Our Projects

Education & Early Childhood Development

Early Childhood Development
Remedial Classes
School
Library and Information Centre
Sports and Extra-Curricular Activities

Education is a core theme in NANAK’s work. Our projects, trainings and workshops look into early childhood development, adult literacy, and remedial education particularly for students from under-privileged backgrounds, information access, knowledge sharing, etc.

“Children are the foundation of sustainable development. The early years of life are crucial not only for individual health and physical development, but also for cognitive and social-emotional development. Events in the first few years of life are formative and play a vital role in building human capital, breaking the cycle of poverty, promoting economic productivity, and eliminating social disparities and inequities.” – UNICEF

In several parts of the country, children need home-tutoring and personalized attention. Many, especially those from socio-economically backward sections of society cannot afford this. To support such children in the studies, with an aim of making them more independent, NANAK runs remedial classes in several of its centres including Bishunpur, Majhui, and Deo.

We also recognize that in small places, particularly remote rural villages, education centres become community hubs. Our aim is to capitalize on this and this is why we seek to bring about positive behavioral change in an entire village community through a school. The primary school we have set up in Majhui, Bihar is a case in point. As described below, we have set up a Library and Information Centre at the school- open to the entire village community after school hours. We also regularly organize plantation drives, health drives, aware-ness campaigns, marches, etc at the school and workshops and training that are open to the entire village to attend.

1. Dr Radhika Raman Learning Center

Dr. Radhika Raman Public School started on 2^ndof April 2014 at Majhui village, registered under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, it aims to provide low cost and high quality holistic education and personal development to the children of Sasaram. The school was established by the joint effort of the Dr Radhika Raman Trust and the Network and Alliance for Non-Profit Activity and Knowledge (NANAK). Located at Majhui Village, the school is open to all sections of society and takes classes from Standard LKG-VI.

The school offers children in the area the following facilities, at a very nominal token fees-

Community Library and Information Centre: Through a partnership with READ India and Takshika Educational Society, a fully-equipped and technologically advanced Library and Information Centre has been set up within the school premises. The library includes a range of books on different subjects and for all age-groups, computers, tablets, internet, along with a trained librarian for support. Library periods are included in students timetables and all students are encouraged to form a habit of reading. After school hours, the Library and Information Centre is open to all people from Majhui and neighbouring villages.
Early Childhood Development Centre (ECD): The ECD provides a fun and active learning environment for children from LKG and UKG. It is a colourful learning space with educational toys and books , and is supported by an ECD instructor and facilitator trained in early childhood care and education. The ECD has been set up in collaboration with READ India.
Transport: Transport/linkages for all students from Majhui as well as neighbouring villages at a nominal cost.
Audio-Visual Classes: Innovative teaching and learning material and our classes are interactive with special focus on audio-visual learning through projector/computers. The school also shows educational movies to students and villagers every Saturday.
Computer training: All students have the opportunity to attend computer classes under the guidance of a trained teacher.
Extra-Curricular: Students are encouraged to explore and discover their creative passions. Timetables include lessons in music, dance, art, physical education, reading, etc. We also regularly hold events, competitions and marches/drives on social and environmental issues, for instance a tree plantation drive on World Environment day, special assemblies on Independence Day, etc.
Community cultural events: Cultural events for the entire village and school community. In the past these have included and International Women’s Day celebration, Teachers Day, Independence Day, etc.
Community awareness-generation programs: Community-awareness generation programs for the benefit of village residents. These include health camps, anti-alchoolism drives, hygiene workshops, educational workshops, awareness camps by Banks and government partners.
Exposure Visits for Students and Teachers: Meritorious children and children of senior classes, as well as teachers, are given opportunities to travel to other states and get leadership training/personality development training.
Support for Higher Education: Children connected to the school, including their siblings, are facilitated to enroll for higher education/technical education (such as engineering, medicine, etc) Scholarships are provided for need-based cases to make technical education affordable.

2. Support to Sheel Kunj Community School Moblie Creche and Learning Centre For Children Of Construction Workers

NANAK is supporting a mobile crèche for children of construction workers in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The centre gives a chance for children of construction workers to holistic development. Construction workers work long hours under physically stressful conditions, earn minimal wages, and are vulnerable to exploitation- this makes it difficult to devote time to their children, especially in their early childhood care. The first few years of the development of the child is very critical as it affects the physical and motor development of children.

NANAK is providing technical and gap-filling support through resource persons, experts, and learning aid to the project, with partner Sheel Kunj Community School. The centre has two teachers, one male and one female. So far 40 students have been given remedial education through this project.

3. Durgawati Learning Centre

The Durgawati Learning Centre is located in Kirpalpur village, Kaimur District, Bihar. Kirpalpur has a total population of about 840 (Census, 2011). NANAK opened the centre on 2^nd October 2015, with support from Taskhila Education Society (TES). The centre provides free-of-cost remedial classes for children in the area, currently over 117 children from socio-economically backward sections benefit from these classes. The centre also runs 6-month computer courses at a nominal cost. The centre currently has 8 computers and a trained computer teacher.

There is an ongoing demand from other students in the area to attend these remedial classes, and NANAK is exploring the option of hiring an additional trainer and running two sets of classes, contingent on resources.

4. Bishunpur Learning Centre

Bishnupur is a small village of approximately 800 people located in the outskirts (around one kilometer away) of the Majhui village in Sasaram, Bihar. The village predominantly comprises of people who are socio-economically backward (Census, 2011), nearly all from the OBC Bond caste. The majority of villagers survive on agriculture and livestock, with a few inhabitants also involved in the weaving industry. A section of the villagers are engaged in weaving, and supply carpets etc via middlemen. These villagers are not attached to any government weaving scheme, nor do they have registered ID card. Adding to the lack of education, there is a lack of awareness of basic entitlements and rights as well as government schemes.

There is a dire need in the village for good education as well as increasing connectivity to jobs in the formal sector.

Keeping this in mind, NANAK established the Bishunpur Learning Centre ( the only facility of its kind in the village) on 17 February 2014, which runs remedial classes for children in the area, and also has a library open to village residents for use. Classes run from Monday to Saturday from three to five ‘o’clock, and a majority of student are between the ages of three and ten. A trained teacher, who holds a Bachelors in Education conducts classes. A key component of the classes is moral and civic education, lessons in personal hygiene, and personality development. NANAK also placed a small library with coaching books for competitive exams.

5. Support to Savera Learning Centre for Children

NANAK supports the Savera Learning Centre in Delhi, which serves children from underprivileged background in Delhi. The centre has 41 children aged 8-14 years. NANAK also resolves to provide the centre with learning material and resources such as computer, books, training and workshops for teachers.

6. Support to Amrapali Community Library and Information Centre

NANAK contributes funds to a Community Library and Information Centre run by Amrapali Cultural Foundation in Delhi. The funds go towards buying books in higher education/organizing workshops on topics of social relevance/support to students for higher education. NANAK regularly conducts monitoring and evaluation trips to the centre, including one in January 2016.

Livelihood Development

6 month low- cost courses in : a) Computers b) Stitching, Tailoring and Merchandising c) Beauty and Wellness
Creating rural micro-enterprise models
Personality development workshops
English- speaking workshops
Workshops in interview skills and CV writing
Job fairs
Career counseling with recruiters

NANAK rural centres, as also the urban centre at Timarpur, provide courses in computer, beauty and wellness, and stitching, tailoring, and merchandising. These are 6-month courses that are primarily aimed at people from disadvantaged backgrounds. There is a focus on developing entrepreneurial skills and connecting trainees to jobs following the courses. Details of these centres are given below.

1. Vocational Training Ceter, Timarpur

In collaboration with TATA Power and PHD Family Welfare Foundation, NANAK set up a training centre with beautician classes and computer classes on 1^st January 2016. The centre has high-quality infrastructure with air conditioners, water coolers and eleven computers. The centre is particularly aimed at people from socio-economically backwards sections of the community. Upon completion of the courses, trainees get certified by the Jan Shiksha Sansthan, a Central Government certifying body. The certificate will help students raise their value in the job market. The centre has two trainers and a project coordinator, and runs 6-month certificate classes. The centre is running full classes with many aspiring trainees registering for the next set of classes later in the year. Currently, 80 trainees are enrolled in beauty and wellness training while 75 in computer classes. Classes also have a component on gender-sensitivity, English speaking, personality development, and connecting 70% of trainees to jobs.

The Centre also acts as a focal point in the area for NANAK to conduct awareness-raising programmes, job fairs, and training workshops. These focus on health, hygiene, personality-development, English speaking skills, awareness on social issues, etc. For instance, in partnership with the PHD Family Welfare Foundation, NANAK facilitated a health and hygiene camp attended by over 250 people at the centre in early January 2016.

2. Vocational Training center, Tikri Khurd

In collaboration with TATA Power Delhi Development Limited, NANAK set up a training centre with beautician, Stitching, Computer and Tutorial classes on 2^nd February 2020. The centre has high-quality infrastructure with air conditioners, water coolers and eleven computers. The centre is particularly aimed at people from socio-economically backwards sections of the community. Upon completion of the courses, trainees get certified by the National Skill Development Council, a Central Government certifying body. The certificate will help students raise their value in the job market. The centre has two trainers and a project coordinator, and runs 6-month certificate classes. The centre is running full classes with many aspiring trainees registering for the next set of classes later in the year. Currently, 60 trainees are enrolled in beauty wellness & Stitching training while 60 in computer classes & 75 in Tutorial classes. Classes also have a component on gender-sensitivity, English speaking, personality development, and connecting 70% of trainees to jobs.

3. Deo Women’s Empowerment Centre

The Deo Centre for Women’s Empowerment is being supported by NANAK since August 2015. It runs classes in stitching, tailoring and merchandising and beauty and wellness at a nominal cost. There is also an emphasis on the role of the centre in acting as a hub for women to gather, mobilise, share problems, escalate their issues to Panchayats and find strength in number.

Deo Centre has been fully equipped with necessary beauty and wellness and stitching, tailoring and merchandising equipment, and four computers.

The centre will be starting a community library and information centre along with an early childhood development centre, in partnership with READ India, at the end of March 2016.

Currently we run the center in collaboration with Jaquar Foundation.

4. Raipurchor Women’s Empowerment Centre

NANAK started the Raipuchor Women’s Empowerment Centre in Raipurchor village, Sasaram, Bihar in October 2015. The Centre aims at empowering women by helping them in becoming financially independent, and by facilitating the creation of women’s self-help-groups. The Centre provides 6-month courses in beautician training and stitching, tailoring, and merchandising.

NANAK has fully equipped and staffed the Centre, with support from PHD Family Welfare Foundation. Two trainers have been employed, one each in beauty and wellness and one for stitching, tailoring and merchandising. The Centre provides these training to women, particularly those from disadvantaged background, at a nominal fees. The trainers are actively trying to mobilise women in the area to come together and form self-help-groups. There is also an effort to promote self-sustaining micro-enterprise for women in local foodstuffs and other locally-produced handicrafts products. NANAK is also exploring ways to market clothing products from the stitching, tailoring and merchandising classes.

A key component of this project is also to build the capacity and leadership skills of women, so that they can better act as community leaders and bring gender issues to the forefront.

Community First

Strengthening Local Self-Governance

1. Increasing and Enhancing Female Political Participation in Panchayats – A Pilot Project in Siwan and Aurangabad

Panchayats or village councils are a historic phenomenon in South Asia. In India, political power has been devolved to the local level through the institutionalization

However, over time people the nature of Panchayats appears to be changing. A pertinent challenge is also the lack of female participation in Panchayats. Through an amendment in 1992, the 73^rd amendment, the Constitution stipulates that 50% of seats in Panchayats are reserved for women. While this has increased female members and heads, in reality most of these are proxy leaders.

NANAK, in partnership with Takshila Education Society launched the ‘Increasing and Enhancing Female Political Participation in Panchayats’ project in February 2016. This was preceded by two workshops organized through NFAC at Delhi and Patna where a number of civil society organisations and experts participated and shared their views. Based on the suggestions received a plan was developed to give focused attention in a campaign mode to awareness-raising on the subject and enhancing women’s participation.

Dr Chandra Shekhar Pran, who is an expert on Panchayats and is the founder of the Teesri Sarkar programme, is one of the leading resource persons for this project. The aim of the project is to increase and enhance effective female political participation in Panchayats. This will be done in three main ways: 1) Awareness-generation 2) Building capacity and leadership skills 3) Providing resource material

A systematic awareness-raising campaign is being conducted where information about the Constitutional structure, functions, and powers of Panchayats is being disseminated to villagers in the two districts. In conjunction with this, training in gender-sensitivity will be undertaken to bring about a change in patriarchal mentality that permeates into the political sphere and reflects in its power structure.

The process was kicked off in February through a mission visit to Siwan, Bihar for the purpose of holding a workshop with villagers on recognizing Panchayats as a “third government”, and also to conduct an initial baseline research and survey. At TES’s Parivartan complex, Dr Chandrashekhar Pran spoke to a gathering of local stakeholders, comprising panchayat heads, husbands of female panchayat heads, women opinion leaders, students, etc. belonging to the area. There was a strong demand amongst women for similar workshops in their own neighbouring villages, and the following day Dr Pran alongwith the President of TES Mr Sanjiv Kumar travelled to neighbouring villages to conduct similar workshops.

In order to initiate and build the project, NANAK has mobilized a resource team from Aurangabad and Patna comprising enterprising women opinion leaders and social workers. These women, along with NANAK’s Programme Associate and Programme Analyst attended and coordinated the trainings, and the first workshop in Aurangabad will be organized by NANAK in the end of March 2016.

2. Leadership and Capacity Building for Women’s Empowerment

As mentioned in the Livelihood Skills Development section( pg …) NANAK runs several women’s empowerment centre that provide skills training and act as a space for community mobilization. All of NANAK’s centres, projects, and campaigns have a component on strengthening gender equality- for instance, at all centres there are sessions and workshops on gender sensitivity. NANAK has also initiated multiple advocacy and information-generation campaigns in rural and urban areas on women’s empowerment, research and published knowledge products, as well as anchored knowledge sharing and dissemination events on the same.

The aspect related to the capacity development of women has been given a name called Sandarshika which literally means a ‘women who can navigate’ and a detailed illustration of this component is given below:

3. Sandarshika

NANAK’s programmee encourages women participation in skills development leading to livelihood generation but also inculcates leadership qualities and life skills in them. One of the first trainings undertaken under this programme was to guide women belonging to low socio-economic backgrounds to realize their dreams of self-reliance and financial independence by helping them benefit from skills development initiatives, which would ultimately brighten their chances of getting connected to income generating opportunities. Under the aegis of this project NANAK and Bird Academy (a premier training institute dealing in courses related to tourism and hospitality industry) entered into an understanding to customize a short duration course for carefully initiating a batch of raw youth into an untrodden arena. In the first phase of this programme, NANAK nominated 26 candidates from economically weaker sections and girls were drawn from LWE affected areas of Rohtas District and its adjacent areas in Bihar and also from vulnerable areas of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The first phase was spread over 17 days with intensive training sessions of 85 hours involving theory, practical, interactive sessions and exposure visits. The candidate selection was based on their willingness to learn special skills and knowledge associated with the trade, as well as education till Higher Secondary. The objective was to sharpen the skills of these beginners and to encourage them to move ahead by equipping them with skills to become industry- ready and get gainfully employed. The Delhi Police also organized special self-defense classes for the candidates which lent wholesomeness to the entire curriculum.

Well known resource persons were invited to brief the candidates on issues varying from self-helf-group formations to social media strategies to basics of camera handling.

Highlights:

A major breakthrough in sanitation has been convincing community members in and around Majhui to participate in the government programme of building toilets under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan.
NANAK Celebrated International Women’s Day on 8^th March 2015 at Majhui village. On that day, the Member of Parliament from the area, Mr Cheddi Paswan was the the chief guest. More than 2000 people from the community, including over 50% women and girls participated actively in the programme which saw demos of self-defense as also kabbaddi match of girls from Majhui village with girls who were invited to play from village Dawath.
Promoting Higher Education of Girls- The Director of SITYOG Institute of Techonology Aurangabad announced that with NANAK, they would sponsor 8 girls for engineering degrees at their university with complete/partial sponsorship.

4. Research Project with Policy Perspectives Foundation

CONVERGENCE

At the micro- level NANAK has several projects in rural and urban areas. However, at the macro-level, NANAK aims at affecting the development sector by institutionalizing the idea of convergence. (Read more on NANAK’s programme the National Forum for Action on Convergence here).