A Bl-ANNUAL NEWSLETTER
Volume 2, Issue I September 2007
   
From the executive director’s desk…  
The recent survey conducted by ISF on status of girls’ education in Delhi, found that while there was demand for girls’ education among the urban communities, the number of girls enrolled in schools was less than boys. Further probing revealed some of the reasons for this disparity. The problems were related to mindsets of the parents, the necessity for someone to help with the housework and sibling care, infrastructural facilities at schools, distance of schools from homes and some other systemic problems at the school level.
ISF has therefore adopted some strategies of targeted interventions to improve access and retention of girls in schools. These include: (a) support through remedial centers to help tutor and mentor the girls to keep abreast and continue in school. (b) day care facilities for the younger siblings.
The campaign for ‘Girls Going to School’ is currently being implemented with partner NGOs in five districts of Delhi. The main objective of the programme is to ensure a minimum of 5 years primary education for all the girls in the programme. A solid basic education will help them leap ahead.
     
  ‘Girls Going to School’ Campaign - Activities  
     
 
ISF organised an evening of rich Indian music on 6th April at the Sathya Sai International Centre. India’s premier fusion band, Indian Ocean, performed in a fund raising initiative for the campaign for girl-child education.
 
For their consistent support, ISF is grateful to its esteemed sponsors - HCL Technologies Ltd., Aricent, Cyber Media India Ltd., Genpact, Hexaware Technologies Ltd., Mphasis BFL Ltd., Sasken, Infinity Technologies Investments Ltd., Zensar Foundation, Hughes Escorts Communication Ltd. and to individual donors for their sponsorships for girls’ education.
 
 
 
Indian Ocean Adds Music to ‘Girls going to
School’ Campaign
 
To felicitate its partner NGOs for their dedication and commitment to the cause of the girl child, ISF was honored by the attendance of some of its sponsors-
Mr. Saurabh Adhikari from HCL, Mr. Jayaram Easwaran from Aricent, Mr. Anil Shrikhande from Boeing,
Mr. Vishnu Dussad from Nucleus Software and
Mr. Mohit Goyal from Scicom.
ISF hopes to see more of its sponsors and donors the next time
   
   
IN THIS
ISSUE……..
P1 Girls Going to School Campaign
 P4 Success Stories
P2 Nurturing Educational Dreams
 P5 ISF’s Other On-Going Project
P3 ISF Survey Report 2007 P6 Global Corporate Leaders at ISF
   
Remedial Centers Nurture Educational Dreams of Many Girls
Enrollment, Retention and Achievement– Our 3 point action strategy
In 9 slum areas of Delhi ISF supports
• 30 Remedial Centers (REC)
benefitting
• 1111 Girls enrolled in MCD schools
    through admission drives.
The focus of these centers is not just to retain girls in schools but also to nurture academic excel lence.

Girls, especially first generation learners are encouraged and assisted at RECs through monthly tests, home visits, PTA meetings, visits to government schools and community meetings. Periodic workshops are conducted to build the competencies of the teachers for imparting improved quality.
 
 
   
Remedial centers make a difference
     
Patparganj REC
• 8 girls were class rank holders
• 3 girls were class toppers
Shakurpur and
Pitampura REC
• 250 girls attending
• 249 passed with
exceptional grades
   
Early Childhood Care and Development Center - a step ahead
 
ECCD center set up at Tughalakabad to further the cause of women and child development
Preparing them for school
ECCD centers provide
· Sibling care relief that enables girls to attend school
· Pre-school facilities for the younger siblings
· Nutrition and health care.
· Easier enrollment into MCD primary schools.
· Training to mothers in childhood care, healthcare and nutrition.
· Help children to better adjust to the school curriculum and environment.
  Training/ Workshops were conducted by SARD and Sesame to give the teachers a better understanding of the teaching-learning process, pedagogies, use and formation of teaching-learning aids for all subjects, the play -way method of teaching and the basic concepts of education.
   
Achievements :
36 children have been mainstreamed in MCD primary school.
20 additional children are ready to be mainstreamed in class 1		  
Status of Girls’ Education in Delhi Slums - ISF’s 2007 Survey Findings Bring
Out Disparities in Education
 
Reality Check
Some findings of the survey was conducted in 32 MCD primary schools in the project area :
• 4346 children of 7 primary schools do not have access to electricity.
• 5651 children in 10 primary schools do not have the facility of drinking water.
• 4019 students in 5 primary schools do not have access to toilets within the school campus.
• In some schools the teacher student ratio is as high as 92 students per teacher, leading to over burdened infrastructure.
 
Survey Highlights-Indian Express, 2nd April 2007
• Number of girls enrolled is less than boys.
• Number of girls in the never attended category is higher than boys but school dropouts are less.
• Apart from poverty – other reasons for child illiteracy and school drop-out are – migration, lack of interest in studies, child labour, gender bias.
• Taking care of younger siblings and unsafe routes also discourage girls from attending school.
   
 
ISF and its NGO partners undertook a comprehensive survey of 10 underprivileged areas of Delhi to understand the educational status of children, especially girls.

Survey Covered
- 10 targeted campaign locations
- 18,414 households
- children aged 6-14 years
 
Presenting the survey findings at the Stakeholder workshop in New Delhi on 7th March organized on Rights and Realities of girl education in India.
Survey Report 2007 at www.indiasponsor.org
Children Spread the Message of Girl Child Education through Theater
11-30 June: Theater workshops conducted by 3 theater groups-Nectar foundation of India, Jamghat and I-entertainment.
Working closely with children from ISF’s 8 campaign locations, the 18-day workshop centered around girl-child education and the children were actively involved in discussions and dialogues about issues concerning them.
Boys and girls worked together enabling the boys, in particular, to better understand the problem of gender disparity in education. Children from the theater workshop have formed a core theater group and are staging street plays to spread awareness in their communities.
Teachers’ Training Workshop
  A behind the desk experience of teaching through a child’s perspective  
 
ISF organized a 5-day teachers’ training workshop, conducted by Society for All Round Development .
Attended by 45 teachers from 10 NGOs in Delhi (including 7 ISF’s partner NGOs).
• Aimed to enhance teacher capacities and instill a student centric and holistic approach to teaching through a teacher-student relationship.
• The focal areas of the training dealt with basic concepts of education, pedagogical aspects of Maths, Hindi and the knowledge of Management Information System for documentation and data collection to streamline records
 
Creating teaching aids for joyful learning
 
The Teaching Learning Material would prove very beneficial in teaching the students. These visual aids will help children learn in a playful way, without losing interest in the subjects.
— Ms Krishna from RASTA in Patparganj
 
 
The training gave us the confidence to face an audience and brought out our latent potentials by giving us positive feedback and encouragement.
Ms Sadhna Thakur from Kalyanam in Sangam Vihar
 
Admission Drive Commences : get-set-go!
Time again for the campaign
admission drives
April to August…It’s that time of the year when ISF and
it’s NGO partners gear up for the admission drives.
• Information dispensed though distribution of pamphlets, rallies and theater performances by children.
• Parents sensitized towards the cause of educating the girl child.
• Admission booths and camps set up to guide parents about the admission process.
• Interface between school authorities and parents through camps.
This year the admission to the secondary level required online registration. A special focus of the drive was to provide information regarding cyber cafes, convenient admission centers and contact details of NGOs in their respective localities for easier accessibility to facilitate the process.
 
Success Stories-Education Instills Positive Attitudinal Change in Parents
Aarti, was denied re-admission in the school she had been attending because she did not return from her village in time for the admissions.

After the intervention and efforts made by RASTA- a partner NGO of ISF in Patparganj, Aarti was not only
admitted but appeared for the examination achieving 3rd position in her class with 76% marks.
Her hard work has made her teachers proud and has helped her parents understand the importance of education.
Jahan Ara the eldest amongst her 5 siblings was admitted to class 1 of the MCD primary school, H block, Shakurpur
with the intervention of ISF’s NGO partner- Bhartiya Navdeep Samiti.
The crash course offered by the ISF supported remedial center and constant follow up in the form of monthly tests and home visits helped her secure 91.3% in her class.
Jahan Ara is now an inspiration for her other siblings and a motivation for her parents to educate their other children.
ISF’s Other On-going Projects
Saral Shiksha - Munirka Project Brings Education to Slum Children
Saral Shiksha Project in
Munirka

ISF-Vidya partnership
supported by Children’s
Hope, USA
• Provides holistic approach in educating, empowering and mainstreaming non school going and school going children through remedial education, life skills training and computer education.
• Helps in school retention and empowerment of the children, especially girls.
 
The ‘Girls Going to School’ campaign at Munirka in June 2006
Achievements
• 60 children admitted into MCD schools-32 are girls.

 •

 Marked Improvement in attendance and retention in school.
 • Increased enrollment : 2006-2007 : 362
2005-2006 : 296
 • Mainstreamed children: 2006-2007 : 132
2005-2006 : 89
 • Improved awareness in community on dates and process of school admissions.
     
Moving Ahead with IT- The Big IT Leap
Harola Computer Center
The Harola computer center run by ISF with the assistance of Llyods Bank, U.K.
  • Provides learning through fun, interactive and innovative methods using Microsoft applications like Word, Power-Point, Excel.
    		•
  • Enables students to learn Math, English, History, Geography and General Knowledge.
    		•
       
    SPOWAC (Society for Promotion of Women
    and Child Welfare)
     • I–Tech computer center started in Sept 2005 with the support from Boeing International, and now supported by ISF.
     • Provides computer exposure through user friendly, innovative & enjoyable methods to hundreds of students who have no opportunity to become computer literate.
     • Many women and young girls successfully placed as computer professionals.
    Ms Kiran, joined I-tech, after class 10th. She now works as a Data Entry Operator, earning Rs– 5000/month.
    Computer Center at Munirka
    Computer center at Munirka, under
    the Saral Shiksha program helps-
  • Identify leaders and build capacities.
  • Instill confidence in the students.
  • Place students successfully in organizations like Airtel, Computer Touch, Computer Software Private Limited and various NGOs and cyber cafés.
    		•
     
    SAYA
    (Social Action With Your Assistance)
    SAYA (Social Action With Your Assistance)

    1) Computer project at SAYA
    Develop computer literacy and skills among adolescentgirls of Janta Mazdoor Colony, East Delhi.
    53 girls successfully completed the training; 8 employed in nearby schools.

    2) Som Dutt Foundation’s Mobile Computer Education project at SAYA
    A mobile van equipped with 16 computer systems imparted computer literacy to children.
    16 children enrolled in the project for job oriented courses in computer application.
    		 
    NASSCOM FOUNDATION –Keeping pace with the IT revolution, ISF entered into partnership with the NASSCOM Foundation in June 2007 for spreading the use of ICT in education.
    Educational ICT provided by NASSCOM will be distributed by ISF to its partner NGOs to improve the quality of education and learning of children.    		  
    Discover the other side of the world’s corporate leaders
    as they go on a Leaders’ Quest.
    Donation Information

    ISF is a not-for-profit Organization
    and all donations are exempt under the 80-G section of the Income Tax Exemption Act of 1961.
    Please make cheques payable to
    “The India Sponsor Foundation”
    and send to the address mentioned below.
    PAN no. is a must for donors, if
    taxable.
    All foreign contribution shall be
    accepted under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act(FCRA) registration no. 231660414
    dated 28th November 2003

    The ISF Team

    Executive Directors-
    Amita Kumar
    Anuradha Gupta
    Lekha Srivastava

    Director-Operations
    Vineeta Sinha

    Chief Campaign Co-ordinator-
    GGS
    Pallavi Upadhyaya

    Project Co-ordinators
    Kanika Pandit
    Sameen Adeeb
    Shivani Prasad

    Admin Support
    Jogender Bansal

    Volunteers
    Vatsala Khurana
    Neha Bhatia
    Ruchir Jain
    Ankur Aggarwal

    Contact us at:
    The India Sponsor Foundation
    301-302, Third Floor,
    Delhi Blue Apartments,
    Near Safdarjung Hospital, Ring Road,
    New Dlehi 110029

    Telephones :
    +91-011-46019601, 41628566

    Telephones :
    +91-011-41628863

    Website
    www.indiasponsor.org
    Email:
    info@indiasponsor.org
    vineeta@indiasponsor.org
    pallavi@indiasponsor.org
     
    “I am still recovering
    from a very emotional experience last
    week when I was in India. I am very pleased to come to know your organization and admire
    the work you do for the community.”
    Paul Chau Russell Reynolds Hong Kong
    		  Leaders’ Quest is an international organization committed to connecting and developing leaders around the world. Leaders from major multinationals, corporates, entrepreneurs and investors from legal financial and other sectors go on a quest to share their experiences and learn about key issues and challenges faced by a world very different from their own. A few corporate groups visited ISF which enabled an interaction with the leaders across the globe, who took time out to visit and understand the concerns and realities of under privileged communities.
    They were introduced to slum communities in Tughlakabad, Sangam Vihar, Okhla and Munirka.
    ISF is grateful to the Leaders’ Quest and its participating corporates for their genuine interest to learn about our cause and also for their generous support to 10 Remedial Education Centers for girls.
    Community visit by some prestigious corporate groups of Leaders’ Quest-
    Russell Reynolds, Media Trust, Institute of
    Family Business, William Grant & Sons Ltd.,
    C Hoare& Co, Sara (London) Ltd., Pentland
    Group Plc. The Listening Company.
    The campaign is conceived as a participatory one and welcomes collaboration from other organizations working on gender issues.
    We would like to extend a warm welcome to
    our new partners : SARD– S-WEST DELHI,
    SAVERA-EAST DELHI, NIPUN-WEST DELHI
    COMMUNITY PARTNERS
    BNS RASTA SPOWAC
    Vidya Sakshi Kalyanam
    VVF SAYA Navjyoti India
    Integrate Life Skills Program
    into ISF’’s Girl Child initiative.
    Agreement with the local Govt. for establishing 5 Child Resource centers in their Primary Schools in collaboration with SARD
    Focus on advocacy and working jointly
    with government departments and other stakeholders.
    Capacity building through Trainings and Documentation for long term sustainability of the NGOs.
    If you wish to express an opinion, please write to us at info@indiasponsor.org or ggs.campaign@gmail.com
    Introduction of Management Information
    System to streamline processes.
    ‘Get involved’ - We invite your Support in our campaign for educating the girl child.

    Cost of supporting a Girl Child:
    Rs. 3,300/- p.a (includes awareness, education and health)

    To know more about the campaign visit www.indiasponsor.org
     
    Impact assessment of the teachers training workshop and needs analysis for future trainings.