Asha Chennai

After the schools reopened in Feb 2022, we repainted the blackboards at all our supported schools in March 2022.

Asha has been taking Asha Kanini to all the government schools in Thiruvallur with support from IITM Pravartak Asha Kanini. IITM has released a coffee table book on the social impact of IITMs various initiatives. This has featured our Asha Kanini effort as well.

With support from IITM Pravartak Asha Kanini has been enhance in many ways and taken to all the government schools in Thiruvallur. Here is an annual report that covers the work done in the project from April 2021 to March 2022.

Asha Chennai in partnership with IITM Pravartak launche Rural Technology Centres to reach technology to rural children without access to technology in the 9th to 12th standard.

On Feb 4th 2022, Asha Chennai and Pravartak inaugurated two RTCs on Feb 4th. IITM handled the press release and it received very good press coverage.

On Feb 4th 2022, Asha Chennai and Pravartak inaugurated two RTCs at Kanakamma Chathram and Seethanjeri, two villages in Thiruvallur District.

At Thiruvallur, Asha Chennai conducted training session for all our computer teachers. Teachers from UP, Thoothukudi, and Villupuram/Thiruvannamalai attended the three day training.

Rotary Club of Thiruvallur organised flood relief for 300 disadvantages families in remote areas of Poondi block of Thiruvallur Dist with help from Muthoot Finance. Asha also assisted in the work.

During Covid NGOs like Asha needed to reskill our staff and refocus our activities. The Hindu covered our response to the Covid situation as an organisation in an article on Dec 29th in the national edition.

With the schools reopening on Nov 1st, our regular work with schools have started. Computer teachers are once again going to their schools. Asha Kanini trainers have started the new project of training all government school teachers in Thiruvallur District.

This report is written by Rajaraman Krishnan, Asha Chennai Coordinator. With the school reopening in Tamilnadu on Nov 1st, many of our mini-schools wound down. Some mini-schools are still continuing thanks to the passion of these teachers. Nutrition support through Project Arogyam is also continuing in 6 schools.

This report is written by Rajaraman Krishnan, Asha Chennai Coordinator. Oral assessments were once again conducted at our mini-schools just before they close in October 2021.

Mini-schools closed down as the regular schools once again resumed on Nov 1st 2021. We conducted a series of interviews with teachers and students from mini-schools to document the work of these mini-schools.

Our volunteer Rajaram visited the mini-schools and libraries run under Project Thulasi on Sept 3rd and 4th.

Project Arogyam continues to provide nutrition for children in 16 of our mini-schools spread across our Sangamam, Pearl and Thulasi schools.

Stationery items were distributed to all our mini-school children in June/July of 2021. They were procured at each project and distributed to all the mini-schools. The notebooks given were dependent on the class of the chidlren

Rajaram visited most of the mini-schools running under Project Sangamam during mutliple trips in June-July 2021. He was also accompanied by our Maths trainer and Science content expert during these trips.

Asha once again started our mini-schools after the extended summer closure due to the second wave of Covid. The first mini-schools once again started in mid June 2021 and by end of July most of the 60+ mini-schools have opened again.

Academic Year 2020-21 was a complete wash-out. The schools remained closed the entire year. Asha’s Mini-schools could continue the education for 1800 students the whole year. It was a year of struggles and innovation in our mini-school. Read our detailed report for all the information.

The teacher reports are all here: Ariyappkam – Thenmozhi Elanthapatti – saraswathidevi Kamagaram – Nithya Kannigaipair – Santhameena Nandhimangalam – Ramya Nandhivaram – Philomena Old Panapakkam – Kumari Old Thirupachur – Iswarya Pandur – Rajkumari Thirukovilur – Sathya TV Pet – Jayalakshmi

Asha Chennai conducted oral assessments at all the mini-schools we were running in Nov 2020 with specific goal of understanding the effectiveness of our mini-schools in stopping the slide in education.

Rajaram, the steward for Project Sangamam visited mini-schools in mid-April. Here is a detailed report about our mini-school at Pondhavakkam which he visited.

John Crane funds Pravartak, a Section 8 company launched by IIT Madras to take Asha Kanini to all schools in Thiruvallur District.

Our coordinator Rajaraman wrote an article on school closures that was published by The Hindu Open Page.

ACSYS Investments has chosen to fund Project Poorna Vidhya as part of their CSR initiative.

Rajaram visited more Sangamam mini-school in Thiruvallur and also the Poorna Vidhya mini-schools in Guduvancheri in Dec 2020. Our Maths trainer Mrs. Meena Suresh also accompanied him in visiting some of the mini-schools.

Two of Asha Chennai’s volunteers Bhaskar and Rajaram visited the Project Pearl mini-schools and libraries on November 19th and 20th.

Core Solution Inc. donated 12 computers to Asha to be given to deserving students. The computers were donated on 23rd Nov to students in desperate need of a computer because of the remote classes during these pandemic times.

The Hindu wrote a detailed article on Asha Chennai’s mini-schools.

With several restrictions placed on government schools, they are not able to open to children. Further teaching through video conference is not a possibility in these schools. Asha Chennai has created contents for continuing the education under these restrictions.