Covid - 19, March 2020, The World came to a halt.
The colleges went on a break for a week which has eventually not ended till date. Grey clouds of fear took over the World. People were asked to not leave their homes, not meet their friends & family, not go to schools, colleges or even for work. Everything was shut and with "social distancing" as the basic rule, we were introduced to this 'New Normal'.
But is everything really at halt for a longer time?...Not really. Everything has to move on, no matter what.
And thus, all of us were running again. No, not on the streets but on our phones. This new normal made us an innate part of our digital lives with everything happening online sitting at homes and this gave birth to the idea of Online Classes.
Project Kilkari had been working in collaboration with an NGO named Gyandeep Growth Foundation since long. The classes would earlier take place between the colourful walls at Green Park location where smiles were cherished and seeds of knowledge were sown in the young bright minds of the children there.
But then comes the pandemic which hindered the classes. Everything has a solution, it's just depend of our perspective and how we implement it. Thus, we decided to with these classes even in these unprecedented times because neither smiles nor knowledge should be stopped.
All the members of Gyandeep Growth Foundation as well we the team of CDF-Gargi were determined to continue the classes for the kids and this determination gave us the courage to stand strong against various challenges such as the children not having proper electrical devices, lack of internet availability etc. Gyandeep gave the children the phones through which the kids can study and we formed a team of motivated volunteers who were ready to teach these kids online.
The entire allotment process of the kids to the volunteers were done as per the varied schedules but a dedicated effort overtime never fails and this is what these hardworking volunteers and the kids have proved to us even in these unprecedented times.
With time and proper efforts from both the sides, today, after 4 months of running online classes, Project Kilkari has established a proper structure to conduct the classes. The classes go through various online platforms as per the need and the convenience of the kids and volunteers under the supervision of Gyandeep's core team. Today, we can proudly claim that we have been teaching around 60 students effectively through one-on-one online teaching methods and the results of it has been excellent.
It's not just the academics of the students that is being focused, our target is the overall development of the kid. And for this purpose we have been conducting various online activities and competitions which gives the kids an opportunity to show and sharpen their skills.
Also, we recently collaborated with Ms. Priyanka Shankar, a Counselling Psychologist and Soft Skills Trainer to conduct an insightful and fun session on 'Growing through Adolescence' for the students.
This experience of online teaching has been extremely overwhelming and enriching for all the volunteers. Well, what is better than doing such an act of kindness and with such effectiveness even is such hard times?...A true sense of satisfaction indeed.
The students also enjoy these classes and have formed beautiful bonds with the volunteers.
Here's to learning and growing together!
-Areez Haque and Simran Puri
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