Education
Community college helps tribal women pursue vocational education
As we commemorate International Women’s Week, young tribal women in remote villages pursue vocational education towards their livelihood, in a college in familiar surrounds at timings that suit them
Life skills education prevents child marriages among Odiya tribes
Life skills education empowers tribal girls with knowledge, self-awareness and decision making capacities, helping them rise above social customs and pressures. It has resulted in decline of child marriages
Nutrition gardens help students learn better and eat better
Growing vegetables and fruits in schools with community support improves tribal students’ conceptual understanding of science and maths, and helps them eat a nutritious meal
Accessible education for deprived rural students
Established in rural areas lacking in development, state-run model schools in Rajasthan are offering quality education for free to students from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds
Child panchayats spur village leaders to improve services
Knowing their rights to life and social protection, school students in child panchayats have compelled rural administrators to provide basic amenities necessary for the development of their villages
Stigmatized Lodha tribe starts new life trajectory
Education and sports have helped the Lodhas, a particularly vulnerable tribal community that was forced to lead an excluded life because they were stigmatized as thieves, to increasingly join the mainstream
Child cabinets bring students at work back to school
Poverty forces villagers in Kendrapara district to pull children out of school to work and add to household income. Awareness and counseling are now sensitizing parents to let children continue their education
Lack of skilled professionals hamstring underdeveloped regions
The severely underdeveloped central and eastern hilly tribal belt in India is poorly served by skilled grassroots professionals such as teachers and paramedics, a problem that has no easy solutions
Rural youth turn software developers right after school
Rural youth with the right aptitude are trained and employed in a technology company in Tirunelveli. Local employment has prevented migration and improved the families’ economic status
Digital tech in curriculum enriches participatory learning
By enabling teachers design applications and help students create artifacts, best practices in use of technological tools can facilitate contextualized learning and its application
Missing foot soldiers in the war on poverty
Unless the government improves the anemic delivery structure of rural health and education, the neglected and overworked frontline workers will not be able to fight underdevelopment adequately
Village girls shed fear and shame about menstruation
Through a health initiative that demystifies menstruation by using games and stories, schoolgirls in rural Jharkhand are learning about menstrual health and the importance of nutrition
Girls in rural Rajasthan show zeal for science
A rural student’s aspiration has broken gender stereotypes, inspiring girls to choose to study science subjects, with Atal Tinkering Labs, science fairs and other such initiatives increasing science literacy
Migrant children get a shot at continuing education
A scheme by the Odisha government has enabled children of migrant workers to continue their education at destination sites, preventing child labor and ensuring continuity in education
How development excludes India’s tribal people
Failing to understand the tribal world view and imposing the dominant development paradigm on adivasi communities is affecting their identity and well-being
Mayurbhanj villagers forced to ford river to reach schools, hospitals
Inadequate and inconvenient road connectivity due to poor planning compels many villagers in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha to risk a dangerous crossing of Burhabalang River everyday to reach the nearest town
Education gives Paromita hope for a better future
The story of Paromita Mondal, a teenage girl living in rural Bengal, is testimony to the fact that the efforts of government and development organizations to retain girls in school have slowly started bearing results
Community school shines beacon of hope in Surguja hills
Thwarted livelihood opportunities after giving up their land to mining companies hasn’t stopped a disadvantaged community in the remote Surguja hiils of Chhattisgarh to run a school for tribal and Dalit children
Skill training empowers girls, raises hope for gender parity
Skill development trainings are not only helping rural communities fight poverty in Assam but are also empowering girls to aspire big, overcoming challenges posed by social stigma and deep-rooted gender disparity
Mobile labs in rural Odisha promote science-based solutions
With a science-based approach learnt from mobile science labs through the audiovisual medium, tribes in Odisha have adapted simple measures that have helped in reducing their health problems