Mentor India Pilot Phase Finale: Vilas Nayak Inspires All
Six sessions spanned across six weeks, and the pilot of Mentor India came to a successful closure. Oh, what a month it has been! Weekends were spent traveling to the beautiful Chikkarasinakere village from Bangalore, and the weekdays were spent juggling between our day jobs and Mentor India preps!
The day after our last session, the headmaster and the villagers got together to host a program to raise awareness regarding the qualities needed to succeed in life. It was an attempt to paint a picture of the world that’s waiting for the young minds of the village to explore, enjoy and payback.
We wanted to make this event special for our kids and villagers. Like we’ve told you all before, we’ve been incorporating the stories published on knowYourStar.com to inspire our students; one of them being the story of Vilas Nayak. How cool would it be if we could get Vilas Nayak – the brand ambassador of Mentor India, to come and perform live for the kids!
When the plan was pitched to Vilas, he heartily agreed to it!
So on 28th February, 2016, the programme began with melodious songs and graceful dances. Thought-provoking words were spoken by Shri Vasudhendhra, who is known for his Kannada short stories. This was followed by the performance that all the kids had been waiting for.
Vilas unfolded the colourful magic on his canvas. The first was based on Yakshagana, a popular dance form in Karnataka. The second one was more patriotic, and was painted upside down. When he revealed the final painting by dramatically turning the canvas upside down, the cheers drowned every other noise in the arena!
Vilas narrated his personal story of his journey from a rural shy boy to a famous confident artist, while the kids looked at him with awe and wonder. We showed them a dream when we taught them about Vilas, and then he came to the school in person, and the kids’ dream came true! They watched their star perform live in their school. The joy on the faces of the students and the Mentor India teachers was one to behold. The students rejoiced for having seen their idol, while the Mentor India teachers were happy to see the happiness on the faces of these kids!
With the end of the pilot, if you ask us what we set out to do, and what we actually did?
We’ll say that we started off with an intention to motivate and educate these young jewels of India. We wanted to eliminate stage fear and instill a sense of confidence in each individual. We taught them that it was okay to make mistakes, as long as you don’t stop trying. We taught them how to face every challenge with a steady voice and excellent body language, come what may!
We exposed them to the various career paths one can choose from, and broadened the scope of their future. At the same time, we couldn’t stop ourselves from emphasizing on the importance of returning to their roots, their villages, and paying it back to the society.
We used the best tricks up our sleeves to make spoken English easier for the students through various fun and innovative methods, which included incorporating charting, music, street-play, kabaddi and dumb charades in our curriculum! When we compared our week 1 video to our week 6 one, the difference in the over-all approach of every student had a stark difference. Nothing could have made us, at Mentor India, happier than that.
We left the kids with a heavy heart, as they bid us goodbye. But we waved back with the promise to be back after their exams to meet them again! Meanwhile, for Team KYS, our challenges have grown three-fold. We’re dreaming of building a top-notch open source curriculum in the form of comics, so this education is not limited to a few schools and regions. Our aim is to upskill rural India, and we need you support. Every penny counts, and the clock is ticking.
So if you want to be a part of this noble cause, help us help them. Feel free to contact us for further information!
