We cannot bring back their lost days but we all together can make their future brighter and safer

Deenabandhu is a charitable Not for profit organization located in Chamarajnagara, one of the very backward districts of Karnataka. Deenabandhu works towards the education and rehabilitation of orphan, destitute and estranged children. To know more about Deenabandhu please watch is 6 mins long video and visit www.deenabandhutrust.org. 

Today we want to share an inspiring story of two brothers, Ullasa and Ananda, who came under the care of Deenabandhu on 31^st December 2014. Ullas was 9 years old and his under sibling Anand was around 7 when they came.

On 23^rd July 2008, when the younger child Anand was just 2 years of age, their mother was gang raped and murdered. Their father who was unable to cop up with the situation committed suicide. Ullas and Anand had lost both of their parents at the tender age of 4 and 2 respectively.

However their paternal Aunt Neelamma and Uncle Nataraju, gave both of them to the custody of Bapuji Children’s Home, Mysore. They kept visiting the children often at Bapuji Children’s home. Due to the health problem of Neelamma, they were unable to visit the children for some time. In the mean time authorities of Bapuji Children’s home and Vatsalya Charitable Trust, Bangalore, with their mutual understanding planned and completed the procedure of inter-country adoption of the children to an Italian couple. Getting to know about this fact Neelamma and Nataraju fought with government and child welfare committee, Juvenile court and finally got the custody of the children. After this incidence children were put under the care of Government Certified school. From there the children were transferred to Deenabandhu.

Thinks started to change gradually with the love and acceptance of Deenabandhu home. Love, care, nutritious food, proper schooling, extra guidance with reading and writing, numerous extracurricular activities, trips, conversations with other children and staff created a huge impact in their minds and hearts. They adjusted very well to Deenabandhu home pretty soon.

 

Anand

Now both of them are one of the top performers in their class. Both picked up the skills to read and write Kannada very quickly. Much faster than average. They both proved to be bright and talented in many endeavors.

Ullas

At Deenabandhu, currently we have more than 73 children like Ullasa and Ananda. All of them have gone through hardships in their lives and here at Deenabandhu, they have all blossomed well. Deenabandhu is working since 1992 and have seen many of its children settle happily. Some are working as journalist, designers, engineers, singers, artists and drivers. Some are self employed and some are working for different industries and Corporates. Most of our alumni keep visiting us and every year they make sure to celebrate Deepavali with their younger siblings here at Deenabandhu home. It is a proof yet again that with love, care and acceptance even the hardest of the wounds can be healed. 

Please join hands with us. We will never be able to bring back their lost days but we all together can make their future brighter and safer. We can enable them to dream and help them to reach higher. Help a child to reach the sky!

 

Inspiring Activity Based Experiential Learning Culture in Rural Govt. Primary Schools.

Deenabandhu Teacher Resource Center

Supported by Oracle

 

Most schools approach teaching through rote learning. Children will not be able to develop conceptual clarity of any subject especially that of science and mathematics through this methodology. Lack in understanding of the concepts hampers the development of a child. Deenabandhu is working to inculcate child centric activity based experiential learning methodology in rural Govt. primary schools through professional development of teachers. 

 

Sri. Ravi with his school children

Science teacher, Sri Ravi Kumar of Govt. Higher Primary school, Arakalavadi, Chamarajanagara is the center of this story. He is working as a science teacher in this school since eight years.

Mr. Ravi was very much interested to teach innovatively. However he confessed that for initial three years after becoming a teacher, he had no guidance regarding, bringing the activity based experiential learning into his classroom. He was clueless about the methodology he should follow to reach and teach children more effectively. 

It was at this time, around five years back, Mr. Ravi was introduced to Deenabandhu TRC through teacher’s workshops. In workshops conducted by Deenabandhu, he not only learnt making various Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs) but also about the way they should be used to bring conceptual clarity in children. As these workshops are designed in-line with state syllabus, he was able to implement whatever he learnt in the workshops directly in his classroom. He could see that children were not only more interested to learn but also developed better clarity of the concepts. He was very much inspired by the teaching methodology followed by Deenabandhu and initiated his own science learning corner at his school. 

Sri Ravi and his resource centre at Govt. Primary School, Arakalavadi

In the previous five years, this science learning corner has developed into a resource center with a collection of more than 300 teaching learning materials. He himself has now developed into a resource person and keeps developing many new TLMs on his own. He is in constant touch with TRC and continues to attend all the workshops conducted by Deenabandhu.

 

Likewise, Deenabandhu has inspired many Govt. primary school teachers around Chamarajanagara, to develop their own learning corners / resource centers in their school. Like Mr. Ravi, most of these teachers are working in rural schools. These learning corners are changing teaching culture in these schools by replacing rote learning with activity based experiential learning. Also when these teachers are transferred to other schools, the same culture begins to blossom in other schools as well. Deenabandhu is indeed changing the culture of education in and around Chamarajanagara and is able to inspire many Govt. schools to follow activity based experiential learning methodology.

 

30th Aug 2016 Deenabandhu Science Park Inauguration

 

 

Deenabandhu Trust has a two acre plot close to Deenabandhu School where science park is established.. Now that Deenabandhu Primary school is upgraded into high school, the significance of Teacher Resource Centre and Science Park are increasingly felt. Deenabandhu Teacher Resource Centre was established in 2002 and has continued to grow. It has a research and development wing engaged and producing innovative Teaching Learning Material (TLM) and has produced over 700 unique TLMs.

Science Park is an extension of the same and consists of life sized play models. It is fun to play with them and at the same time they bring about clarity of the science concept behind the fun experience. This experience coupled with scientific interpretation is critical to the understanding of a science phenomenon.

On 30^thAugust 2016 the science park was formally declared open by Dr. Melli Annamalai, PhD, Principal Senior Product Manager, Oracle, USA. Several of these models were already in use and numbers of school children were given an opportunity to use these amenities.

The park was established with the kind financial support from Oracle The Oracle is also supporting Teacher Resource Centre which endeavours for professional development of teachers in select Government primary schools spread over four blocks of Chamarajanagara district. 160 such primary school science teachers are involved. Science Park consists of more than 25 life sized special science play amenities and children can play and experience the fun. We have play models to show the mechanical advantage of simple machines like lever, inclined plane, pulleys etc. We also have models connected with magnetic levitation and other magnetic phenomenon. There are models connected with optical illusions and persistence of vision and physics of sound. Models showing reflection and properties of light are also erected. All these models are fabricated by a local fabricator who is guided for scientific specificity and precision by TRC staff.

More than 1000 visitors from all parts of Chamarajnagara district visited the Science Park on this day. Over 800 of them were students from different primary and high-school in and around Chamarajnagara. Around 200 teachers and educators also visited the park and the fair. Children were very excited to play with all the models in the park and were equally eager to know why and how it worked!? Teachers were also equally engaged. It again proved that the experiential learning creates deeper curiosity and better ability to grasp.