Himanshu learns and plays at the same time!

Pratham’s unique teaching style suits seven year old Himanshu very well. He likes doing activities through a method that allows him to combine play with work: “It is fun as well as learning for me,” he says. His teachers are very impressed with the boy’s academic ability — he learns quickly, and rarely forgets.

School wasn’t always easy for Himanshu. He joined Pratham’s Early Literacy and Numeracy program (Balwachan) because he was falling behind after just one year of school. 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 which are not often 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 time.

What does the future hold for Himanushu? We hope to see him in uniform one day. He wants to join the police in order to keep the city safe.

For more uplifting stories and to see how your donation is making a difference, please visit the 2013 Readathon Campaign and scroll to the stories section at the bottom of the page.