Kusumpur Pahari

Testing times

Half-yearly exams were held from the 13 th of December for the students of the learning Centre at Kusumpur Pahari. The students were made to revise the syllabus thoroughly and revision tests were held prior to the exam.

Mrs. Rita Rani, U.E.E. Nodal officer of our district visited Kusumpur Pahari on the 6th of December. She took stock of the progress made by the students and inspected all the records maintained at the Centre. She was impressed with the performance of the students and the teachers at the learning Centre and the number of students who have secured admission in various government, M.C.D and public schools after receiving their basic education from our learning centre.

She called for a meeting on the 28 th of December to get the latest update from the various NGOs under the U.E.E. mission and also to discuss different steps that could be taken to make the project even more successful. Various new initiatives such as the formation of Kshetra Education committees involving parents and the use of innovative strategies in the teaching - learning process to sustain the interest of the learners were discussed.

The Tehelka workshop

The Tehelka foundation organised a programme at the National Bal Bhavan to celebrate its 50th year. The students of the learning Centre at Kusumpur Pahari were invited to participate in the programme and they put up a very good show of song and dance. Mr. Navin Jindal and Mr. Sachin Pilot, the chief guests for the occasion were highly impressed on seeing the talent of the students. There were also performances from the students of other schools and from organisations like the Salaam Balak trust.

Tehelka provided a common platform for children from the marginalised sections of society to interact with children from the affluent sections and this proved to be a fruitful experience. It was a day-long affair and after the initial round of performances it was picnic time for all the participants with a wholesome lunch organised by the Tehelka Foundation. This was followed by a few impromptu performances where our children put up a play "Paryavaran Ki Suraksha". It was greatly appreciated by everyone present as it was both entertaining and educational. A few rounds of quiz and 'Show and Tell' by our children were interactive in nature and kept the audience quite engaged and involved in the proceedings. A befitting conclusion to a very enjoyable day was the toy train ride for all the participants.

Our children also attended the session on the 21 st of December which was a day dedicated to animals. Mr. Sudhir Pachauri was the chief guest for the day. The children enjoyed the proceedings and the two days at the Bal Bhavan were a good break for them as it was soon after their half yearly examination.

Festive Flavours

Christmas was celebrated on the 24 th of December at the learning Centre with all the traditional fanfare. One of the students dressed as Santa Claus distributed toffees to all the children and then everybody got together and the decorated the Christmas tree complete with stars and fairies. The Christmas cheer was kept up with a lot of song and dance .The celebratory mood carried on till the New Year with the distribution of samosas on the 27 th of December and noodles on the 30 th of December by the Dhyan foundation.

On the 31st of December each student was given a pencil and an eraser. Mrs. Mekhala , a Ritinjali volunteer, visited Kusumpur Pahari twice-in the month of December to take art classes for the students. She also organised a story-telling session on the theme "Time is Money and Work is Worship" which brought the children's creativity to the fore. The other vocational classes conducted by Ms. Anju Bala on tailoring and beauty and health care are also progressing satisfactorily.