Putting the less privileged on their feet

Barkha Mathur / Feb 7, 2016, 03:30 IST

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Teaching students to be responsible students of tomorrow, training physically handicapped and empowering the economically underprivileged, Chitnavis Trust folds in a lot in its ambit

Putting the less privileged on their feet

It’s human nature to complain. But here is a programme which teaches children to rectify and not criticize. Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) is not just catching them young but is inculcating sound values which go a long way in the making of aware citizens. The programme is being run by Chitnavis Trust in Nagpur. “CMCA is a Bengaluru-based NGO which has introduced this programme for students of Std VI to VIII,” informs Nisha Thakur, project manager of Chitnavis Trust.

In the city this is being run at 12 schools and touches nearly 1,500 students.
“The idea is to create civic consciousness and make the young students into thinking citizens of tomorrow,” says Thakur. The programme believes in creating a ripple effect. So when one person takes up a cause, others get affected by it and participate.
“This is a one-year programme and we are holding it for Std VIII students in Nagpur. Nearly 70 volunteers from all walks of life participate in this effort and educate students through various charts and tools which speak of road safety, rights and responsibilities, diversity, equality and active citizenship,” says Thakur.
Students are made aware of various helplines and authorities to whom complaints can be made about various issues. “There is an emphasis on five ‘C’ — change, concern, cooperate, coexist and confront. The classes are interactive and many times we try and conduct them on the days of parent-teacher meeting so that parents too can be a part of it,” Thakur adds.

School audit programme, which is a part of this initiative, makes children learn details like the number of tube lights, water taps and trees in the school. This gives them a fair idea about the size of their school and what it takes to run it.
The Trust is also running different programmes for the welfare of physically challenged and underprivileged kids on its premises at Chitnavis Centre. Pranav, an early intervention centre for

hearing impairment, is an effort in this direction. Children as young as 11 months are admitted to the centre. Trained teachers develop the language and listening skills in them.
“This programme requires at least one parent to be present so that the training can continue at home too,” says Jai Joshi, head of the centre. “By the time they are six years of age, they are ready to get integrated into normal schools,” he says, adding that the centre has 24 children and eight teachers.
The 0 to 5 age is critical for identifying the impairment. “I didn’t know till my son was one year old that he had a hearing impairment. It was when he didn’t speak that we brought him to this centre. Now he is nearly six and from July will start going to a normal school. I have also learnt the method of teaching,” says the boy’s mother Ruksana Khan.
There are people from outside the city who are staying in Nagpur as their child is being taught at Pranav. Parental involvement is critical. Two-year-old Arvind Patar is from a village in Karnataka. His family has now shifted to Nagpur. The mother is illiterate, so now once a week his father comes and learns the methods of teaching. “But the mother accompanies the child every day to the centre and has a way with numbers. So she teaches other kids to count,” adds Joshi.
‘Manjari’, another project of the Trust, is for women empowerment. Women who enrol here are taught various skills like computers, beautician courses and craft which would help them get employment. “We have many women who register here to get jobs as domestic helps and nursing attendants,” says Anita Kuppalwar who has runs this section.
“We discourage young girls from taking up jobs as domestic help and try to train them in computers so that they get employed as receptionists and office attendants,” says Anita. “We get requests for day and night domestic helps but now as many women cycle to work they are able to visit more homes and earn sufficiently. Thus, they want only day jobs,” Anita adds.
“Our project Akshar takes English, Maths and computer classes for kids from the slum areas. This helps them do well in their studies,” says Neeta Kale, one of the Trustees.
These projects and chess classes are being run at the Wada at Chitnavispura in Mahal too. “There are many who have benefited from these projects and have been able to pursue higher studies,” says Kale and adds that the Trust wants more volunteers and sponsorships so that the scales and reach can be enhanced.

About the Author

Barkha Mathur

Barkha Mathur is a special correspondent with Times of India, Nagpur edition, looking after the art and culture beat which includes heritage, theatre, music and many other facets of reporting, which can be termed as leisure writing. What is usually a hobby for most is her work as she writes about cultural events and artists. Not leaving it at just performances, she follows the beat to write about their struggles, achievements and the changing city trends.\n\nHer work takes her to the best of the events, but in personal life she would prefer reading, especially the classics in Hindi as well as English. Being able to follow her fitness regimen is her best stress-buster.\n

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