This Teachers Day help a Teacher help 400 children by Shuvajit Payne

Tax benefit

80G Tax Exemption Certificate Available

Help young mavericks transform themselves into an amazing teacher, everyone wished for.

About the Fundraiser

The Context

Every one of us, when we look back and revisit that defining moment that shaped us, we are sure to find behind the limelight - a wonderful teacher.

Yet today, the lack of respect towards the profession has resulted in our nation to attract role models into the profession who can incept values in learners in their formative years.

Result? A large part of the nation today, not seeking knowledge, not seeking happiness beyond money, not valuing a heroic the personality of principles, lacking in sensitivity, civic concern, tolerance and at times, even, objective thinking!

Our Brief History

Turning the tide starts with drops in the ocean.

Our own intervention starts in the rural school of Shikshaniketan in a remote village called Tilonia, set in Rajasthan.

For 4 decades, the school has been the light of education for thousands of children from marginalized communities nearby. And yes, being a school that developed its teachers as it went along, it did imbibe several of the virtues that we only discuss as ‘should be’s. Respect towards the environment, hands-on learning, equality of all, voicing rights – Shikshaniketan has incorporated many of these aspects in its pedagogy years ahead in time.

Today, Shikshaniketan’s alumni stand successfully in various professions, some in senior leadership positions in Barefoot College itself. (Barefoot College is the umbrella non-profit organization working on skill development of those without formal qualifications – Read more here). Alas, since the profession of teaching was never socially aspirational, we hardly have a few alumni who have returned to us to be Shikshaniketan’s teachers.

What we did

We want our 40-year-old teachers to pass the baton. Inspired by the founding principles of Barefoot College, and modelled around the effective TeachforIndia programme, we started the Barefoot Rise Fellowship encouraging young enthusiastic individuals to take on the challenge to transform themselves into holistic education professionals while teaching in Shikshaniketan.

In our first year, 4 maverick souls have stepped up to the task. Their personal motivations make us confident that we shall be able to restore the true spirit of Teaching!

Jayashree Kulkarni, an architect by education, is now Environment education teacher. She is exploring outdoor teaching and learning with children by drawing inspiration from nature.

Joy Banerjee is an enthusiast about impact at grassroots level. He is currently teaching Math and Science and making friendly science filled explosions in the school.

Tanisha Guin has shifted from slums of Daravi to Tilonia to provide access to quality English education to our tiny tots at Shikshaniketan.

Yamini Saxena, has her masters in Economics but believes that her intervention in the system should start by being a teacher in rural India and facilitating bottom-up theory of change.

Our challenge and how you can help?

Being a non-profit providing free education, we have managed to squeeze our resources to support the stipend and logistics of these young Fellows. However, in a low-resource remote village, we always feel that a few provisions will make these young Fellows a lot more equipped to be productive - bring out the best in them in creating teaching-learning material that will not only improve their class delivery but shall also set examples for years to come.

Perhaps a laminator and a colour printer to make interesting long lasting learning aids with ease? Maybe low cost LED projectors to use in class? Perhaps cycles to make the 4 km round trip walk every day a little less stressful? Perhaps a small amount for stationeries?

Already more than a month into classroom teaching, our 4 amazing Rise Fellows have proven

themselves to be extremely effective in what they can even if they lack the basics.

Imagine, if with your support, how much they’ll be able to do for the 400+ local rural underprivileged children.

Our wishlist:

Laminator: Rs. 3,000
1 Colour Printer: Rs. 20,000
4 x LED Projectors (including USB stick and connectivity options): Rs. 32,000
1 Shared Laptop: Rs. 30.000
Stationery budget for 4 Fellows for 1 year: Rs. 48,000
4 x Cycles: Rs. 32,000
1 DSLR to capture quality local photos for publications & TLM: Rs. 35,000

We shall publish invoices and photos of all items purchased immediately on purchase.
After 9 months, we shall also inform you of every aspect achieved in curriculum, TLM, through these contributions. We expect quality photo, video content, a substantial amount of printed laminated TLM being created, and also, regular use of multimedia display options in class.

Meanwhile, you are more than welcome to write to us at visit@barefootcollege.org to visit us at Tilonia in between and closely get to know the Rise Fellows and also the work that they are doing.