Educating poor rural children in Goa

In February, the boys at our hostel in Goa have been busy getting creative with decorating the hostel with inspirational quotes and images. They came up with this idea after a visit from another NGO who shared their experiences on the importance of having a positive environment and the role that murals can have in inspiring others. The boys asked a donor to sponsor the paint, then they got together to come up with this lovely design. They had a great time using their creative skills. 

Activities like this are part of the additional support that the hostel provides its students, enabling them to use other talents and develop skills like team work, communication and leadership. It is very important to us that the beneficiaries of our projects have the opportunity to get involved in shaping the work. At Goa, the boys elect their own Student Ministry who take responsibility for different elements of day-to-day life. They work closely with the wardens and give feedback about what improvements they would like to see in the hostel. For example, the Food Minister conducts regular reviews with his fellow students about the menu. He then will discuss and negotiate with the cooks to adjust the menu. All the students get together on a monthly basis to discuss any issues they may have and work with the wardens to bring about positive change. In this way, the boys are developing vital life skills that will prepare them for professional work. They also have ownership and take greater pride in the hostel, as seen by their wonderful decoration!

I am also excited to share some very positive developments regarding improvements to the buildings for both the boys and girls hostels. These improvements will facilitate a greater learning experience for the students and provide more space for all the other activities we provide - such as a computer lab, sports classes and a library.  The boys hostel have recently received a considerable donation from a local company which will enable them to build an extension to the current building. This new space will include an additional multi purpose hall, more bedrooms and a special study space for the older students. The hostel is waiting for the final planning consent and we are hoping that the works will start during the summer vacation.

There's also positive news for the girls hostel who for a long time have dreamed about having their own purpose-built building. They are now at the final stages of buying some land close to the boys hostel to construct a new building on. We're hoping that this will start towards the end of 2018.

Ritika is 13 years old and lives in a small village in Goa. She has been attending our study class for the last 6 years. She lives with parents and her brother and sister. Her mum is a housewife and her father does farm labouring jobs in the nearby area as and when they are available. The family has a very limited income but her parents have always been committed to getting their children a good education.

When we started the study class in this village, it was hard for our teacher to engage the children and parents.  By combining more academic study in key subjects with weekly fun classes, the classes soon became popular with children.  Once other parents saw the development in the children attending, they also wanted their children to attend regularly.  

When  Ritika joined the class, she didn’t know the basic languages, like Marathi alphabet, English alphabets. She found it hard to recognise words or numbers. School teachers also complained to her mother regularly about her study, but her mother was not able to support her as she was illiterate. 

Our study class teacher gave extra time to her. She used natural resources to help the children understand Maths, such as stones, small sticks, paper and encouraged the children to play educational games like shopkeeper, numbers games etc.  This helped Ritika to start to improve her basic level of writing, recognising and reading. By giving her small example in Maths she increased her mathematical development. 

Ritika is now regularly going to school, does her homework, passes with good marks in her class and participates school activities very happily.

When her school teacher noted her improvement, she asked about this and after knowing the facts, she was very happy and offer school building class for study class.  

Ritika has now become a very smart girl. She is studying now in VIIIth class.  She is confidently involved in school activities, class activities, regular in school and class. She wants to become a good teacher. She helps other children in their study. She always comes to class very neat and clean. Her mother is very happy to see her progress. She improved her grades in school exams.  We are confident that a positive future lies ahead for her.