CHETANAA PROJECT

A VISIT ON July 1^st, 2000

By Siva Athreya

Basic Project: Provide a support center for children who go to the schools in the area.

After leaving Delhi at 5.30 in the morning I reached Kurukshetra around 9.30-10ish in the morning. It was beginning of the monsoon and getting so quick on national highway one was a surprise. I called Dr. Indra Handa from a PCO and told her that I would like to visit the project. They (she and her husband) live in Kurukshetra University campus and I was at their home by about 11ish. I discussed a bit of the project with her. We were waiting for Dr. Sharada Kumari who is the founding volunteer at Chetanaa. Once she arrived we discussed various aspects of the project. I did not have any specific questions but we wanted to see what else could be done there. We had a good discussion. See the next email.

A little later Sharada Kumari insisted on her going to school and opening it up before I came to see it. It was summer vacation and center was going to open on Saturday or the coming Monday. The center is a support center for the children that go to the government school in the area. She came back around 2pm while I had a delicious lunch with the Handa's. We then left for the center around 3ish. The children had been asked to come around 4ish.

The village (I believe slum is the appropriate word) is near the university though the access is rather shoddy beyond a point by a vehicle and very dirty beyond a point by foot. The panchayat was laying down a road. We reached the center after wading through a real mess. It consisted of three rooms and was well kept. There were three teachers present and some children had come early. It was kind of insisted that the children recited something before me, which they did vigorously.

Apart from infrastructure difficulties of access the center was neat and did not have a smell to it. Books were neatly arranged and so were the posters on the wall. Then we left the center and before I left for Delhi I saw a video on a prize-giving program organized by Chetanaa for its children. Children their too recited poems, sang songs etc.

I was lucky to reach Delhi late in the evening around 9ish as the car broke down on the outskirts of Delhi state!!. It was a good fun trip.


Points from discussion:
-Teachers are middle-aged women from the area. Doing BSc/BA.
-Drop out from Chetanaa is high. 23 in std 5 to four girls in 10th class now. Still I think this is commendable for a village (slum) in Kurukshetra with illiterate parents.
-Local involvement low. Conflict with Sarpanch.
-Children are admitted only in class one. Their parents have to be poor and illiterate. Some exceptions are made. Able to run a first come first serve basis so far.
-Will try to get students from Kurukshetra University involved
-Want to start a computer center.
-Cannot do much on infrastructural front, as they don't completely get along with sarpanch.
-Start one more center soon.