Project Prayaas

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Project Name: Prayaas

Project Objective: Digital Empowerment of underprivileged children

Project Date: 10^th October 2021

Project Cost (Rs.): Approx 12 lakhs

Sponsored: Yes

The area where the Project has been executed: Subhaschandra Bose Vidyamandir, Maharashtra Nagar, Mankhurd, Mumbai, India

No. of Beneficiaries: 105 school students of Grade 7

District Grant/Global Grant/RCC/Rotaract/Interact/Others: Training partner – Kotak Education Foundation & Rotaract Club of Deonar

No. of Volunteer Hours Committed: 100+ ( Rotary & Rotaract) ( 3 yr project)

Total No of Rodeos Present: 13

Total Rotary Members Present: 15

Total Attendees: 40

Names of Participating Institutions: Kotak Education Foundation, Subhaschandra Bose Vidyamandir – School

Comments received from the Partners/ Beneficiaries :

“One small step for Rotary is a giant step in the lives of these children who have received the Tabs” – Mrs Shehnaaz – Head of Guru & Lead interventions at KEF

“Our kids are smart, but they do not have the necessary resources to compete with the convent kids. These Tabs and the training will give an opportunity to the bright students to shine and be successful” – Principal Mr Kale, Subhashchandra Bose Vidyamandir

“I am very happy that I have got the Tab. I will do my lessons on e-learning and can find out any answers by searching on google. We are 3 brothers but only 1 mobile in my house. Because of this Tab, I can now regularly attend my school online classes” – Master Sambhaji, Student Beneficiary, Grade 7

“What we have given to these children today, is an admission to the biggest University in the World, – The University of Internet” – Rotarian Rohan D’Souza, Rotary Club of Deonar, Director- Community Services ( Medical)

Past Background/History of the Project:

Rotary Club of Deonar has been associated with Subhaschandra Bose Vidyamandir for 8+ years. We have adopted this school under our Happy School Project. Over the years, we have donated various items and done various projects like medical camps, benches and desks, drawing competitions, mid-day meals, Storage racks, classrooms refurbishment, Self defence programs for girls, electrical fittings/fans, Green boards in the classroom, Smart TV, Science Lab, Aqua guard Water purifiers, footwear to students. Recently, during the pandemic, we distributed over 900 grocery kits.

We enjoy a good rapport with the school and we’re always looking to take our engagement to the next level. Project Prayaas gave us this opportunity.

Detailed Description:

Rotary Club of Deonar distributed over 115 brand new 8 inch Lenovo Tabs to the students and teachers of 7^th Grade at Subhaschandra Bose Vidyamandir, Mankhurd, Mumbai under its Project Prayaas, aimed at bridging the digital divide in Society. The Inauguration & distribution of the Tabs was done on 10^th October & continued for a week on different days. Mr.Devang Pandya, Director of Savex Technologies graced the occasion as a Chief Guest. Distribution was done at the hands of the Chief Guest, Rotarians, Rotaractors & KEF volunteers present at the event. The parents & teachers of the school were very excited about the project and thanked Rotary & KEF and promised that they shall do their best to make maximum use of the donated device for the growth of their children.

The school is situated in the midst of 100+ acres of slums, at Maharashtra Nagar, Mankhurd, Mumbai. This Govt recognized, semi English medium, the school operates out of a few owned & rented chawl rooms. Most of the parents of these children are daily wage earners from the lower class. Reportedly, none of the Parents owns a laptop.

Prayaas, a project of Tab distribution & training, at its very core is aimed at DIGITAL EQUALITY. The basic premise is that, if our kids have access to our high-end mobiles & laptops, then even these underprivileged kids deserve to have access to their digital devices. There cannot be a truly Digital India without the vast majority of children having a digital device. The idea is to make their internet & tech-savvy, at par with our kids, digitally empower them with the world of information through the internet and thereby move towards a truly Digital India.

We chose good quality Lenovo Tabs with an 8-inch screen and 2 GB RAM. We also provide them with good quality covers and a screen guard so that the Tabs last long. M/s Savex Technologies sponsored the cost of Tabs. Each student received one Tab, loaded with the entire relevant grade school syllabus and concept-based video sessions from Sundaram.

For this noble cause, the Rotary Club of Deonar has teamed up with Kotak Education Foundation and Rotaract Club of Deonar to impart training to these kids over a period of 3 years. The children shall be trained in basic Tab use including the use of common resources like youtube, google search, Playstore etc to explore & obtain the information that they want. Simultaneously KEF shall train the teachers at school to teach the entire school curriculum subjects through a Tab based learning model. The entire 7^th Grade students, around 105 of them, have been chosen as the pilot batch. Tabs have been provided to the 7^th Grade school teachers as well.

KEF shall be conducting a baseline study & thereafter end-line studies at the end of each year. The youth of Rotaract Club of Deonar will engage with the pilot batch children from time to time and mentor them. We are sure that by merely exploring the world of information and free learning available on the internet, these kids will become more aware, smart, confident, tech-savvy with digital skills which are highly desirable in today’s times.

The entire project has been planned in detail and MoUs have been signed with the School and KEF to clarify each partner’s roles & responsibilities during the project The school shall take the physical responsibility of the Tabs while KEF will train the teachers to monitor the student’s use of Tabs for the intended purpose.