During the testing, the Pratham team met a child named Avik. He is a student in grade 4. Due to a lack of awareness about the value of education, Avik was not studying. Instead, he would help his father fish in the river and would play with his friends all day long.

When the Pratham team tested Avik to find out his learning levels, they found that Avik couldn’t read a single word. A learning camp was started at his village for ten days. On the first day, Avik didn’t attend the learning camp. The Pratham team met Avik and his parents and told them to send Avik to the camps as it would help him learn. His parents agreed and started sending Avik to the camps.

After 10 days of the camp, the Pratham team tested all the children, including Avik. They found that the children could read a simple paragraph and could do simple addition and subtraction.

Finally, after the third learning camp had been conducted and the children were tested again, it was found that Avik can read at the story level and can add, subtract, multiply and divide. This has made his parents very happy and they now want Avik to study more in the future.

We are grateful for your support and for helping children like Avik see a brighter future!

Kanchan takes the lead in reading aloud passages in class. Her teacher points out that Kanchan’s spelling has improved considerably over the period of the camp, and though an average student, she has the willingness to learn. She goes to a Hindi medium school. Her favorite subject is Math and she wants to become a teacher when she grows up. An early riser, even during her holidays, she likes to finish her homework in the mornings while her friends are still sleeping. She spends the rest of the day gallivanting with them and her sister. She says that during school days, she doesn’t get time to play with her friends because she returns from school late in the evening and is too tired by then.

While both sisters have been attending together, Kanchan is a better student than Lalita and often helps Lalita answer in class. Unlike Kanchan, Lalita has slight stage fright and is often reluctant to read aloud in class and ask questions. She is not very fond of Math and English and History is her favorite subject, she says. Her summer vacations are spent playing kho-kho and other games with friends and watching TV. She also helps her mother with household work and cooking.

Not only are the sisters regular students, they also bring their four-year-old naughty brother along for every turn. He enjoys watching class and playing in the background.

Many thanks for your generosity toward Pratham and for helping these sisters, Kanchan and Lalita, learn!

Due to financial issues, Pallavi’s family doesn’t receive electricity in their home. Pallavi has to read daily in the morning and at night for school. At night she has to use candles or a lamp to read her text.

Pallavi was not in the Pratham target group, but she came to the Pratham camp daily and read library books. During the camp, she also helped other children. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she replied, “I want to become a doctor. That’s why I read everyday in the morning and in the night.”

We are grateful for your support and for helping Pallavi read!

Although she is in school and is in Grade 4, Payal does not attend classes regularly. When Pratham, conducted a learning camp in her village, Payal was included in the camp and the baseline test results showed that she was unable to read a Grade 1 level text and she did not know the basics of mathematics.

A Pratham representative came to know of Payal’s frequent absences from school and so he explained to Payal’s mother the importance of regular attendance and its impact on learning. While conducting the learning camp he noticed that Payal is actually a very motivated little girl and just needs encouragement. At the end of the third Pratham learning camp, it was found that Payal was able to read simple texts and could do simple addition ­- this was a significant improvement in her learning levels!

Payal now goes to school regularly. When asked to speak about her future plans she says that she wants to be a teacher.

Many thanks to you for your generosity and for encouraging girls like Payal to learn!

Pratham’s urban learning program helps children out of the school network as well. The teachers in the center in Kartik’s area took up his case. They counseled Kartik and his family. Kartik was willing to study, but had never been asked if he had liked school. His parents realized their grave mistake, especially when they heard his tales of horror. They were made to understand the value of education and risks involved in child labour. With this intervention, his parents agreed to enroll him in school and at the Pratham Learning Center so that he can have a better future.

Kartik’s story has became an example for all the neighborhood families. Kartik has joined a local school and is also a regular student at Pratham. He is really fond of mathematics and the teachers at Pratham are highly impressed with his progress.

For Kartik, Pratham became a window to a brighter future. He is now free to dream and live up to not just his parents’ expectations but also his own expectations.

Kartik told Pratham staff that while he was working at the local retail shop he made a friend who was almost the same age as him. His friend was the owner’s son. That young boy had given Kartik the strength to leave work and fight for his right to study. Kartik said that his friend often used to say “You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.”

Kartik is now a free and happy child!

Thank you for helping give Kartik the freedom to learn!

Masood is in Grade 4 and has been attending Pratham’s English workshop since its first session. He started off at the letter level, where he was able to identify some letters albeit with difficulty. He mixed up alphabets that were mirror images of each other like “p” and “q”. Masood is a shy child and takes time to open up to new people. Therefore, at first, when he was asked if he knew any English, he said he didn’t. But later, he revealed that he knew how to spell his name in English and also knew a few poems.

Masood feels that he is the closest to his father and likes the fact that he sometimes helps him with his studies. His father has studied only up to fifth grade and his mother is illiterate. Unlike his parents, Masood says that he plans to finish school and study further to become a doctor or engineer. It helps that his current favorite subject is Science. He says that he is also beginning to enjoy learning English.

Thank you for helping Masood study further!

There is only one primary school in their village. Samapti is one of the students in this school and studies in the third grade. The village is a long distance from the local market and the transportation facilities are minimal. All the villagers use a bicycle or motorbike when they need to go to the market and most of them are farmers.

Pratham had organized a learning camp at a primary school in the middle of the village. When the first learning camp was conducted, most of the students were shy and quiet. Most did not read well, including Samapti. However, by the time of the second learning camp, Samapti had started reading with expression and her confidence grew. She attended classes joyfully and her excitement and energy were infectious.

She has improved her reading and writing skills thanks to the camp. Samapti also loves to dance and also wants to be a good dancer in the future too.

Thank you for giving Samapti the opportunity to learn and helping her gain confidence in her future!

Krishna’s parents thought it would be better if she helped her mother at home with the housework. A year and a half ago, a Pratham teacher persistently encouraged Krishna’s parents to provide her with a proper education, just like Krishna’s brothers. The Pratham teacher encouraged Krishna’s parents to invest in their daughter’s future. They relented and, within Krishna’s first few days at Pratham, she progressed so much that her parents decided to send their sons to Pratham as well!

The teacher says that Krishna is very intelligent and sincere and can achieve wonders with some guidance and direction. Pratham is giving Krishna the time and space to study, dream and deliver on her potential.

Thank you for donating to Pratham and giving Krishna an opportunity to learn and grow!

Shelly is a student at one of Pratham’s summer learning camps that takes place in an open area, just outside the Pratham urban learning center in the suburb of Santa Cruz in Mumbai. The informal and friendly setting of the Pratham camp is conducive to learning through games and activities, and is in no way a reminder of her school classroom. The students in attendance are all girls, ages nine or ten, who live in the low-income locality nearby. They are taught to read and write English words and sentences. Every so often, the sound of an airplane flying overhead can be heard due to the proximity to the airport. Shelly is able to spell “airplane” when asked by her teacher and likes being called out so she can show what she has learned.

Shelly’s favorite subjects are Math and Languages. She did not enjoy studying Science in her school where she had to memorize the lessons and did not understand the subject matter. Instead, she prefers learning Science at the Pratham Learning center where the students are encouraged to engage in hands-on activities and are taught how science makes a difference in daily life.

Thanks to this method of instruction, Shelly is now explaining the benefits of electricity to her father! Her parents are impressed with the knowledge Shelly has gained from attending Pratham’s summer learning camp.

Thank you for your support, which makes it possible for someone like Shelly to learn and grow.

Neighbors told Laleema’s father about Pratham. Laleema was encouraged to visit a learning camp organized by Pratham, which gave her a new perspective on learning. She enjoyed her experience immensely and began attending the camp regularly. She studied hard and even started writing poetry.

Laleema remembers a day when she decided to skip school and classes at the camp – “I was playing with my pet dog when I heard someone walk through the door. It was my teacher from Pratham! She asked why I had not attended class that day and told me of all the fun activities I had missed out on. It seemed silly to have stayed at home that day!” Since then, Laleema has never missed a session.

Laleema wants to be just like her teacher and inspire other girls. Her mother says the best thing is that “Pratham pankh laga deta hai”- Pratham has given her daughter wings to soar high!

Thank you for donating to Pratham, and helping young girls like Laleema reach for the sky!