portrait (Using grid technique), Origami (Shoemaking for baby doll), Single Point Perspective (Drawing a city view), Cartoon Art, Making Swan using Origami Technique, Mandala Art, Warli Art, Doodle Art, Making Dog, Frog and Whale using Origami Technique, Pull tab card, Waterfall car, Silhouette, Pencil Shading Dance and Sports: Hip Hop, Folk, Indian Contemporary, Bollywood, Western & Freestyle, Yoga, Chess with focus on attitude, expression, style, step-clarity, and confidence Key Activities: Volunteer Recruitment; Shelter Homes Centre Identification; Children Initiation; Completing Volunteer orientation and beginning classes in shelter homes; Introductory class with children; Volunteer awards and Learning & Development event (BEACON) Impact: In Maths, there was an impact from 53% in the beginning of the year assessments to 58% in the year end assessments across skills in Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Money Value, 2D/3D Shapes, Days/Weeks/Month, Place Values, Word Problems, Fractions, Perimeter, Division, Symmetry, Area & Convertion, Data Handling etc. In Computers: Out of 96 children, it was seen that highest number of children (30 and 28 respectively) performed independently at Introduction to Computers and Paint without the help of a teaching-volunteer. 70% of ther children (avg) are in dependent level across all modules such Introduction to Computers, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PPT, MS Paint, Internet

Challenge: Without Laptop tutors unable to deliver the 100% content in Digital Literacy, like MS office, Applications of computers etc. Way Forward: ? Baseline Assessments in Centers ? Annual City level volunteer meeting ? Baseline Assessment report generation by Volunteer Centre Management ? Regular Classes for students in Shelter Homes ? Regular Classes for students in Shelter Homes ? City level volunteer meeting ? Progress tracking of the centers and identifying centers that need assistance.

Ms. Neha Kulkarni from our Pune Chapter sharing her experience of volunteering in Bhumi. "My friend suggested me to join Bhumi. I attended the orientation and joined as a volunteer. I never knew I would come this far. All of this is because of the volunteers and the love that I got from the kids. Even during the hard times Bhumi has helped me in expressing my thoughts and being more outgoing. There is some good in this world. If it?s there somewhere, it?s worth fighting for. Kaviya and Cheenu were underprivileged children living in Chennai. Their mother Rosy wanted to place them in tuition to improve their quality of education, but she is a daily labor and can?t afford the fees. We could see that these children were in middle school and needed to get a coaching to improve their understanding and concepts in subjects. Bhumi helped and educated them which made the students achieve an improvement and increased their interest towards education.

-> Baseline Assessments were conducted for children to assess their skill levels. In English, mastery across all the grades is 27%; in Tamil, mastery across the Primary grades was 24%; In Maths, the mastery of basic operations in Primary grades was 43% and 64% in Middle-grade children. In Digital Literacies, the average mastery of students in computer fundamentals was 40% ->Mid Year Assessment completed for 96% of the students during the last few weeks of December to track child’s progress when compared to the baseline scores ->Tutor Capacity Building: Content Training in Maths, English, Tamil, Digital Literacy and SEL. 10 hours Spoken English workshop for tutors through corporate volunteers ->Parents Tutor Meeting conducted every month to interact with the parents about students’ academic progress and their challenges. 82% of the parents took part in the meeting -> Content training for Tutors (English, Tamil, Maths, SEL, and Digital Literacy) -> Lesson Planning Workshop -> Child Safety Education ->Virtual classes on English, Tamil, Maths, SEL, and Digital Literacy ->Introduction of volunteer lead classes in a few of our centers to teach Science, English, and Maths. Community volunteers have been inducted and assigned to teach children in the community and community tutors. -> 15 Children are impacted through Virtual classes on English, Tamil, Maths, SEL, and Digital Literacy. Children were also part of Independence Day Celebration and Teachers Day celebration to inculcate extra-curricular talents and express gratitude to their Tutors.

-> 36% of the classes were canceled due to Chennai Floods in November as the Urban Slum Community where the children reside were flooded -> Delayed start to Mid Year Assessment due to canceled classes -> Few Students without access to smartphones in the community was a significant challenge as they were unable to be part of the online sessions -> Learning: Capacity Building of the tutors is a significant component for building a stronger team to address such challenges. Hence, we focused on capacity-building workshops for tutors.

Plan/Way Forward: ->Class delivery ->Spoken English + Capacity Building Workshop for Tutors ->End Year Assessment ->Events & Awareness Campaigns

“Online classes became a routine for all the children, and they seem to be adapting to this mode of education. It requires a lot of capacity building for us to prepare quality content for them. Our team encourages us to participate in those capacity-building sessions. The lesson planning workshop helped us plan our lessons for children better. Bhumi gives us a wide range of training, including content training, Spoken English training, Homemade Napkin awareness sessions, Socio-emotional learning workshops, Child Safety education, etc. These training and workshops give us a great opportunity to grow ourselves.”

• Cecilia, Tutor

3080 Children impacted across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Delhi, Chandigarh, Bihar> Bhumi’s classes equip children of grade 1 – 12 with literacy skills, life skills, and a platform to discover and explore science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM)> Super-Teacher Workshops: 10 Workshops conducted 10 new facilitators; 600 volunteers; Purpose: Preparing volunteers for classes (behavioral & Project-related)>First Lego League: The FIRST LEGO League Challenge is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students. STEM exhibition with Lego blocks for Robotics Project Children, conducted by Caterpillar & Disney+. Two Shelter Homes in Chennai participated>Leadership Workshop for City-level/National-Level Volunteer Leaders: 10 Sessions on Leaderships skills and support in molding volunteers to become change agents in future>Virtual Ignite Fest is a platform for children to equip confidence and compete in a healthy environment against fellow peers of various Bhumi’s projects where they display their skills in arts and literature. 213 kids from in 10 centers Pune participated.

Lack of stable internet and small mobile screens (in most cases) made the classes challenging >Assessment was delayed by 3 months. The methodology was altered to an online platform by publishing the question paper online and seeking centre management to collect answers>Children adapting to online method>Ineffective Class Delivery: Individual attention could not be given to children as we did on-ground. Keeping children engaged through online classes and getting their attention was challenging. Also, limited devices for online classes stopped from many activity-based sessions which is the intent of the Programme>City wise All-Volunteer-Meets and Awards Events happened online and was not very engaging as it used to be on-ground Plan for next 6 months: >Volunteer Recruitment and Training >Planning of Curriculum Deliverables for the academic year >Baseline Assessments and intake of Children/Centres

Impact story: Grade 9 children at PCMC High School, Pimple Gurav (Pune) were captivated just to know the difference between an AC & a DC motor. The enthusiasm they show to learn new concepts is that which gives us, the volunteers, motivation to go back and do better. Adithya and Swaroop, children from the school, not just took minimal time to understand the concepts of loops and binary conversions, but also helped the other children grasp these concepts. When the volunteers introduced them to basic hardware components like LCDs, LEDs, Sensors & Motors, they were able to understand the functionality and made an array of LED sensors, with little guidance, that glowed in a pattern. They also made a remote-controlled car with support from Vaibhav, one of our volunteers.Further, the volunteers used “Arduino Blockly” – a visual programming code simulator that made the children practice and learns coding in a simple and interactive way. The hands-on learning exposure of each module has created a significant impact on the children and now they are on the path of creating autonomous robots like maze followers, smart bins, etc., and are also ready to hit the competitions. “Personalized learning technology helps students achieve their full potential in the classroom and enables teachers to do what they do best – Teach!”

In Tamil Nadu, only less than 15% of children in Class 3 can read a Class 2 text. Only 40% of India’s youth is employable.

Bhumi’s after-school community centres equips children of grade 3 – 8 with literacy/numeracy skills while building life skills and modelling good behavior. 470+ children at 18 after-school centres are being benefitted through 32 tutors.

Programme Story:
“A digitally inclusive world should allow young people, no matter their situation, to get access to education”

The New Normal:
The present scenario has brought to the fore, the urgent need of bridging these digital inequities as schools all-over the world have shifted to remote learning.
Bhumi has been effectively combating the unprecedented situation by providing e-learning opportunities for the children from our after-school community centres.
The digital literacy programme was initiated with the vision to transform into digitally empowered and skilled communities. Though we have been challenged with equipping the stakeholders with basic technical knowledge and availability of a device, we have successfully begun our digital literacy workshops via online for the youth and children from the communities. We conduct digital literacy sessions twice a week and also focus on socio-emotional learning sessions weekly once to raise awareness on the importance of emotional well-being during these tough-testing times.

Feedback from some of the Beneficiaries…

“I have learned to use Gmail and how to operate a device such as a mobile phone or a computer. The sessions made me realise my ability and the skills within. I eagerly wait for Bhumi classes and enjoy the learning process” – Shantosh Raj RK

It has been a challenge thus far in getting the beneficiaries into the classes, but we have been actively following up with them on their progress and helping them learn new topics. This brings our team an immense joy to be able to bring a positive change in the communities and equipping them to be digitally literate. We look forward to more such fruitful engagements with the children and the youth! – Dheepika B

We thank our Donors who have contributed to the Programme and we look forward to your continuous support in making a difference in the beneficiaries' lives.

Focusing on the holistic development of the children

Bhumi runs an after-school program called Ignite for 2800 underprivileged children. This program provides an opportunity for children from low-income families to be up-to-speed with the education standards of their age. These classes are held by volunteers on weekends with modern, interactive tools.
Bhumi’s volunteers are committed to delivering age-appropriate content to different learning styles and levels every weekend at shelter homes across India.
The year’s learning culminates with Ignite Fest, an annual inter-shelter home education fest where children enthusiastically participated in activities set up by the volunteers, and presented models they had created. Working robots, conceptualized science project models made evident that consistent support and exposure, nurturance and opportunities only steer children forward towards a brighter future. Around 2,400+ children from Bengaluru, Chennai and Trcihy participated with the help and guidance of 300+ Volunteers.

Children immersed in diverse activities

Program Update

Ignite' is an after-school program run by Bhumi for underprivileged children. This program provides an opportunity for children from low-income families to be up-to-speed with the education standards of their age. These classes are held by volunteers on weekends with modern, interactive tools.

Their progress is tracked through parameters like improvement in their scores from Baseline Assessment Tests. These children go to state-run schools during the week where their learning is debatable. The curriculum is put together to meet regional needs and undergoes periodic revision. Learning itself is activity-based to engage children on weekends. In addition to primary academic subjects, the supplementary education programme is designed to competently supplement academia, while building life skills.

Children who are a part of Ignite also get opportunities to participate in Nakshatra, a talent development programme by Bhumi to exhibit and develop their talents in arts and sports.

Story from the field

Ignite – Mentoring (Lakshya) aims to provide life skills and guide the children in understanding their own strengths and in defining an identity for themselves. The volunteers of this project had several discussions with the children to understand their plans for the future. They gave empathetic attention to each child regarding possible career options based on their interests. During the process they identified three children namely, Govind, Rahul and Santosh who wanted to opt for Diploma degrees in engineering after class 10.
The children had to endure many hurdles to achieve this. The first was to improve their academic knowledge and with daily coaching assistance, this slowly came through where they put in efforts with a lot of dedication and concentration. Secondly, the home permitted stay of children only till class 10 exams and the children will have to fend for themselves after their last exam of class 10. So these three children feared that they would be stranded once again. Bhumi volunteers approached the home and convinced them, with great efforts, to allow the children to stay until their admissions. The next hurdle was the entrance exam, which these students cleared with decent scores. Unexpected troubles came up during the admission process. The children had to submit caste certificates from Delhi government as per admission rules. The three children had their certificates issued from their respective states and it takes months to transfer the caste certificate from one state to another. Fortunately, the concerned government officials were kind enough to speed up the process and issue the certificates in just few days.
Many volunteers played key roles in this journey and took turns to ensure that one or the other member from the team were available for these children to continue providing academic coaching everyday till their admissions were complete. All three children got into reputed Polytechnic colleges in Delhi and are all set to start their journey towards a better tomorrow. The journey of these three children has motivated other children in the shelter home to focus their energy on education and to dream big towards a streamlined path.

Program Update

Bhumi's academic programme poses a way to bridge educational inequities, in a scalable and cost-effective manner. The academic year began across cities where baseline assessments were implemented to identify the skills of the children. Programme kits were purchased such as story cards, flash cards, arrow cards, money cards, ganith mala etc., to deliver activity-based classes to the children. In the next few months, syllabus will be delivered to children based on their learning levels from the assessment conducted.

Story from the field

Dinesh was enrolled as a child in Bhumi's Ignite programme - Computer Project back in 2008 when he never had the opportunity to use a computer. In time, he was able to learn quickly, and he gained interest and enthusiasm because of the volunteer's teaching methodology. Due to his family situation, it was doubtful if he could study beyond class 10 but among other factors the confidence and motivation from the volunteers pushed him forward to pursue computer engineering in a polytechnic college. He went ahead to pursue higher studies further by taking an educational loan and with guidance from Bhumi volunteers, he continued to gain an in-depth understanding into computer science. While he aims to become a successful software engineer, he is aware of his community's needs - today, Dinesh volunteers with Bhumi to teach children in his neighbourhood the computer, thus creating a snowball effect of the nurtured nurturing others.