Time to stop by...and say hello

Today we had an opportunity to play host to a most unexpected visitor, guess who stopped by...

Out of the 185 Visitors of the Center since the inauguration of Swajan Jagruti Kendra, there is one signature that all the villagers would immediately point out to is that of 'Amitabh Bacchan'. Yes the legendary film icon of Bollywood made his solemn entry here at our Center and the staff, women and school children were just too stunned for words as he politely asked one of the boys what did he learn today, he only replied after a complete one minute.

For the women at the sewing class this visit was an unexpected moment to cherish and perhaps a gift out of the bloom that they would talk about to their family the whole evening. This gives me an opportunity to share with you that our Sewing Class began on the 1st of March with 15 students who have enrolled for the class. The classes begin at 10.30am and they are taught for a complete two hours with complete curriculum to follow.

Orientation and Learning Exchange Programme

READ India organized an Orientation and Learning Exchange Programme for representatives for each Community Learning and Resource Center (CLRC) in India at their Head Office in Dwarka, Delhi from the 24th February to the 2nd March 2014.

It was indeed a good learning experience for me as I got to deepen my understanding of the CLRC functioning as we were just setting out on our journey since the inauguration of our Center - Swajan Jagruti Kendra.

The major Sessions have been:

v  ICT related Programmes – Radio and Video related programmes and trainings by Mr. Mahipal

v  Common Service Centers by Mr. Kamlesh

v  Distance Education as a sustainable programme by Dr. Mishra

v  Use of Solar Energy as a sustainable enterprise by Ms. Ekta Jaju of Switch On

v  Financial Management and FCRA Registration by Mr. Amit Singhal.

v  Learnings from other Centers by Ms. Geeta Malhotra

v  Trainings available in Phase 3 from READ India by Ms. Ruhi

v  Baseline Survey – Challenges from the field by Ms. Geeta Malhotra

v  Community Mobilization and Adult Training by Ms. Smita Sahey

v  Understanding Core Groups & Issues, Challenges to drive access to CLRC and developing a plan accordingly by Mr. Tajjudin

v  Developing a Case Study by Ms. Ruchika Dhingra

v  Developing an Annual Timeline Plan for Activities and Trainings for 2014-15 & Reporting by Ms. Smita Rai

My key learnings have been:

v  Cross Learning on Activities developed by Centers across India (11 other Centers)

v  Understanding READ Model as being implemented by Partner organizations

v  Processes involved in running of CLRC – Planning, Reporting and Documentation.

v  Preparation of a Plan as per the various possibilities using every section and target group accessing the CLRC. 

I look forward to a fruitful implementation of the programme in association with the Center Staff as we move on in our implementation of Phase III.

~ Cletus Zuzarte

Inauguration of Swajan Jagruti Kendra - 10th Feb, 2014

The Community Learning and Resource Center (CLRC) was proposed by Rural Education and Development (READ) India as a place where the entire community,  adults and children, students and teachers, literate and illiterate can access resources that will enable them to increase their educational knowledge and enhance their livelihood opportunities.

Swajan Jagruti Kendra as a CLRC will serve the whole community at Khamgaon and its adjoining gram panchayats with the following:

v  A library with over 3,000 books, magazines and newspapers in primarily Marathi and English.

v  An Information Communications Technology (ICT) section with equipment to enhance office automation skills like computers, print, scan cum copier

v  A women’s empowerment section equipped with livelihood training resources for e.g. sewing machines.

v  An early childhood section with child-friendly furniture, educational toys, and reading materials.

v  A multimedia and communications section including a LCD projector and other equipments.

v  A training/meeting hall for community programmes

The community took on this venture exactly a year back through the formation of an active Library Management Committee (LMC) representing the various hamlets of Khamgaon GP. This partnership between LMC , READ India (along with READ Global) and Shrivardhan  Mhasala Maratha Samaj Seva Sanstha (SMMSSS) and Swades Foundation have got together to create a CLRC which will provide these services. Through a handholding process with READ India and Swades Foundation the Project team along with the LMC would own the process with the local community thus maintaining the Center and making it sustainable.

Swajan Jagruti Kendra was inaugurated on the 10^th of Feb, 2014 with 574 persons in attendance. The chief guest was Mr. M. N. Mhatre – BDO of Mhasala Taluka of Raigad Dt. along with Mr. Jayson Morris – Director of Partnerships & Strategic Alliance of READ Global and Ms. Geeta Malhotra – Country Director of READ India.

View the Inauguration Video Clip prepared by Mr. Mahipal through this Youtube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUgjriavXqY

Also read the Opening of Swajan Jagruti Kendra covered in READ Global website blog by Jason, follow the link.

http://www.readglobal.org/blog/129-seeds-of-education