Ruchika

Project Brief: Alternative schools for formal/non-formal education.
Project Type: Non-Formal Educational Centers (description)
Primary Focus: children from slums (description)

Secondary Focus: children who are working

Area: Urban
Supporting Chapter Contact: Silicon Valley
Status: completed - requirements ended
Project Steward: Rahul Ranjan
Project Partner(s): Indrajit Khurana
Other Contacts:
Project Address: , 3731 -A,Sriram Nagar, Samantarpur, Old Town,,Bhubaneswar,
ORISSA  751002
Tel: 91 674 2340746
Stewarding Chapter: Silicon Valley
Feb 2007Silicon ValleyUSD 7710
Dec 2005Silicon ValleyUSD 8755
Oct 2004Silicon ValleyUSD 8755
Apr 2003Silicon ValleyUSD 8755
Jun 2002Silicon ValleyUSD 9668
Dec 2001Silicon ValleyUSD 5850

Total = $49493

Asha book design - 2001 :
Asha funds are used for developing workbooks for Non formal education. The target audience for the books and materials would be late school starters, semi literates and vocational trainees. The books are prototyped and being planned to be published soon.

15 Alternative schools in Bhubaneshwar - 2002 :
The Alternative School project started in the name of Platform School on a small scale in 1985 and extended to 16 slums in 1987. With the financial support from the Ministry of Human Resource Development it further extended its scope to 25 slums in 1989 and then 100 slums in 1996. In 2001 March Govt. of India closed project officially. The organization somehow has been managing it with a great difficulties since April'2001. Now it is out of fund.

It has been decided to convert 20 schools into Pre- School centres (Balwadies) for the children in the age group of 3 to 6 years as this has become a need to give children the school going habit. This report therefore aims to serve 450 out of school children with 15 Alternative Schools.

The goal of the project is to take the education to the child to universalize access to schooling facilities based on community demand to reach the deprived sections in an innovative and cost effective manner acknowledging the right of all children to learn.

11 Alternative schools in Bhubaneshwar - 2006 :

Currently, 63 alternative schools are running under Ruchika in this program. Out of those 63 schools, 42 are supported by govt. under "Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan" program. We(Asha) are associated with 11 such schools. The program works in the Slum area situated in the outskirts of Bhubaneshawar. The main focus of the project is to attract school children towards the education process at the very early stage through innovative strong teacher-student interaction. To keep the children enjoying the education through the non-formal methods like community programs, singing, dancing, using flash cards or toys etc along with the formal education is the beauty of the program. Formal education is covered till 5th std. But, in general focus is to get the children into the mainstream education process as early as possibe, so that they themselves start pushing themselves for further education.

The Ruchika Social Service Organization (RSSW) was founded by Mrs. Inderjit Khurana, Director-cum-Secretary of well established High School. Ruchika in Bhubaneswar, Orissa .This was in response to the unmet but felt needs of street children living at the railway station. The platform (or station) school as it popularly came to be known, started spontaneously and almost over-night .It touched the children in so meaningful and significant a manner, that within a span of eleven years it has grown to provide a wide network of services in the neighborhood areas, to cover a widening ambit of pressing needs. Literacy and main streaming children on the streets are however it's main areas of concern. The Ruchika Social Service Wing symbolizes change and development .Ruchika school, which is registered under the societies Registration act 1860, funded the entire program until 1989, when government and private agencies provided aid to meet part-expenditure. Now it is registered independently as an Organization.