Project Kareeb – A Simple Step in the Right Direction
“I have always loved to learn new things when it comes to my academics. My love for my subjects has never been limited to school textbooks and I’m sure it’s the case for many children from humble backgrounds..”
– Diti Chhaproo, Grade 11, Padamshi Padmavati Soni International Junior College
ChangeWarrior Diti Chhaproo has always been interested in the area of education, and she decided to take this passion forward through her own social impact project, “Project Kareeb”, under the Reimagining Social Challenges Program of TribesforGOOD.
“Kareeb means closer. The goal of my project will be to bring the parents ‘kareeb’ to their child’s education and the children ‘kareeb’ to what they are passionate about.”
The Problem
43% of children today study in poverty, of which 514 million do not have basic literacy skills. Unfortunately, 87% of their parent’s face barriers when it comes to giving time and 40% of them do not have basic education to help their children if they face any challenges. The pay gap in government schools has left teacher to student ratio at 100:1, which results in children having to self-study and rote learn. This could end up with them not having skills for a proper job in the modern workplace and exiguous income- and eventually intergenerational transmission of poverty.
After having sessions with the expert mentor Tena Pick, Diti examined the school curriculums, and understood that rote learning is ubiquitous, and this takes away the thrill of the subjects. Hence she decided to conduct a primary research with students from humble backgrounds and learned that although the parents of these children would like to get involved in their child’s studies, the lack of education hinders it. In her research, Diti spoke to different people- a security guard, a flower vendor, a vegetable vendor, a maid and a dog walker, and learned that all their children were being properly educated in well – established government school, but they were oblivious about the subjects and problems of their children.
Diti’s Solution
Kareeb was born out of Diti’s drive to seal this gap using creative techniques and her passion for education.
Diti started to get involved in the project by proposing engrossing methodologies of teaching and helping students from humble backgrounds to learn English language and literature. She then decided to equip them with skills like digital literacy, specifically to create documents, presentations, spreadsheets and emails. She took part in the Champions of Change program in collaboration with Inqui-lab foundation, where she spent time talking to students and understanding everyday issues they face in schools, and helped them to put it in a presentation. She helped around five students to work on their presentations, and simultaneously improved their confidence, communication, and presentation skills.
The online sessions with Champions of Change helped her understand the students’ caliber when it came to digital literacy and English grammar, and this helped her to design a specific coursework plan to help improve effectively.
Way Forward
To take the project forward, Diti plans to gather a small sample size of children of domestic house workers or other staff, and learn about their interests to help create a rapport and then help them learn basics of English language, literature, and digital literacy on topics of the students’ choice. She will also interact with the parents of these students in a 1 on 1 session to explain the need to be involved in their child’s education, and to answer their dilemmas. Diti also plans to conduct primary and secondary research, and draft a research paper.
Diti Chhaproo is a Grade 11 student from Padamshi Padmavati Soni International Junior College who participated in TribesforGOOD’s Reimagining Global Challenges and Social Justice program, which is an advanced social impact program for Changemakers eager to create their own niche in the impact space. Interested fill this form to sign up for the upcoming months!