WaterAid, an international organization working on provision of clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, provided 25 temporary complimentary hand washing units made of PVC pipe and a tap to SHIKSHA Initiative to assess appropriate hygiene practises in the SHIKSHA Plus learning centres. This hand-washing device holds approximately 05 litres of water and can be used to wash hands with soap by up to 12 persons at once. The water may be refilled to serve another 12 people.

Volunteers and GPSs have been informing the community to follow the COVID-19 applicable protocol since the commencement of this pandemic. This unit will assist them in practising hand washing before starting their classes each day.

Adult learning centres are operating in the homes of learners in the Kasmanda block of Sitapur district, adhering to all COVID-19 guidelines. The owners of the learning centres have happily agreed to place these hand washing units at the entrance of their homes by identifying a location where used water can easily flow. Shalini Yadav, the instructor at this centre in the village of Dariyapur, has nothing but praise for the organisation and attributes her high motivational level to her GPS Reema Shukla for encouraging the leaners to follow safe hygiene practices.

On an undaunting mission to make education accessible to every strata of the society, SHIKSHA Initiative has played pivotal role in bridging the gap between students and education during pandemic. Through it’s innovative program like SHIKSHA Kiran, SHIKSHA Initiative has reached out to students and adults who were devoid of educational access. This effort was recognised and awarded by Hon’ble Governor of Uttar Pradesh- Shrimati Anandiben Patel on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti at Raj Bhawan, Lucknow. Hon’ble Governor praised SHIKSHA’s efforts during pandemic and motivated the team to keep going forward. Mr. Robin Sarkar, Project Director, SHIKSHA Initiative and Mr. Mayank Sinha, Associate General Manager, SHIKSHA Initiative received the award.

In an initiative to develop writing skills among neo-literates learners of the SHIKSHA Plus program, a writing competition was organized at the Tillbegampur and Kalonda village by the volunteers – Beby Gola, Pankaj Kumari, Ashan Devi, Tabassum, Mehazabi and Danishta. Total of 80 learners participated in the competition and these learners were from different volunteer batches. Beby Gola, one of the volunteers said that the writing competition has motivated all the learners to learn and practice independent writing in their SHIKSHA PLUS workbook and notebook. This activity will also motivate the learner to come to the SHIKSHA PLUS centre daily and eventually will increase the learner’s attendance at the batches. The first three runners up were given the books to read and practice.

To show honour and gratitude to the teachers, Teacher’s Day celebration was organized in the District Headquarters -Shravasti at Alakshendra Inter College,Bhinga on 5th September, 2021. Among the dignitaries who graced the occasion were Hon’ble Mr. Amod Kumar, Principal Secretary-Planning, who was the chief guest along Mr. Ram Feran Pandey, MLA , Mr. T.K. Shibu, District Magistrate, Mr. Ishan Pratap Singh, Chief Development Officer, Mr. Prabhu Ram Chauhan, Basic Education officer , and other officials.

Selected teachers from the district were honoured with certificate of appreciation which was followed by Hon’ble Mr. Amod Kumar throwing light on the importance of being a good teacher. Mr. Manoj Nishad, District Coordinator, SHIKSHA Initiative was felicitated by Block Education Officer and District Coordinator-Training and Development for being an outstanding Prerna Saarthi under Mission Prerna.

A very warm and gracious gesture was showcased by the learners from various SHIKSHA Plus centres by honouring Ms. Roshni Nadar Malhotra, CEO, HCL Corporation on her birthday on 16th September. The learners got to know about her work in building the society by making education accessible to everyone. They showered her with good wishes and lot of blessings to keep on performing the noble deed.

Active listening is a valuable technique that requires the listener to thoroughly absorb, understand, respond, and retain what’s being said. While engaging in active listening, the listener may also pay close attention to the speaker’s behaviour and body language to gain a better understanding of their message. It is one of the most important communication skills in today’s time and one of the core skills teachers should possess to get the best out of the class.

Active listening was the agenda when SHIKSHA Initiative team completed a two-day training program for 10 government teachers and 5 supervisory staff of the organization World Vision in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh. The training was held on 26th and 27th of August, 2021 wherein Mr. Jay Singh, BEO-Haswa and Mr. Steve Daniel Rao led the discussion on UMANG school readiness program and SHIKSHA Initiative’s ICT Content. The coordinators from SHIKSHA Initiative took forward the session with support from World Vision team. Ms.Smriti Ria Patar, from SHIKSHA Initiative focussed on the importance of active listening and various speaking techniques whereas Mr. Kamlesh Kumar conducted the behaviour management session with the participants. The session gathered praise and good feedbacks from the participants.

In the list of SHIKSHA Initiative’s expansion districts, Gonda has been a new addition. On 10th August 21, a MoU between Basic Education Department and SHIKSHA Initiative was signed with an agreement of conducting ICT based classes in 50 primary schools in Gonda district. In a meeting with Dr. Vinay Mohan, Basic Education Officer (BEO) of Gonda, SHIKSHA Initiative’s team briefed the officials about ICT based program and its impact in children’s learning.

After two phases of successful implementations of SHIKSHA Ki Goonj programs in Dadri and Sikandrabad, a third phase of the program was launched on 15th July 2020. This 15-day program came to an end on 30th July 2021 which was followed by certificate distribution ceremony. The program was conducted in Sarai Dulha village of Sikandrabad where in almost 280 students participated. With an objective to reach the students in the pandemic through loudspeakers, SHIKSHA Ki Goonj has been instrumental in bridging the gap between education and students. Mr. Lalitendra Bhartiya, Project Manager, SHIKSHA Initiative thanked the community, teachers, and students for their continued support in making this program a success.