Ujaale ki aur badhte nanhe kadam..: ARUNA KUMARI

“I always believed in a better future for Vishal, always. Neither my husband nor I ever got a chance to go to school. This is the reason that despite working as daily wage laborers on a farm nearby, we made sure that every penny we earned is used wisely to fund our children’s education.

One day, Vishal came home from school and told us that he stood first in grade 3 with first division. We were overjoyed! I made his favorite sweet and his father gave him a small amount of money to celebrate. It seemed

like all our efforts and sacrifices were finally paying off. On inquiring, I got to know that NEG-FIRE bhaiya

(*Learning Facilitator) had been visiting Vishal’s school and teaching complex mathematical concepts through

games and songs. While Vishal had been initially facing some challenges given the language barrier, this

intervention of learning through activities was doing wonders for him!

“Rang Rang Kon Pasand?” he keeps asking me… It is one of the many games NEG bhaiya had taught him. He has started to recognize different colors and often makes me notice so many colours around me too. Vishal collects all the sticks in our house, small stones, pebbles, and anything that seems useful for his activity-based learning class. NEG bhaiya teaches simple addition and subtraction through these objects and everyone’s understanding has only become better.

The parents are recognizing the benefits of activity- based learning, and the children now wait all week for

NEG bhaiya’s class.

Vishal says he wants to be a teacher when he grows up, and we believe in him. He can be whatever he wishes to be; we are here to support him in his endeavors. I believe every child deserves to have their dreams fulfilled and their future shaped through education.

Taking first place in grade 3 is just the beginning, and the future we’ve imagined for Vishal is starting to take shape   now.”