Vibha partners with Akshara Foundation to create “a brighter future for children”. It supports Akshara’s Mathematics Program called Ganitha Kalika Andolana (GKA), in Mayurbhanj and Ganjam districts, Odisha. Key accomplishments for 2021-22 under the ambit of GKA were: out-of-school learning like the Ujjwal classes; capacity building of teachers; community engagement; and engaging with the Department of Education. In 2022-23 Vibha and Akshara aim to ramp up their work to impact 3,00,000+ children in grades 1 to 5 in 3000+ government primary schools in these two districts.
Kuna Hembram, a 9-year-old grade 4 student at the Brundagadi Upper Primary Residential School, Mayurbhanj district is passionate about school and all the glories that a school offers such as learning a variety of subjects, friendships and camaraderie with friends and the extracurricular activities in school. Tuition and facilities in this school are offered free of cost to children from socioeconomically marginalized communities.
Akshara’s Ujjwal Program
Kuna, a small-built boy, youngest of the three children of a single mom who is an agricultural laborer lives in a small one-room house in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. He was enrolled in Ujjwal in January 2022, an after-school program spearheaded by Bijayalaxmi, an Education Volunteer/Teacher and a few others for this program at this school. Kuna has demonstrated authentic willingness and excitement to learn, ace and teach ‘Math’ from his start at this program. ‘He has the capacity to become a teacher, he supports other children and coaches them in Math, he can be playful but nothing takes him away from studying’ says Bijayalaxmi.
Kuna is one of many such success stories of Akshara’s Ujjwal program. Ujjwal classes have covered 4000+ children in the Mayurbhanj district when the regular school was halted during COVID, these classes were a platform for growth in Math and personality development and the class workbooks for children in grades 4 and 5 were designed and formulated by The Department of Education. None of this feat would have been accomplished had not been for the dedicated behind the scenes work of 2,300+ selfless volunteers in this program in the Mayurbhanj district.