ISR INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

MOHAMMAD ABDUL MOHSIN

ADMISSION NO.HPGD/JL15/0837

SOCIAL CAUSE: EDUCATION FOR

UNDERPRIVILEDGE.

NAME OF THE NGO: UDAAN India Foundation

PRIN. L. N. WELINGKAR INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH
NOVEMBER 2016

Index
1
SR.
Particulars PAGE NO.
NO.
1 Introduction 3

1.1 Social context of NGO Empower through Education 4

1.2 History 8

1.3 Vision and Mission 11

1.4 Growth and Development of UIF 13

2 Areas of Focus 15

3 Udaan Team 16

4 UIF Partners 21

5 How they create awarness in the Scoiety 25

6 How they Plan their activities 26

6.1 Volunteer 27

6.2 Corporate Partnerships 27

6.3 Donation 28

7 What they Do? 29

Kindergarten 29
Learning Centre 32
Saturday Club 36
Hamaari Udaan Library 39
School Support 42
Skills Enhancement 45

7 Stories Of Change 49

8 Be A Part of Child's Journey 52

9 Bibliography 54

Introduction

2
Udaan India Foundation (Udaan) is a Mumbai based not-for-profit organization working with
children from low-income communities in the field of education. Our primary aim is to ensure
that every child of school going age is gaining a strong and holistic educational foundation to
become a responsible, compassionate and confident citizen of tomorrow.

Most Udaan children are from families where there has been little or no formal education, where
education is not a priority and it is a common place for children to drop out of school in order to
contribute to the family income. Believing in the power of education to change lives, a childs
journey at Udaan starts at the Kindergarten level, continues through school years and supports
them until they become employable. The focus is always in making learning a continuous,
joyous and voluntary experience that will help the children discover and achieve their true
potential and take on the future with confidence.

3
 Social context of NGO

Social context of the NGO is to provide educational facilities to the poor children those who are
living at the below poverty level in India. There are many children who have the will and
capability to learn and get educated, but the only obstacle they face is low level of income.

So the main context of Udaan Indian Foundation is to provide adequate help and support to
children from low income communities all the academic and non-academic support that will
enable them to stay succeed in school and realize their true potential through continuous
learning.

EMPOWER THROUGH EDUCATION

4
A childs journey at UIF (Udaan Indian Foundation) begins with the Kindergarten programme
and continues through the learning years, steadily taking a child towards employability, and thus
a better life. Udaans learning Centre lays the foundation of a childs holistic development and
imparts learning that goes beyond the textbook. Beyond this, children are guided, mentored and
provided financial support on an equal opportunity basis to meet their true potential.

To open the world of books for children and supplement their language skills, UIF runs a
community library. Children are taken through a structured programme to become confident and
eager readers. Under the guidance of qualified staff,
the library brings relevant and meaningful literature within the reach of children who cannot
otherwise afford to buy books. Udaan also has a computer centre that provides computer literacy
to children. Through a defined curriculum, students from the eighth standard onwards undergo
training in basic computer skills and learn the use of Internet which will equip them for skilled
jobs.

5
Further, UIF is a Hindi-medium school. English becomes mandatory from the 5th standard. The
entire curriculum is designed keeping the SSC board in mind as kids eventually take these
exams. However, it is only for English that they use their own curriculum and not the BMCs
(Government) because they find the governments curriculum to be rather poor. Says Mamta
about their flawed curriculum, Basic words/verbs are taught till standard 5, then there is a
sudden jump to full-fledged sentences which obviously the children are not able to grasp.

Health and nutrition are also focused upon. They provide the kids with a nutritious afternoon
snack that will keep their stomachs full and help them concentrate like fruit, biscuits or idlis.
Interestingly, their banana seller has bought into the concept of Udaan and offers the schools
bananas at a discounted rate ( as does the school bus vendor who is offering his services for
free!)

In addition, uniforms, shoes and socks are provided, which not only gives children a sense of
identity, but also instills in them the importance of personal hygiene and grooming. Stationery,
notebooks and workbooks are also given to supplement their needs. Annual eye camps, dental
camps and general health check-ups are also part of their efforts.

Udaan, through its work, hopes to see a perceptible change by way of increased enrolments in
schools, decrease in school dropout rates and better job opportunities for the underprivileged.
But, beyond that, Udaan aims to groom children to become confident young adults equipped to
tackle various challenges in life.

6
The organizations mission statement Empower through Education. Spend three hours at their
center and youll understand how the organization is working towards the same.

7
History
Mamta Rangan is the founder and chairperson of Udaan India Foundation. Her foray into the
social sector started as a result of her desire to give back to society. As she was anyway on a
sabbatical, she decided to help these children a simple desire to help them have somewhat of a
childhood. So she, and even some of her friends and neighbours from time to time, started
spending time with the children in parks, quiet street corners etc. From singing and dancing with
them to teaching them numbers and the alphabets, many an afternoon were spent giving these
children some memories of a childhood.

The groundwork for what is Udaan India Foundation today was laid in August 2004, when a few
like-minded people came together for a common cause a cause to educate underprivileged
children in their neighborhood. With no formal system or infrastructure in place, all that was
there was a purpose to get together as many children as we could from the bastis nearby, and
teach them how to read and write.

8
 We started with 26 children, some of whom were already in municipal school, some who had
dropped out and the rest who had never been to school. Classes were conducted on an informal
basis for a few hours a week in the classrooms of a private school in the Powai neighbourhood,
after regular school working hours. As we worked with the children, we realized that the lack of
learning in school and absence of academic support at home created a huge challenge igniting
and maintaining the interest of children towards education. These were children who were at a
risk of dropping out.

To support these children to cope with the academic curriculum and to maintain their interest in
education and learning, a need was felt to start an after-school programme. This laid the
foundation for our Learning Centre. Starting in 2005, the Learning Centre became a space of
remedial teaching to bridge the learning gaps and stress the importance of education to both,
children and their families. Over the years the Learning Centre became more than a mere
remediation programme and grew into an after-school Centre of quality education with a
structured learning programme. We also introduced extracurricular activities such as art, dance
and sports to expose the children to learning opportunities that would go beyond the regular
academic curriculum.

9
The overwhelming progress shown by our students gave us confidence that the project was
heading in the right direction. In 2009, this informal project was officially registered as a non-
profit trust under the name of Udaan India Foundation.

Over the years we have grown to meet the educational needs of children and youth in low-
income communities. Today we reach out to over 800 beneficiaries. All our programmes are
directed towards providing access to quality education and opportunities enabling a brighter
future for our beneficiaries.

10
Vision and Mission
Udaan strongly believes that education has the power to transform lives. We want
to ensure that every child, regardless of their social and economic background has
access to quality education, enjoys learning and makes progress towards
discovering and realizing their true potential. Through a holistic approach to
education that integrates academic achievement with non-academic learning we
provide knowledge, skills and values that prepare our children for a future full of
opportunities.

Our Vision
Every child educated and equipped with equal opportunities to transform their
lives.

11
Our Mission
To enable a brighter future for children from low-income communities by
providing them with the desired knowledge, skills, values and support to achieve
their true potential. And help them out with employment opportunities once
they complete their studies.

12
Growth and Development of UIF

Udaan in 2004 based on the belief that education is the key to change.
Continuing as an afterschool programme, Udaans aim is to give children access to
quality education. They started with 26 children, some of whom were already in
school, some who had dropped out and the rest who had never been to school.

Today, it has over 425 students under its wings, who are taught by 14 full time
teachers and over 20 volunteers.
Classes are conducted between 3.15 and 6 15 pm daily, at a private school in
Powai, after regular school hours, in accordance with the SSC curriculum.

13
 To stress the importance of education to children and families and to be
facilitators in ensuring that every child attends school.

To provide holistic learning to the underprivileged in order to maximize their

potential.

To instill confidence and self-esteem through exposure to art, dance, sports

and other activities.

To be a stepping-stone for children and young adults towards a better

employment and a better quality of life.

14
Areas of Focus
At Udaan, we are committed to the cause for which we exist and our values are core to our
existence. We, at Udaan, uphold these values in everything we do. They are our guiding
principles of building an effective organization, which diligently works towards achieving our
mission and taking us closer to our vision.

All our thoughts and actions are directed towards understanding and delivering what is in the
best interest of the Child.

We facilitate the growth of our children and that of our team by nurturing a happy learning
environment.

Collaboration is critical to achieving our vision. We believe that a vibrant team spirit, effective
teamwork and durable, mutually beneficial partnerships with like-minded individuals and
organisations enable us to have a greater impact.

We are committed to achieving excellence in everything we do. We continuously review our

performance, set higher benchmarks and seek to enhance ourselves to deliver a qualitatively
superior experience to all our stakeholders, internal and external.

We believe that by being open and transparent in all our communication and actions we foster an
environment of mutual trust and respect for all stakeholders.

15
Founding Team of Udaan

Mamta Rangan -Founder and Chairperson

16
Mamta is a graduate of Science from Delhi University with 12 years of experience in the
corporate sector. Her love for children and desire to do something for the society led her to start
Udaan as a small informal project in 2004 to support the education of children of construction
workers. Her belief that every child must have an equal opportunity and access to quality
education made her to register Udaan as a not-for-profit organisation in 2009. Mamta has been
instrumental in developing the educational programs over the years and led Udaan to what it is
today, a journey from Kindergarten to Employability. Today, it has over 425 students under its
wings, who are taught by 14 full time teachers and over 20 volunteers.Classes are conducted
between 3.15 and 6 15 pm daily, at a private school in Powai, after regular school hours, in
accordance with the SSC curriculum.

Padma Vaswani - Trustee

Padma Vaswani is an alumna of Elphinstone College, a renowned educationist of Bombay
University. She began her career in education at a school in Kolkata. While in Kolkata, she was
associated with the East India Charitable Trust and was also the Chairperson of the Cheshire
Homes. On her return to Mumbai, she was associated with the Hiranandani Foundation School
for 17 years from where she retired as Principal in 2007. Subsequently, she was a consultant to
a few schools and was the Consulting Editor with Madhuban Educational Books for their History
series. She is currently on the panel of Raj Mohindra Education Consultants. Padma has been a
believer in the philosophy of Udaan since its inception.

17
N Rangarajan - Trustee
Rangarajan has 29 years of experience in corporate sector and is currently the Head of
Operations at Nomura Services India. Rangarajan is a Commerce graduate from Delhi University
and is a member of the Institute of Chartered and Cost Accountants of India. His involvement
with Udaan stems from his deep -rooted desire to help less privileged children and his
commitment to education.

Ashlesha Chitnavis - CEO

Ashlesha Chitnavis is an educationist with a Master's degree in English Literature and a
Bachelor's degree in Education from Mumbai University. She has been associated with R.N
Podar School and Billabong High International School and her inclination towards structuring an
educational ecosystem comes from her work experience with Kangaroo Kids Education Limited.
Believing strongly that a sound education system, a healthy childhood and a happy home is key
to a self sufficient & dignified adulthood, Ashlesha is committed to the task of imparting quality
education to children irrespective of any disadvantages in their environment.

18
Sushree Mishra - Education Officer
Sushree is an educationist, author and a reading specialist with a passion for storytelling. She has
8 years of experience in the field of curriculum development, teacher training, community
development, as well as hands-on teaching. She has worked with Pratham, Dr. Reddys
Foundation, and the Pasadena Unified School District in California, USA. She has also been a
consultant with Oxford University Press India. She strongly believes that every child has a right
to education in a happy and nurturing environment. Her role at Udaan enables her to translate
this belief to action.

Karthik Ramanathan - Programme Officer

Karthik is a post-graduate in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology from Deccan
College. He started his career with Cell for Human Values, IIT- Bombay. It is his love for
children and his inclination towards teaching that drew him to Udaan in 2011. He believes that
education is the medium through which one can create proud citizens with a sense of
responsibility towards the nation. Working with the Udaan children gives him hope that this goal
can be achieved.

19
Shradha Pevekar - Admin Co-ordinator
Shradha is a post graduate in Commerce from Mumbai University. She has 8 years of experience
in the retail, facility management and telecom sector. Her strong belief that a good education is
essential for every child, motivated her to join Udaan.

UIF Team

20
Our Partners
One of our core values is collaboration because we believe that together we can achieve much
more! We, at Udaan, believe that mutually beneficial partnerships with like-minded individuals
and organizations enable us to have a greater impact and move closer to our vision. We are
privileged to have corporate partners, educational partners, dedicated staff and volunteers who
come together to share knowledge, skills, and resources.

From providing space to run our Learning Centre to funding projects, our partners have been our
pillars of strength in doing their bit in reducing the educational inequities in our country.

Corporate Partners

JLT India Pvt. Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jardine Lloyd Thompson
Group, one of worlds leading global insurance broking, employee benefits and
consultancy firms.

21
JLT India was set up as the Global Shared Services Centre for the JLT Group in
May 2007, and has positioned itself to become a knowledge hub for the group.

WeCare is a Corporate Social Responsibility function at JLT India. At JLT India,

we believe very strongly in giving back to our community. The WeCare website is
a forum for the present employees of JLT India and our alumni, who would like to
continue their association with the JLT India CSR initiatives. This forum, built
purely through volunteer efforts, enables employees to participate in social causes
supported by JLT India at a local level in Mumbai.. Empower through education

Udaan, a Hindi word for flight is the name of the initiative that gives wings to the
dreams and aspirations of a number of children in the local community of Powai.
Adoption of a local Municipal School to provide remedial learning to their current
students and class dropouts is a novel yet impactful way of bringing change to the
lives of children from underprivileged families. Then allowing the employees of
JLT to participate in the childrens learning journey is just the icing on the cake!
Our journey with Udaan started 6 years ago when the movement to drive education
in the local community started from the basement of a building. From providing
transport bus service for children to reach school premises, taking students on field
trips, participating in their sports day events to teaching lessons on science,
geography and social sciences - the WeCare volunteers spend some sanctioned
hours every week with the children.

Nomura Group actively engages in initiatives to address social issues to fulfill its
social responsibilities as a corporate citizen. The Group believes that promoting
and managing corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities properly is an
important factor to maintain and to increase its corporate value. The basic policy
concerning CSR is set forth in the Code of Ethics of Nomura Group and its Basic

22
Management Policy, and the CSR Committee is responsible for the appropriate
management of these activities.

GiveIndia is a donation platform that allows you to support a cause of your choice
from about 200 NGOs that have been scrutinised for transparency and credibility.
Established in December 1999, GiveIndia ensures that your contribution reaches
the organisation you are passionate about and keeps you updated about its
progress.

Infrastructure Support

Gopal Sharma School for the Learning Centre

Hiranandani Group for the Library

Transocean for the Computer Centre

23
 Partner Organizations
Atma

Childrens Movement for Civic Awareness

Magic Bus

MCGM Education Department

Shobhadevi School

Skills Academy

Other Support

Kherwadi Association

KOOH Sports

Mahesh Tutorial

Rajan Chakravarthy and Associates

Saicare Travels

United Way

Victory Arts Foundation

24
HOW THEY ARE CREATING AWARENESS IN THE
SOCIETY?

The founder and members of Udaan India Foundation They moved into the upcoming suburb of
Powai. Powai was still developing then and Mamta recalls, there was construction happening
everywhere! With construction, come workers, and in most cases, their families too. Mamta was
thus brought face to face with the stark inequities that we so often fail to notice in our busy lives
children out of school, bare clothed, just running around on the streets, living in houses that
were nothing more than shanties.

25
They decided to help these children a simple desire to help them have somewhat of a
childhood. So they started spending time with the children in parks, quiet street corners etc. From
singing and dancing with them to teaching them numbers and the alphabets, many a afternoon
were spent giving these children some memories of a childhood.

Thus, was born Udaan in 2004 based on the belief that education is the key to change.
Continuing as an afterschool programme, Udaans aim is to give children access to quality
education. They started with 26 children, some of whom were already in school, some who had

.
dropped out and the rest who had never been to school Today, it has over 425 students under its
wings, who are taught by 14 full time teachers and over 20 volunteers.
Classes are conducted between 3.15 and 6 15 pm daily, at a private school in Powai, after regular
school hours, in accordance with the SSC curriculum.

HOW DO THEY PLAN THEIR ACTIVITIES?

As we are aware that as UIF had started in 2004, over the years they have been scusseful in
building a school for the children living in the nearby bastis and those who fall under the low-
income group. It has setup their office as well as the school on the mentioned address:-

26
Office Address: Minus Two Levels, Transocean House,
Lake Boulevard Road, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai,
Mumbai - 400076
Postal Address: 2202, Odyssey 2,
Hiranandani Gardens, Powai,
Mumbai - 400076
Call us: 0091(022) 40000392
Email us: udaanindiafoundation@gmail.com

The Three Important Aspects Which UIF focuses on:-

Volunteer
Corporate Partnerships
Donation

Volunteer

27
One of our core values is collaboration because we believe that together we can achieve much
more! We believe we are able to make a huge difference in our childrens lives through the
dedicated efforts of our staff and volunteers. Volunteers are an essential part of Udaan and we
would not be where we are today without their unconditional support!

Volunteer opportunities with Udaan are available in different areas, from teaching a class,
leading an extracurricular activity, accompanying the children on field trips to supporting our
office team in administrative tasks.

For as little as 1 hour a week you can make a difference in the lives of our children. Please
download and complete the volunteer form below and mail it to to enable us to identify a
volunteer opportunity that best matches your interest, skills and time.

Corporate Partnerships
Today, corporate organisations across the globe are doing their bit in making the world a better
place for all. For corporate organisations it is increasingly about doing responsible business,
where profits must benefit not only their own stakeholders. Udaan is an opportunity for
corporates to positively impact the communities we live in. Accredited by Give India, as one of
the 200+ highly transparent and accountable NGO's in India, Udaan offers a range of initiatives
for corporate involvement that are aligned with the objectives of doing social good.

With engagement being an important component of our partnerships with corporates, Udaan
offers hands on volunteering opportunities for employees, within a range of Udaan projects, that
meet the needs and match the values of the organization. With mutually meaningful employee
engagement, the program not only creates a sense of social commitment and responsibility but
also develops a cohesive corporate culture by providing excellent opportunity for team building
and leadership development of employees.

Partners Feedback

"With dynamic leadership and a successful track record of increasing school enrolments, decreasing
dropouts and focusing on better employment opportunities, Udaan was the best partner of choice for
JLT."

- Balamurugan V, CEO - Jardine LLoyd Thompson

28
Donation
Education is the best gift one can give to a child. Support us through a donation and enable a
brighter future for the children we work with. Your contributions could not only take an Udaan
child closer to realising his/her dream, but also help us reach out to many more children in need
of quality education.

What they Do?

29
 Kindergarten

Research across several educational communities upholds that children learn most in the
development years of 0-5. However, learning in these crucial years is a remote luxury to most
children in low-income communities. If school readiness is a crucial beginning to formal
learning, then we believe that all must have it, irrespective of their economic standing.

The Udaan Kindergarten provides pre-school learning to children from low-income

communities, equipping them with a strong educational foundation to take on the rigour of
formal schooling with confidence. Classes of happy children experience the joy of learning under
the gentle care of trained teachers in a safe, loving and vibrant environment.

30
Kindergarten is the year of basics. Thus, the curriculum focuses on the essentials of all:
languages, numerical literacy, development of fine and gross motor skills, awareness of self and
environment, social skills and respecting of routine and discipline. The teaching methodology
adopted to achieve the learning objectives is a combination of drill and reinforcement learning
which facilitates memorizing and acquiring of habitual skills of writing and reciting and a play-
way approach which allows for learning through doing, exploring and discovering.

Teacher observations, student talk, classwork and orals help teacher assess the progress of the
student on a continuous basis. Formal assessments are conducted twice in an academic year in a
child-friendly manner. A thorough record of observations of each child enables teachers to give
constructive feedback to the parents and suggest reasonable tasks to support the childs learning
at home.

At the end of the Kindergarten year, our children are ready, both on an academic and social level,
to enter Grade 1 of a formal school.

"After completing his Kindergarten at Udaan my son settled well in the first grade of school. Udaan
ensures that a child learns well but they also ensure that the child is happy and healthy. Now my
daughter attends the Udaan Kindergarten and I am happy to see my little one settled and happy".

-Poonam Dingya

An Insight Story about students experience in Udaan.

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At 9.30 am toddlers between the age of 4 and 6 step out of their homes, sometimes with their
parent, sometimes alone, and sprint into the colourful and vibrant space of the Udaan
Kindergarten located in a construction workers basti in Powai, Hiranandani. After a greeting to
the teacher and a short prayer followed by a healthy snack, the children are ready for the day.
Giggling, laughing, crying, and sulking, the little ones get lost in the world of flashcards,
worksheets, games, puzzles, playdough, crayons and toys and all too soon it is time to go home.
When their teachers bid them goodbye, they walk home with a smile on their face taking back
home the joy of a safe and happy childhood - one of the most significant objectives for Udaan.

Learning Centre

32
A regressive sequence of lack of quality education leading to school dropouts creates a mass of
uneducated and unskilled youth, which is responsible for the vicious cycle of illiteracy and
poverty in low-income communities.

The Udaan Learning Centre is an after-school programme, which aims to provide a solid and
holistic educational foundation to children from low-income communities to bridge the learning
gaps and ensure the children stay in school. Following the principle of empowering through
education our teaching does not focus only on academic education but also on non-academic
learning to mould and nurture confidence, self-esteem and self-awareness amongst our students.

33
The Learning Centre follows a structured curriculum for English, Math, Hindi, Science and
Social Sciences from Grade 1 till Grade 10. A vertical progression of learning objectives for each
subject ensures a steady and logical unfolding of learning at each level. Upholding the principle
of holistic learning, the curriculum is implemented through a dual approach of ensuring
conceptual understanding through lecture, demonstrations and experiments as well as
experiential learning through celebrations, events, field trips and workshops. From moments of
sheer joy at riding the fire brigade truck at the fire station to learning opportunities of
understanding the vast universe at the Nehru Centre, from wearing new, festive clothes during
Diwali to understanding constitutional rights through special assemblies, every exposure is about
providing opportunities.

Assessments are conducted on a regular basis with the purpose of adapting the curriculum to
meet the students needs. This allows us to record students performances on monthly intervals
on an assessment matrix. An analysis of the students performance indicates the gaps in the
teaching-learning spaces and the cycle of curriculum management is revisited so to teach

34
students the way they learn best. It is such analysis that enables us to identify students with
remedial needs; students with learning disabilities and students who need a teachers stern eye
and create solutions within the environment of the Learning Centre such that each student
achieves their true potential.

The Udaan Learning Centre is an effort towards instilling the faith, belief and culture of
empowerment through education in the minds of children from low income communities to
ensure that they pursue the path of knowledge, skills and values needed in order to break the
restraints of Illiteracy.

I learn a lot at Udaan and I also have a lot of fun. I enjoy the field trips the most. Recently
we went to the Nehru Vigyan Kendra where I learnt about how many planets are there, that
stars are uncountable, the shape of earth and which vehicle did scientists first use on the
surface of the moon. I was so fascinated to learn all these facts."

Salim Shaikh, Grade 5A

Udaan Learning Centre student

35
An Insight about the Punctuality of Udaan Students

Children in their crisp green-checkered uniforms, proudly wearing their Udaan ID cards and
carrying their school bags wait at 2.30 pm every day for the Udaan bus to arrive and take them
to the Udaan Learning Centre at Gopal Sharma School, Powai Vihar. Learning moments start
with an assembly where all the children pray together and teachers share the news of the day.
This is followed by a healthy and nutritious snack to ensure the children get energized to take on
the lessons. After the assembly, teachers and volunteers armed with lesson planners and
worksheets lead the students to their classroom. For the next two and a half hours students and
teachers are seen pouring over books and concentrating, sharpening pencils and writing,
discussing and debating. At 6 pm, the tired but happy children are dropped back to their homes,
where hopeful parents park their dreams of breaking the cycle of poverty through their childs
journey of empowerment.

36
 Saturday Club

The famous quote from Confucius, "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." is
the heart of learning. Learning is a continuous journey of multi-sensory experiences and joyous
discoveries. It is the learning by doing that allows opportunities of questioning, discussing, discovering,
analyzing, synthesizing, creating, thus stimulating the mind to develop academic thought with deep
logical considerations. The Saturday Club is a realization of this theory of learning.

37
The Saturday Club programme is an extension of the Learning Centre that aims to concertize academic
concepts through experiential learning integrated into co-curricular activities. This is a joyous space
where through art and origami, tabla and songs, dance and drama, chess and pictionary, books and
movies, windmills and Egyptian pyramids, children imbibe aesthetics, rhythm, diction, expression,
historical, environmental and cultural sensitivity and a volume of intangible life skills which mould what
we call the character of a child.

The different clubs such as the Science Club, Around the World Club, Book Club, Dance Club, Music
Club, Sports Club, Environment Club, and India Club are led and conducted by volunteers and subject
experts who are provided with clear objectives, curriculum and logistic plans for each of the clubs. With a
period of 13 Saturdays in every term, each class is assigned different clubs in a term, one being academic
the other being cocurricular. After 12 joyful Saturdays, each club presents its learning through an
interesting mode of presentation, with the help of their Didis and Bhaiyas.

"I enjoy the Science Club the most. Through activities and experiments we are taught
concepts of science which otherwise I find difficult to understand. We learnt about pressure by
doing an activity of creating a fountain and also about magnets and force through
experiments."

-Vivek Singh, Grade 8

Udaan Learning Centre Student

38
An Insight about the Saturday Club experience

Each Saturday children are brought to Gopal Sharma School, where they immerse into the different clubs
from 3 pm to 5.30 pm. A week before the commencement of the Saturday Clubs, there are animated
discussions amongst the students about which new club will be introduced this year. When the clubs are
assigned to each class, you can hear squeals from some classes and protests from others.

In the first few weeks the children learn about the content of their club through concepts, stories,
demonstrations, movies and audio-visuals. After that it is time for learning by doing: Cardboard, chart-
papers, colours and clay are provided and every group disappears behind closed doors to translate their
learnings into models or presentations. Children and volunteers passionately put together their miniature
wonders of the world or solar system or a demonstration of folk dance and classical music. On the final
day of presentations, some children transform into well-informed presenters explaining the mysteries of
the Egyptian mummies while others present the grace and beauty of Bharatnatyam Danseuse or sing
Akla Chalo Re in a sonorous voice. The volunteers in the background watch their students with pride
and satisfaction.

39
 Hamaari Udaan Library

It has been said, Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to
allow in more light. Then, imagine the darkness that awaits a population of children who have
no access to any books other than the school textbooks made available at the beginning of an
academic year and to be returned at the end of the year.

The Hamaari Udaan Library aims to provide easy access to books for children in low-income
communities. It is a platform for reading and informal learning through a range of English, Hindi
and bilingual books. The library follows the GROWBY model of Hippocampus Reading
Foundation. Each child and book is assigned with a GROWBY (Green, Red, Orange, White,
Blue and Yellow) colour which represents a specific reading level. Trained librarians and
volunteers provide support to students in their reading and observe their progress as they
graduate to higher reading levels. Books open the window to a whole new world and take

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children on a flight to spheres of countries, history, science, human behaviours and fantasy that
otherwise would be unknown to them. The immense potential of the library as a tool of informal
learning is harnessed by supplementing it with language games and grammar lessons. Book
based activities and worksheets reinforce the incidental learning that occurs when children
immerse in the universe of stories and incidentally walk the path of knowledge as they discover
the joy of reading. Afterall, reading is the gateway to knowledge.

"There are many good books in the library. I like to read them all. I also like the circle time
when we all sit together and read books. That is so much fun. My favourite tale is ' Ekki
dukki'. I like it because it is a tale of two sisters and I have a sister too."

-Bhumika Tiwari, Grade 4

Learning Centre student

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An Insight

Sometimes after school and often on weekends, children eagerly walk into the Hamaari Udaan
Library to travel into the cosmos of fascinating people, friendly animals, mysterious happenings
and exotic lands. Falling over each other to reach out to the coveted Amar Chitra Katha or to
grab the beautiful looking book of the girl with the long golden hair, children settle down into
their assigned groups having satisfied themselves with their trophy of the desired book. The little
ones wait with teacher didi for her to choose a book.

Volunteers and teachers in each group start with an interesting story - someday taking children to
visit Arabia on the magic carpet and sometimes getting them to believe how good always
conquers evil as in fairy tales, thus training young minds to always hope and believe in goodness.
Their minds stimulated towards imagination, children now are eager to meet the characters of
their own book and thus follows the time of silent, individual reading, which is the time when
one can see the child getting into the role of a brave prince or beautiful princess - a world that
he/she often dreams about at night.

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 School Support

20th century India has seen a promising trend in primary school enrolment owing to efforts of
governments and non-profits. However, despite the apparent positive data on government-run
public school registers, a bitter reality confronts us in a staggering volume of millions of children
dropping out of school. The reason for this situation is that we chased the numbers and neglected
the core the quality of education.

Udaan's School Support Programme is an initiative to strengthen the aim and efforts of the
government to proceed from quantity to quality. In 2012, Udaan partnered with two Municipal
Corporation of Greater Mumbai schools to provide a strong educational foundation to children
by establishing an Udaan Kindergarten and providing remedial support to primary sections in an
after-school programme.

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A baseline assessment of language and math competency enabled the Udaan teachers to
understand the academic needs of the students. Adopting appropriate teaching strategies and aids
to bridge the learning gaps of the students, children slowly mastered the conventions of
languages, concepts of math and fascinating facts of general knowledge. Going beyond academic
focus, Udaan also brought about attitudinal and behavioral changes in the students by integrating
value education into day-to-day studentteacher interactions. The progress of the students was
continuously monitored through teacher observations and oral and written examinations.
Meetings with the school teachers and parents reinforced our impact. At the end of the year, the
performance graph of these students was like a rising star.

A successful first year of collaboration built trust and confidence, and the Udaan School Support
programme has now expanded to include a government-aided school. Besides providing after-
school remedial teaching, Udaan also took up the responsibility of creating an environment
conducive to learning by changing the face of the school with pleasant, soothing newly painted

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walls, solid desks, black boards and vibrant notice boards. The aims of the school support have
evolved and hence today the school support has gone beyond the remedial classes, to provide a
library programme, aid computer literacy and introduce co-scholastic experiences. All efforts are
directed towards delivering quality learning experiences to ignite and maintain the interest of the
children in education.

An Insight about Udaan Support Programme.

Children who could have been potential dropouts are now willing to come to the Udaan Support
Programme before school and stay after school sometimes coaxed by their parents and other
times egged on by their friend. They enjoy sitting in a classroom for 2 hours to learn phonetics,
grammar, vocabulary, division, subtraction and much more - all that children usually want to
escape from even during regular school hours. Now, as this child has progressed from not
knowing the sounds of the alphabets to being able to read the stories of The Clever Crow, he
has experienced the power of learning and so, even if it means sometimes to be forced to treat a
corner of an assembly hall as a class, both teacher and students are lost in their world of learning.
For the teacher it is the satisfaction of making a difference, for the student it is simply the joy of
learning.

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 Skills Enhancement

Much has been written and spoken about the problem that is plaguing our developing nation:
the volume of educated, unskilled, unemployed youth losing faith in the significance of
education. Every citizen, bureaucrat and politician is aware that the future of the country lies in
creating a skilled workforce for the problem facing our country, which is not that of
unemployment but of unemployability.

The Udaan Skills Enhancement Programme (SEP) aims to equip the youth with theoretical
knowledge, practical skills and a positive attitude to seek meaningful employment and take them
towards self-sufficiency. Thus, the emphasis of the SEP is on enhancing the employability level
through 4 segments:

Computer literacy

Spoken English

Vocational training

Soft Skills

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Any youth is eligible to apply for the SEP and enrol for all the segments or for just one or some
of them

At the Udaan Computer Centre we run a NIIT accredited programme, where students are
introduced to the basics of computer literacy that build a foundation to take on higher level
computer skills at a later stage in their professional lives. The focus of the curriculum is on
learning practical computer skills along with a theoretical foundation of computer science. The
course that covers Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Internet is divided into two stages: the
preparatory stage and NIIT first level, to ensure a gradual and thorough assimilation of studied
material. At the end of the programme, a NIIT evaluation certifies successful candidates.

The Udaan Spoken English course aims to impart basic English language skills to support the
youth in achieving their higher educational goals, equip them to do well in their future jobs and
confidently converse in social situations. The course follows the Yuva English curriculum
designed by the Centre for Learning Resources specifically for learners in the age group of 16
25 years who have completed their secondary education in a vernacular medium. Yuva English is
an interactive course with a bilingual and learner centric approach that focuses on learning the
application of language tenets rather than assimilation of mere language concepts. Language
games, conversations, discussions, drill, functional writing exercises, mock interviews all aim
at shaping a confident youth empowered to accomplish basic social and business
communication.

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The Vocational training programme imparts working know-how and practical skills for a
specialized discipline of knowledge to take up careers in fields such as Retail, Automobile, and
Hospitality. Udaan collaborates with different agencies of vocational training who implement
the actual training sessions after a thorough audit of the curriculum, implementation and
monitoring systems. Udaan has collaborated with such agencies as Rustomjee Academy of
Global Careers (RAGC), Youth Career Initiative and Skills Academy.

Sessions on Soft Skills conducted by corporate volunteers prepare the participants to confront the
professional work place with the desired set of values, attitudes and behaviour. Sessions on
grooming, goal setting and time management focus on getting them ready to take on the future
with confidence.

The ultimate goal for SEP is to yield self-sufficient, compassionate and responsible youth, who
are meaningfully employed.

"General Mills India has an unwavering commitment towards our mission of nourishing
lives. Udaans Skills Enhancement Programme provides us with a unique opportunity to
make a differential impact to the lives of 30 aspiring youth to embark on their own forward
looking journey of nourishing life. The partnership with Udaan also allows us to live our core
championship value of Grow and Inspire and thus help us create a leader in every chair at
General Mills."

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-Cheryl Bethune, Director Human Resources

General Mills India Private Limited-GBS

An Insight about Skill Enhancement of Student

Selfmotivated youth walk into the SEP sessions with great hope and dreams for the future. After the
initial formality of screening and admissions, gradually each student is gently encouraged to share their
dreams. Udaan teachers, the educational partners and the volunteers, discreetly note down these
aspirations and start guiding the youth through the chosen path. While the training on specialized skills
enhance their expertise, the sessions on personal grooming, time management and goal setting shape their
personality. In a span of 3-4 months, the participants starts expressing their concrete plans for the future.
Thus, armed with content, capability, confidence and faith, each youth is ready to walk the journey of
self-sufficiency and end the cycle of poverty for himself and his family.

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 Stories of change

Neetu Gupta, 23 years

Udaan is the reason of where I am today

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23 year old, Neetu lives with her parents in the construction workers' basti at Hiranandani
Gardens in Powai. She had never been to school when she joined the Udaan project 10 years
ago. A keen learner, Santoshi was enrolled at Municipal School and through her hard work,
dedication and the support provided by teachers at Udaan, Santoshi soon blossomed into an all -
round student. She excelled in academics and was always appreciated for her dancing skills
when she performed regularly at our Annual Day functions.

In 2014, Neetu passed her graduation examination with 65% and has now received a job
employment placement at JLT India Group. An she is excelling in all her roles and responsibility
at work.

Santoshi Maitri, 19 years

If Udaan was not there, I would have never been able to go to school.

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19 year old, Santoshi Maitri lives with her parents in the construction workers' basti at
Hiranandani Gardens in Powai. She had never been to school when she joined the Udaan project
10 years ago. A keen learner, Santoshi was enrolled at Tirandaz Municipal School and through
her hard work, dedication and the support provided by teachers at Udaan, Santoshi soon
blossomed into an all - round student. She excelled in academics and was always appreciated for
her dancing skills when she performed regularly at our Annual Day functions.

In 2014, Santoshi passed her XIIth grade examination with 57% and has now received a
scholarship to pursue a diploma in Education at Mahatma Gandhi Teacher Training College. One
day Santoshi hopes to be a teacher and help many like her. An outstanding example of how
education can change lives!

Vinay Giri, 20 years

Udaan is helping me to realize my dream of becoming a computer engineer."

Vinay Giri is the eldest son of Mr. & Mrs. Shambhu Giri who migrated from Bihar 15 years ago
and reside in the slums of Phule Nagar. Vinay joined Udaan when he was in class VII at
Tirandaz Village Municipality School. With the constant motivation, encouragement and

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guidance provided by teachers at Udaan, Vinay became a top student with big dreams. He scored
93% in the 2010 SSC board exams and, with the help of mentors from Udaan, completed his
diploma in Computer Engineering from K J Somaiya College and is now pursuing a degree in
Computer Engineering at Vivekanand Engineering College, Mumbai.

The scholarship received from Udaan has given him an opportunity to realise his dream. He
volunteers at the Computer Centre over the weekends and believes that Udaan has really
developed his skills and personality and it is because of Udaan that today he can have a long
conversation in English. In Vinays words, If I had to describe Udaan in one word, I would say
that it means life to me.

You can also be a part of a child's journey

by sponsoring one or more of the following
donation option:

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Contribute In-kind
We welcome any form of in-kind donation. Support us by providing healthy snacks, donating
new clothes, footwear, stationery, dictionaries, and notebooks for our children or infrastructure
and IT equipment for our centres.

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 Bibliography

Internet www.udaanindiafoundation.org

- www.giveindia.org

- https://www.giveindia.org/m-1305-udaan-india-foundation.aspx

- http://ngos.giveindia.org/ngos/Udaan-india-foundation/

- http://www.india.jlt.com/wecare

YouTube

And I would like to mention the main source from where I had received abundance
of information regarding UIF is Neetu Gupta, She is my colleague we work in the
same organization JLT. So I have personally learned many things of how Udaan
Works and the happiness and all the educational support it provides to children of
low-income.

Thanks

Mohammad Abdul Mohsin

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