31 May Parahu – “Let’s Study”
“Creating a child-friendly Learning Centre in Nepal“
PROJECT SUMMARY: Dhanushadham lies in the southern belt of Nepal. 18 kms from Janakpur of Province No. 2, Dhanushadham is accessible by road, yet, the living condition of population residing in the area is poverty-stricken. The Musahar population in Dhanushadham is the most vulnerable and marginalized in terms of access to resources. In a Musahar community at Govindpur rural municipality of Dhanusha district in Nepal, a learning center houses 280 children of the community. These children travel every day to the learning center in a pursuit to learn from the 4 facilitators who are members of the same community. Project Parahu is an initiation of SAATH to engage with the children and the facilitators of the Musahar community. Parahu in Maithili means “Let’s Study”. The capacity-building project aims to support the educational outcomes of the children all the while supporting the facilitators through training and workshops. We wish to educationally empower and encourage children to build their capacities out of school and support the facilitators.
OBJECTIVES
To facilitate the children’s learning levels and outcomes through literacy classes and workshops
To support the capacity of the facilitators in the learning center through teacher’s training and capacity-building workshops.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
Diagnostic Test for the children: To understand the learning levels of the children coming to the learning center, we will be conducting a diagnostic test for each child and cater to their needs accordingly.
Numeracy and Literacy Classes: Numeracy and Literacy classes for the children by the facilitators will be conducted every day where the children will be supported to learn letters, words, sentences, reading, and storytelling to begin with.
Stationery for the children: The children coming to the learning center will receive a monthly supply of stationery as motivation and encouragement.
Facilitators Remuneration: The three facilitators will be remunerated with a basic stipend as motivation and reward for their hard work on a monthly basis. At present, we have a total of 3 facilitators. We wish to increase the pool of facilitators for the number of children is increasing with passing days.
Teacher’s Training: One of the most important aspects of the project is to provide support to the facilitators. In this process, teacher training will be periodically provided to them to support their learning and update them with skills and knowledge applicable while teaching.
Capacity-building Workshop: The facilitator will receive TOT on capacity building to work with selected groups of children in the learning center. The capacity-building workshops is aimed at improving the leadership, communication, and critical thinking skills of the children who showcase an extra zeal to learn and work towards supporting other children in the community.
Refresher Training: The training activity of Parahu will not be a one-off activity. The facilitators pool will gradually increase and capacity-building workshops for them will be periodically provided. Once the teacher’s training completes, refresher training will be provided to the facilitators to add on to their already present knowledge and skills and support them unlearn and learn again.
Extracurricular Activities: In order to engage the children attending the learning center, the facilitators have been engaging them in extracurricular activities. To give continuity to the same, we wish to support the engagement of children in dancing, sports, art and crafts, student engagement with the community and local government, and volunteering activities to support their continuous growth and development outside of the classrooms and schools.
