Lighting up the classroom

Five year old Prachi has stars in her eyes. When we first encountered her, she was having an animated discussion with the other children in her class. This is what she enjoys most about coming to the preschool — she can meet all of her friends and talk and laugh with them. Her father is a driver by profession and her mother is a housewife.

Since July 2012, Prachi is a part of the Pratham Balwadi program, which is similar to a preschool. The Balwadi provides a safe and fun learning environment for the children to learn the importance of manners and working as a group. Balwadi helps children develop good school habits, including physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. A volunteer supervisor trained by Pratham leads young children in memorizing poems, learning stories, and recognizing shapes, colors, and numbers.

Prachi’s teachers say that her enthusiasm motivates the entire class. She loves to talk to everyone and is the one who initiates most of the games in her class. Prachi wants to be a doctor when she grows up.

Thank you all for your support in Prachi’s education