All posts by REALy2yadmin

Yadala Seshagiri Memorial School

The Yadala Seshagiri Memorial School is a new program that REAL has started supporting in 2019. It is a non-government school located in Vallur village in the Kadapa district, which is about 425 km south of Hyderabad. Satyanarayana Rao uncle decided to found the Yadala Seshagiri school so that the kids in rural villages in the Kadapa districts only have to travel 1 to 4 km every day to get to school. Since the Yadala Seshagiri school is a lot closer to the students than previous schools, they are more motivated to go to school and receive an education.

There is a total number of 2,884,524 people in the Kadapa district, and about half of the population lives in rural areas. The average literacy rate in the district is 67.88%, but a lot of the kids in rural areas had to travel very far to go to the nearest school.

The Yadala Seshagiri school is made up of students in preschool all the way up to 7th graders, has 155 students that come from 15 villages, and 15 staff members. About 95 of the students come from other villages and the rest come from Vallur. As part of the curriculum, the school also focuses on making sure their students get physical exercise. The students do various different stretches, and they also take time to meditate.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Yadala Seshagiri Memorial School closed in the last week of March and is trying to open back up this month. Unfortunately, the school does not have the supplies to conduct remote learning, so the students haven’t been able to continue with their learning curriculum. The school is waiting for more information from the government regarding the pandemic, but until then they are looking for sanitizing equipment to take precautions against the coronavirus. REAL plans to support the Yadala Seshagiri Memorial School in meeting their needs!

Adithi Mahankali

Pardada Pardadi Educational Society

Pardada Pardadi Educational Society (PPES) is an organization that is committed to helping girls in rural India. The organization has created a school called the Pardada Pardadi Girls Vocational School which is a registered school in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Specifically, it’s located in the village of Anupshahar in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, one of the least-educated and least-literate sections of India. It is also one of India’s poorest and highest crime rate areas. PPES was founded in 2000 by Virender Singh and began with the aim of women empowerment. It now strives to improve the living standards of these girls through the use of academics, vocations, and health education. Starting with only 45 girls, it’s now a growing institution with 1100 girls, first generations from their communities.

The Pardada Pardadi Girls Vocational School (PPGVS) was established to achieve social and economic empowerment and independence in their students. PPES provides the girls with free education from grade school to high school. In addition, they provide uniforms, 3 meals a day, and bicycles for girls. The girls get paid ten rupees a day and in total they will earn 30000 rupees (approximately $670), vocational skills, and a second-degree education. In addition, PPES guarantees jobs for girls after they graduate. PPGVS has two components: academics and vocational work. PPES has a program titled “Rags to Pads,” which provides the girls with sanitary pads and hygiene products.

Each year, REAL has been donating more money in the form of grants each year. To date, REAL has donated over $25000.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, PPES started having online classes over WhatsApp and Zoom for their students. Some of the girls didn’t have access to electronic devices as their parents took their cell phones to work, so PPES had to take some classes offline. The teachers personally delivered notes and homework for the students to complete and continue learning!

– Archana Venigalla

How a library and solar study lamps are helping ‘light an ignited mind’ in rural Bihar

PRAYOG (Professional Alliance for Youth Growth), an organization in India is catering to the needs of children from lesser advantaged communities by filling the deficit of infrastructure, health and education facilities in villages. PRAYOG’s library platform is currently serving to more than 400 children in the remotest part of Gopalganj district of Bihar. This library is operated by a youth volunteer.

This is very impressive and an interesting read.

Read more at: http://www.thebetterindia.com/15864/library-rural-bihar-changing-lives-students-prayog-suryaprakashrai/

 

 

 

 

Celebrate International Literacy Day – Sept 8th

The theme of International Literacy Day 2014 is “Literacy and Sustainable Development”. Literacy is one of the key elements needed to promote sustainable development, as it empowers people so that they can make the right decisions in the areas of economic growth, social development and environmental integration.[…]

Tweet your support using #RightToLiteracy.
Although rates of illiteracy are dropping, the challenge remains: Some 781 million people around the globe are illiterate, according to UNESCO, and nearly two-thirds of this group are women. “The lowest literacy rates are observed in sub-Saharan Africa and in South and West Asia.”

Improving Girls’ Education and Status in India with Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save Daughters, Educate Daughters)

A girl whose parents work in a brick kiln is watched by her teacher as she reads from a blackboard in a class in an open air school at Krishnadevpur village, north of Kolkata, February 11, 2014. On July 17, a 6-year old girl was raped in an upscale […]

How Do Early Math Skills Impact Learning to Read?

A very interesting research on how math actually helps reading.

Have you ever heard somebody say “I was never good at math” or “I’m not a numbers person”? Some people think of themselves as either a numbers person or more language oriented.  But they probably would never think that knowing basic math skills actually helps them in reading and […]

Mobile Phones and Literacy in Rural Communities

A very interesting idea and though this article is a few years old, the idea is still very valid. The PDF presentation is very informative.

mobile learning while sitting Given their low costs and increasing ubiquity, even in very poor communities, much has been written about the potential for mobile phones to aid in the delivery of ‘anytime, anywhere’ education. But what might such educational practices look like in practice? The MILLEE project  ( […]

Illiteracy of youth in India

youth literacy rate in India, infographic on literacy of youth in India, literacy data infographic

Please share this infographic on your site by copying and pasting the code below