Mentor India Is Back! Join Us At Brindavan Tent School In The Heart Of Bangalore
Last year, as a part of our Mentor India initiative, Team KYS frequented rural areas around Bangalore. This time around, when someone introduced us to Brindavan Tent School in Vignan Nagar, which is right in the middle of this metropolitan city, we went to take a look. We were surprised and disheartened by how neglected this little school was.
The school has about 40 students, with students ranging from the 1st to 5th standard, all sitting together in the same room, being taught the same thing! The school is managed by Sarala Ma’am single-handedly, who is the only beacon of hope for these kids. From teaching to taking care of the logistics, funding, administration – she does it all. But how much can a single person achieve for a school without support?
This is where we are stepping in.
We have decided to adopt Brindavan Tent School for a year. We look forward to transforming the students of this 2-room school into confident, bright, smart and happy kids who are aware of their own potential. We plan to make the school premises a happier place, where students want to come and learn. Our intention is to make learning fun, interactive and rewarding.
In this regard, Team KYS paid its official first visit to the school a week ago with individual student assessment forms. We spent some quality time with each and every student and analysed where they stand in terms of learning. The results were very disappointing, to a point where we could not differentiate which student was in the 1st grade and who was in the 5th grade.
We Need Your Help!
That said, we are very excited to help these students attain their highest potential with the right teaching approach. We will start from scratch and keep updating you all with our progress. We will need a lot of volunteer support from you to give these kids what they really deserve. So, if you want to be a part of Mentor India at Brindavan Tent School in Vignan Nagar (Quite close to Indira Nagar and CV Raman Nagar), please register here.
Some of the students come from very weak economic backgrounds and could use some financial support as well. If you’re interested in contributing towards sponsoring these students, you can write to us at contact@knowyourstar.com.
Spreading The Word
This morning, we were pleasantly surprised when we woke up to the article (refer featured image) in the Bangalore Mirror. Our heartfelt thanks to Deepthi Sanjiv for always helping us spread the word about our work. This feature has motivated Team KYS very much, and we look forward to doing more fruitful work.
Here’s a small photo story of our first day at Tent School where we assessed the students:
When Nandini teaches a child, she sees in them a reflection of her childhood. She strives hard to give them the perfect guidance to blossom to their highest potential. When the kids engage with her, they are so happy, giggly and attentive!
When Jaideep teaches a child, he finds within himself a strong resolve to help them with no stones left unturned. If a kid says “I can’t”, he will go to all lengths and breadths till they find within themselves the confidence to say “I can and I will!”
Anjali does not know the regional language fluently and was worried on how to communicate well with the kids. By the end of our session, it turned out she was the most expressive teacher, who caught all the kids’ fancy with her actions and gestures. She made up for her lack of language strength with extraordinary connections!
Pranita says that when you engage with a kid, the teaching is never one sided. There is such a beautiful knowledge exchange. While you prepare them for the future, they remind you of the forgotten past. While you equip them with the tools to carve their own path, they help you unlearn your complexities and remind you of the simple truths of life.
Enjoyed reading about this? Then you might like to read Volunesia Comes A Complete Circle – Find Out How!
If there’s a story that needs to be told, we are ready to tell it. Write to us at contact@knowyourstar.com with your story lead, or contact us on Facebook or Twitter.
