Girls from Bryan Adams' sponsored Learning Centres sing his song

Girls from IIMPACT Learning Centres sponsored by Bryan Adams enjoyed singing his well loved number -'On A Day Like Today'.

You too can listen to and enjoy their rendition. Simply visit :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0apuAZrahg

LOVE AAJ KAL - MEMORABILIA GOES TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER - PROCEEDS GO TO IIMPACT

EBAY AUCTION OF IMTIAZ ALI'S MOST RECENT HIT MOVIE -'LOVE AAJ KAL' MEMORABILIA WILL BE ON TILL 5TH OCTOBER '09 (as part of the ongoing JOY OF GIVING WEEK)

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS AUCTION WILL GO TO IIMPACT !

PLEASE VISIT : www.ebay.in/jgw.

DO MAKE YOUR BID......

YOU COULD BE A PROUD OWNER OF THE ATTRACTIVE PROPS USED BY SAIF ALI KHAN OR DEEPIKA PADUKONE, REMAINING FULLY ASSURED THAT THE PROCEEDS ARE GOING TOWARDS A VERY WORTHY CAUSE. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE .

Message from Anil Tandon-President-IIMPACT:

'"On behalf of over 9,000 IIMPACT girls we thank the team of ' Love Aaj Kal ' from the bottom of our hearts. We are truly happy that 'Love' can make such a difference!"

IIMPACT GIRLS SING BRYAN ADAMS' TUNES

Bryan Adams, the Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter, has reached out to IIMPACT through his foundation and currently sponsors 20 IIMPACT Learning Centres in Haryana.

The girls at his sponsored centres have been really excited and have enthusiastically been singing some of his songs. They have learnt the lyrics to a few of his songs and manage to sing quite well !

Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVAdnLF9DoI and catch a glimpse of these young girls in action, singing out loud and clear......

Care for India declares IIMPACT NGO of the month

Care for India's aim is to create a web based interface which will act as a library or a knowledge sharing portal where in individuals willing to extendsupport can get to know about others who have been involved in suchinitiatives.

Care for India chooses IIMPACT as the NGO of the month in recognition of the meaningful work carried out in the realm of education of the underpriveleged girl child in various parts of India.

You can read all about it - just go to this link:

http://www.careforindia.com/ngoofthemonth.aspx

ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE JAKARTA POST

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 5:32 PM


Making an impact on female literacy

Aparna Bansal , Contributor , New Delhi Tue, 07/28/2009 9:46 AM Features

Girls only: IIMPACT, an organization created by members of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedebad Class of 1978, strives to increase female literacy in India. In Rajasthan, about 100 kilometers from New Delhi, the rocky roads are laden with trucks like wounded elephants waddling along the path.
Schools of goats smile placidly in the sunshine, small children in brown clothes run with scarves wrapped tightly around their heads to protect them against the fierce mid-morning rays of the sun, and men give you directions based on the location of the trees.
Here, in the March heat of Rajasthan, amid a swirl of yellow-brown mustard dust, 30 girls between the ages of six and 14 sit on the floor in a small, roofed hut, furiously scribbling numbers into their notebooks.
They wear salwar kameez or long-sleeved tops hanging over loose trousers, and some have a dupatta wrapped around their heads.
A young woman in a bright yellow salwar kameez with a nervous but friendly smile walks through the group, providing encouragement.
This is a mathematics class at the Devta-Arman center, one of the 287 centers of its kind set up across five states in the Indian subcontinent by IIMPACT, an organization created by members of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedebad Class of 1978.
As one of the founders, Anil Tandon, explained, at an alumni reunion in 2002 the graduates discussed how they wanted to give back to society in some way, ultimately deciding on the cause of education. They sought to improve literacy in the most backward regions of India, especially where there was a large disparity between male and female literacy.
“The multiplier effects of educating girl children are enormous,” said Abhay Borwankar, one of the organization’s donors. “They are the main victims of socioeconomic backwardness and are most often not given the chance to go to school.”
“By educating the women, we improve the lives of their whole family and the communities they are in,” Anil added. “We can break the poverty cycle, allow even the women to earn a livelihood.”
With donations from fellow graduates and other interested contributors in India and the USA, as well as support in terms of worksheets and curricula provided by other NGOs, IIMPACT was created, setting up one-room learning centers for girls in villages with low literacy levels across the nation.
These villages are the settings of child marriages and female feticide even today, and the organization aims to change some of these traditions through the introduction of education. The path to better education, however, was not easy.
Summing up life: Teacher Irfan leads the students through math class at non-governmental organization IIMPACT’s Chor Baseri center. JP/Aparna Bansal
“There was lots of backlash,” recalled Nirmala Tandon, co-ordinator of IIMPACT. “Centers were shut down because some members of the community felt we were intruding into their territory and didn’t believe that girls should be sent to school.”
But slowly, the communities began to see the benefits of educating girls first hand, as parents, who had never been educated themselves, could get help from their children when trying to calculate loans or read signs. Reluctant parents heard news of the high scores that girls at the centers were receiving, and finally agreed to allow their own daughters to attend as well.
“We also had to change the timing of [classes] so that the girls would still be able to attend the local madrasah and do odd jobs to provide income to the family,” Anil said.
Now, 9,000 girls who would have otherwise remained uneducated come to a center such as this one in Rajasthan to learn math, English, Hindi and environmental studies for about five hours each weekday. Each center has one teacher, who receives at least one month of training from the organization.
The local community provides the room, which has no air conditioning or fan, but does have a mat for the girls to sit on. Instead of textbooks and memorization, here the focus is on activity-based learning, with stories for Hindi class and counting stones for math.
In each area of the room, a different task is underway. The youngest-looking girls sit in one corner working on single-digit addition, while the oldest work through word problems. They are all the daughters of daily wage earners and most are Muslims. None of them knows exactly how old they are. As they scribble away into their notebooks, deep concentration etched on each face, their passion for learning is evident.
“They don’t receive any free meals or anything for coming — the only incentive for coming is education,” said Anil. “And they come regularly.”
At the Arman or Ambition center, the students live up to the center’s name. Kanta, about 13 years old, is one of the most outgoing girls.
Her favorite subjects are Hindi and English, and she wants to be a teacher one day. Her eyes light up as she daydreams with a wistful smile at the mention of airplanes and foreign lands.
At the Chor Baseri center, the girls are more shy and reserved. Karishma, about 14 years old, leans against the wall and works on two-digit division in a book wrapped in newspaper featuring the image of Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai on the front. She speaks in a soft voice, with a hint of a smile playing around her lips.
She dropped out of government school in the 5th grade, finding it too distant and rote-learning based, and went to join the center. She is an only child, unusual in this area where families tend to have four or five children each, and after she gets home she is in charge of many of the household chores, including drawing water, washing dishes and cleaning the house.
Sitting beside her is Asma, around 12 years old, an avid reader who has read about half of the 50 books available at the center’s library, and even volunteers to retell her favorite – a story about a chicken. When asked what she wants to do when she’s older, she smiles down at her lap.
“That is up to God’s will,” she says.
Here, the boys take a backseat, watching their female counterparts learn. One boy stands in a corner with his baby brother in his lap.
“My mother is out cutting wheat, and my father has gone to town,” he explains. “My sister is one of the students here.”
A larger man stands outside the room, staring off into the sands.
“Two of my daughters study here,” he says, in a rough voice. “It is a good school. I am happy they are willing to do this.”
His words resonate with the sentiment of the few mothers present as well, all of whom watch with pride as their daughters write out Hindi words in their notebooks, words that the parents themselves cannot read. At the Arman center, the girls end the day reciting Hindi poems. Kajol, who looks to be about 10 or 12 years old, volunteers to lead, with the others repeating after her.
As they begin to sing, the sound seems to make the walls, and every colorful drawing of trees and fruits taped onto them, vibrate with energy.
Their voices rise above the ceiling and drift into the dusty, spring winds, their words almost a declaration, “The golden bird will come to my house too.”

ARTICLE ON IIMPACT IN TIMES OF INDIA - 17th June 2008

B-school makes impact on these girls' lives
17 Jun 2009, 0531 hrs IST, Nandita Sengupta, TNN

ALWAR: The 15-odd chattering girls in the Islamiya Arabia madrassa are immune to criticism. For five years now, their parents have defied community
wisdom to send them to this school in Mahua Khurd, a dusty Muslim-dominated village 13km from Alwar. The girls, eight to 13 years old, sit straight. Even the youngest has a semblance of a veil thrown over her head.

Pinky Sahni, their young teacher, can be the envy of any private school. The girls are all attention as she goes through basic math at lightning speed. They cheer at getting the answers right and correct her as she frequently inserts mistakes to catch them unawares. "Khub maza aata hai," grins 10-year-old Noori, two teeth missing. Sahni's taught them a few good lessons for life.

Set up in 2003, this is Iimpact's first learning centre, an NGO created by IIM-A's 1978 batch. Today, there are 9,000 girls in 275 such centres across Rajasthan, UP, Karnataka, Jharkand and Haryana. Iimpact has put its considerable weight behind teaching girls not part of the ‘system'. "No dropouts, no secondary education. We target those who are left out of the system and have never been to school," says Anil Tandon, Iimpact's president.

When the alumni decided on its 25th year celebrations to ‘do something', girls education was the obvious choice. Its target is to enrol 60,000 girls in their five-year curriculum by 2014. The team knew doing the NGO grind was not the answer. Most NGOs work on contract. As a result, causes such as girls' education are pursued for a fund-driven period after which the NGO withdraws, leaving villages in a lurch. This simply wouldn't work, felt Iimpact. Iimpact's team put their expertise and networks together to create their own model.

"We partner with local NGOs to proceed on girls education," says Tandon, thus riding on a given NGO's credibility with locals and using it as a delivery mechanism. Iimpact raises and disburses funds, decides curriculum, trains teachers, conducts exams, helps girls get admission into secondary school and monitors, fine-tunes the five-year school package that every girl who enrols must go through. They are taught everything from maths to language to hygiene and civic sense, the idea is to make school a habit for girls and their families. The USP clearly lies in ensuring best management of the project.

"We are trained four times a year for 10-12 days each. We meet other teachers. Ek doosre ke problems bhi discuss ho jate hain," says Alwar-based teacher Santosh.

Going to school has indeed become a habit in neighbouring Moreda. A gaggle of happy mothers look on proudly as their daughters recite poems, read books and sing together.

Five years on, the centre has become the hub of activity for the villagers. The two young Iimpact teachers, from Alwar, engage kids to celebrate festivals and national days. This is where the village's community action is. "Instead of putting their angootha, a father takes his daughter along to sign.

It's a proud moment," says a beaming Shanta. The sparkle in the girls' eyes sure reflects India's shine.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/B-school-makes-impact-on-these-girls-lives/articleshow/4664980.cms

Our very special donors - children of Diegueno Country School, USA

This is first time that we have seen children coming together to donate for the education of children of their own age, as they understand the need and importance of education. Everybody was so moved by the act of the children of Diegueno Country School, that we decided to make this learning center an exceptional one.

The area was identified by the organization on the basis of need. Most of the girls in this area were not in school. When a trained teacher and the staff of IIMPACT approached the community to propose a learning centre in their village - where only girls would be enrolled and would be taught till primary level - they welcomed the idea.

The community helped the teacher to identify the children and the place where the classes would be held. A thatched roof house was identified which was abandoned years ago by its owner Mr. Daruk Khan who relocated with his family to a town nearby. He was then approached by the community heads to motivate him to donate the area for the running on the centers for community girls.

Then the people from the community and especially Mr. Deen Mohammad, came forward to help the IIMPACT team to clean and decorate the place for the children. A classroom which has vibrant colors and pictures was made by the students.

Though in a village of Mewat, we tried to create an environment which is somewhat close to the private schools in the town area. This would not have been possible without the help of the village community and the local staff.

Classes at this Centre were formally started in February 2009. Most of the girls of this centre have never been to school. Thanks to the children of Deigueno Country School, Mrs. Sushma Patel and Mrs. Jas Grewal, the girls are getting acquainted with our method of joyful learning.

What's this Blog about?

Welcome to all those who care about changing India via grass-roots initiatives that empower common people to shape a brighter future for themselves.

IIMPACT is an initiative promoted by alumni of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and we seek support from thoughtful people around the world who may share in our goals.

Our Mission
To mobilize and motivate non school going girls, between the ages of 6 and 14, from economically and socially backward rural areas of India, and put them firmly on the track of literacy through quality primary education.

Our Objectives

• Increase access and encourage enrolment to basic primary education, through community mobilization, for all girl children not in school.
• Provide high quality relevant education through IIMPACT learning centres।
• Encourage and enable each girl to become an independent thinker and self learner।
• Make learning joyful.
• Help transform the community.

In this blog, we will share our progress with you and ask you to contribute your own ideas and efforts to make our journey more fruitful।

We do hope you will join us!