PAST PROJECTS

The Times of India started a project called Teach and since October 2008, SIDART cooperates with this project. Teach India is a project which has the intention to bring together local NGOs and volunteers which want to help underprivileged children. The aim of the project is to establish a platform of volunteers who are willing to teach children a few hours a week (non-formal primary education). The duration of the initiative is a minimum of 3 months but it can be extended if the NGO and the volunteers are willing to.

By means of advertisements, the Times of India managed to find a lot of volunteers who are willing to teach the children. The orientation session for volunteers took place on 25th and 26th July 2009 in the office of the Times of India in Jaipur. SIDART has now set up five Learning Centers within Jaipur which provide lessons to the children. The teachers are not really teachers; they are 'normal people' who would like to spent time to help underprivileged children. The people are doctors, housewives, students; a very divers group of people.

Learning centers are all located in different locations, reaching different kind of children. Some of the Learning Centers aim at reaching children from low-paid families such as servants. These children attend governmental schools but since the quality of these schools is very poor, the educational level of the children is low. Other centers are located in the slum of Jawahar Nagar and Kachchi Basti. The children who attend these centers do not receive any education and are living in very bad conditions. For them, the Learning Centers serves as the place where they receive any knowledge and information.