Authored By Anupama A
I am Anupama, and I have been working at Vonisha Service Foundation for 7 years. The first 4 years, I worked as a teacher, and we faced many challenges. Initially, we conducted surveys in the slums and tried to convince parents to send their children to school. However, some parents were reluctant to send their children, so we began organizing orientations with both children and parents. During these orientations, we explained the importance of education, and eventually, some parents agreed to send their children to school. Over time, these parents encouraged others to do the same.
Once the children started attending school, we noticed that they would only remember what we taught them. Since many of the parents were uneducated, they didn't place much importance on education, which made it difficult to motivate the children to study at home. Therefore, we focused on teaching the basics, starting with cleanliness and discipline before moving on to academics.
One of the challenges we faced was irregular attendance. Since the parents often didn’t value education, when the children were absent, it was common for us teachers to visit the communities, inquire about the reasons for their absence, and encourage the parents to send the children back to school.
During the pandemic, we didn't stop teaching. We adapted by conducting online lessons and also visiting different centers to teach the children in person. There were language barriers as some parents spoke Bengali, but we managed to work through it.
After one year, I became the ASP Coordinator and helped oversee 8 centers. Following that, I worked as the ECCE Coordinator for the KG section last year. This year, I am managing the OBE project. Over the years, I have seen the foundation evolve. Initially, the children were reluctant and even forced to come to school, but now, they enjoy attending because they feel cared for and valued.
