Like most other sectors, the education sector has been trying to figure out its role in the world right now. If ever there would be a time to see the impact and the power of partnership, change-making and student leadership - it is now.
Here are some stories where kids and educators have stepped forward and worked to help the people within their ecosystem - house, community, organization or city.
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Learn with kids!
While we are all supporting each other through this lockdown, here are some virtual spaces we are hosting that you can engage with so we can continue creating safe spaces for our kids and educators, build partnerships between kids and educators and enable kids to be changemakers.
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A virtual space for kids to come together and engage in meaningful discussions related to community, leadership, and ways to deepen their own projects as a means to build the 8Cs.
Where?
Zoom Meetings
When?
4 PM to 5 PM
Every 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month
How to sign-up as a participant (Kids)?
How to sign-up as a facilitator (Educators)?
Send an e-mail to Shivani Patekar at
shivani.patekar@teachforindia.org
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A series of Instagram Live sessions which will be a space for anyone to learn new skills from our KER Revolutionaries on various topics.
Where?
Facebook Live
When?
6 PM to 7 PM
Every alternate Friday
How to become a facilitator (Kids)?
Send an e-mail to us shounak.pande@teachforindia.org
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A series of Instagram Live sessions where kids hold a safe space for each other to express themselves through art or any other form they'd like.
Where?
Instagram Live
When?
6 PM to 6:30 PM
Every alternate Friday
How to sign-up as a performer?
To know more about the above programs, participate or host a session, please get in touch with Shivani Patekar at shivani.patekar@teachforindia.org.
Kids help their community in Hyderabad
Bk Priyanka from 8th class in GHS NBT Nagar-Banjara Hills, Hyderabad was discussing with her Teach For India Fellow about the problems people are facing in the community. She immediately volunteered to be the point of contact for helping the city team of Teach For India (Hyderabad) to distribute rations to their kids and their families. She also formed a team of fellow students consisting of A Priyanka, Nagarjuna and Jaykrishna who could help her in the execution of this mammoth task.
She made a list of all the families in her community that required support and guided them by either connecting them to the ration shops if they had ration cards and were from Telangana, or she reached out to NGOs if they were from other states.
A Priyanka reached out to 'ISHA Foundation' and after multiple conversations, was able to provide meals to approximately 80 households. Upon surveying people who need ration and analyzing their conditions, the team collaborated with 'Isha Foundation' and 'We Can Make A Change Foundation' to distribute ration to 55 families on 30th April 2020!
dHive Labs enables kids to be changemakers
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Kids from a dHive Labs community centre at Lobhi, Maharashtra developed a low-cost handheld battery powered
UV-C sterilizer that is rechargeable, is made with easily available materials, and it effectively sterilizes surfaces by
emitting UV radiations.
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On 27th April 2020, dHive Labs hosted a hackathon in collaboration with KER's Kids Exchange, a virtual learning space for kids. Through this session, dHive Lab's Sowmya hosted a hackathon that aimed to teach kids how to take their ideas to the implementation stage . They learned how to turn an idea into a prototype that can tried and tested, and how they can measure the impact of any of their solutions.
Kids from Reap Benefit mobilize citizens
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Within 48 hours of the announcement of the lockdown in India, Reap Benefit launched a basic version of the 'Neighbourhood Dashboard' which has by now impacted more than 1.2 lakh people in 100 cities, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Nagpur, Hyderabad etc.
The Neighbourhood Dashboard by Reap Benefit is a platform to navigate to the nearest medical or grocery stores,
avail relief resources, and even refer it to a needy person . You can even volunteer to help out by contributing to the
platform by providing information on the aforementioned.
Shivani, Vibish and Taanika, are KER Revolutionaries who work with Reap Benefit. They have been helping Reap Benefit with collecting more data on helping centres and other essential services, mobilizing volunteers to gather more information on the people in need who need to reach the nearest helping center. They are also working with the volunteers to help them build a lens of community problem solving and to plan for their next steps when the national lockdown is lifted. On the other hand, these three students along with two other students - Munira and Namya, have also been virtually teaching students from various grades from a school in Raipur.
Saumya says it's okay to feel what you feel
Saumya Shinde, a KER Revolutionary 2020, performed in KER's first virtual KER Chronicles where she recited a beautiful poem titled, 'Quarantined but not confined' where she spoke about the journey of emotions she has experienced since the beginning of this lockdown. Through this poem she also wishes to reach out to as many people as possible who must be feeling the same way.
Quarantined but not confined
-Saumya Shinde
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Quarantined but not confined.
This statement resounds in our mind and we can't help but wonder: are we the superior beings we thought to
be?
Forced to stay at home.
Don't move. Don't meet. Don't touch.
The very essence of our existence: the human connection, banned.
But then we realise that we are not really the superior beings we thought to be.
Quarantined but not confined.
This statement resounds in our mind and we can't help but wonder is everyone else doing fine?
We worry about the essential workers,
We can feel the weight of responsibility of the medical heroes pushing us down.
I am soaked in my privilege,
and my heart aches to seek out those who in these times can barely thrive.
But then we realise that not everyone is doing fine.
Quarantined but not confined
This statement resounds in our mind and we can't help but wonder when will this all end?
When will things go back to normal?
Because this unknown uncertainty sits like a cramped muscle in our spine.
I feel numb with all the confusion. I feel anxious with all the fear.
We need to allow ourselves to feel. We need to allow ourselves to catch on. We need to to allow ourselves to be.
But then we realise that it might not end very soon.
Quarantined but not confined
This statement resounds in our mind and we can't help but wonder are we viling away our time?
Not being productive and lazing around scares us now.
Am I not being grateful enough?
Am I not jumping onto this bandwagon of opportunity?
But then again, is this time meant for us to come out as a polished 2.0 version of ourselves?
Or is this the time for us to all be united as humanity and try to come out of this global pandemic together, unscathed.
And then we realise, quarantined but not confined is not for our body.
It's for our mind.
For really, it's not restricted by any external forces.
As they say it's not confined.
What is not confined
Is our prayers,our wishes and our hopes.
Is us checking in with our loved ones.
Is us extending a helping hand to those less fortunate.
Is you finally, and maybe in a long time, for the first time, checking in with yourself.
And you realise that your worth is not decided by you being productive...
You are alive, you are healthy and you are safe.
You are worthy.
You are doing your best.
This is enough.
You are enough.
She feels that people need to accept the way they are feeling and its okay to feel that way. There are many people who are experiencing anxiety, sadness and depression as they are surrounded by various examples of people who are being productive during this crisis, but this does not mean everyone needs to be productive. She believes that this 'hustle culture' is toxic in nature and that we need to redefine what productivity means during a pandemic. A lot of these emotions are also triggered by the constant badgering of statistics and bad news by the news channels on our TV screens. She feels that we would all benefit if we can give ourselves a break to relax, reach out to people who have the mental bandwidth to listen and spend time with our loved ones!