A future leader – Pratham

When we first encounter Dhruv, he is animatedly playing and laughing with his little sister and a group of children. He is a social little boy — his favorite part of the day is meeting other young children. But don’t let this animated little joker fool you — according to his teachers, Dhruv is an exceptionally talented student. And his aspirations are noble — Dhruv wants to be an army officer when he grows up.

Seven year old Dhruv is a student in Pratham’s Early Literacy and Numeracy program (Balwachan), which is designed specifically for first and second grade students that are falling behind. Balwachan helps children develop and improve upon their reading and writing skills, recognize numbers up to 50, and solve simple addition and subtraction problems.

Balwachan includes creative learning activities that are often not part of the government school curriculum. Pratham aims to build both literacy skills and self-confidence through activities such as Picture Reading, where a child builds a story through pictures, and Story Time, where the students tell their own tale. Students also learn the concept of time and how to tell the time.

For more uplifting stories and to see how your donation is making a difference, please visit http://pratham.seeyourimpact.org/readathon2013/ and scroll to the
stories section at the bottom of the page.