vansamvad poush krishna amavasya

Snehil Agarwal

Yashraj Gupta 

Saksharta Essentials, December 2018

A total of 95 students of classes 8, 9 & 10 from our 8 chhatravas in Southern Bengal visited Kolkata from 18th December to 28th December for attending Saksharta Essentials, an initiative of Youth Wing to coach the students in Maths, English and life skills. Around 7 youth volunteers taught Mathematics from 7 AM - 10AM in the morning, 5 volunteers taught English from 11AM - 1 PM during the day and Art of Living classes were held in the evening.

Volunteer teaching Class 8 kids

We observed that the basic subject knowledge was poor but the zeal to learn was present. Some students were very bright and others with weak basics were given extra attention by the volunteers.

Students who came for the first time were extremely shy and nervous while interacting with the volunteers. Students who have attended this program earlier, were confident and freely approached their 'Didibhais' and 'Dadabhais' to solve their queries.

Doubts being cleared

This string of workshops was special for the students because their long held demand was going to be true this time. The kids were taken on an excursion on 23rd December in order to provide them a glimpse of the City of Joy. We visited Belur Math and Birla Industrial & Technology Museum and saw  Victoria Memorial, The 42, Howrah Bridge etc enroute.

We hope that our endeavour has enriched the subject knowledge of students and they would be more confident when they visit again for the next edition of Saksharta Essentials.

वनसंवाद - श्रावण कृष्ण पक्ष अमावस्या

Saksharta Essentials October 2017

A short glimpse of our "Saksharta Essentials" programme where we coach tribal students in Mathematics, English and soft skills. A mathematics class in progress...

Saksharta Essentials June'15

Saksharta Essentials - June 2015 @ Kolkata

Continuing our series of "Saksharta Essentials", the June 2015 was a very successful and satisfying experience. We had started this experiment to make the students understand the basic concepts of the subjects they are studying. In the previous versions, we mostly used to get blank faces. But this time, the class 10 students showed eagerness to understand the subject.

24 class 10 students from 8 hostels of Southern Bengal were in Kolkata from 26th May - 5th June for coaching in English and Mathematics. These students had attended the camp in December 2014 also. Our volunteers helped these students with their studies, but our objective was to make them understand the importance of practice and create an affinity for learning.

For 10 days, we played with intricacies of Trigonometry & Mensuration. Some students were very weak in Mathematics. So we devoted a volunteer for these students to alleviate their fears and understand the concepts. In English classes, the students enjoyed writing letters to friends, principal and class teacher. Understanding a comprehension by enacting the same, very much appealed to them.

These 10 days were very hectic for both the students and the volunteers. Our volunteers took time off from their daily schedule to give something back to the society. The students learnt the subjects taught and the volunteers set an example for the rest to emulate. 

Education Camp @ Kolkata (December 2014)

Around 60 students of class 9 and 10 were in Kolkata till 30th Dec 2014. These students are our Vanvasi brothers & sisters who belong to 8 different hostels run by VKA in South Bengal.

 Youth volunteers came forward in full support in coaching Basic Mathematics , English, Skill and Personality Development at Kalyan Bhawan, Kolkata.

Some snaps are shared as below. Follow us on facebook.com/vanvasi  or feel free to write to us at workforvanvasi@gmail.com

SHISHU MELA 2014

SHISHU MELA 2014

“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.”


An annual event dedicated towards the children of the various Shishu Shiksha Kendras, the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram youth wing celebrated its 6th SHISHU MELA on the 30th of November, 2014 in chunanakhali,sundarbans, near Kolkata. The event garnered huge response this year as a team of more than 75 volunteers from Kolkata participated. Two buses were deployed near Ultadanga for transmit, and the entire team departed for chunanakhali. The gracious occasion vitalized all the volunteers to bear with the long journey that was lying ahead. A great bond and enthusiasm was visible among the youth as they travelled through the roads. With a small halt for breakfast in a ground along the way, the buses finally reached the destination village at around. The venue was a ten-minute’ walk from there as the buses couldn’t ply further. The seniors and kids took rickshaws while the youth walked to the location with the  stuff that was brought along including prizes, balls, school bags etc. It was a picturesque location as the venue,a local school had a huge grass field which was surrounded by large salt-water lakes.



The villagers and school masters-acharyas welcomed all the volunteers with their traditional style of tilak and flowers. The excitement among the small boys and girls showed as they all lined up in front of their guests. Soon, they all were divided into groups and taken for the various games that were planned for them. It included flat race, balance race, ring game and ball-into-bucket game. There were prizes for each game, and the kids hopped from one game to another to grab those prizes. The games saw not only the students, but also the school masters participating in them. The prizes included some common utensils, handkerchiefs etc., while balls were also distributed as consolation prizes to all of them. The games were followed by lunch which was collectively prepared and served by the school staff and fellow villagers. The khichdi and chutney in the lunch was itself a taste of the Vanvasi tradition and was much appreciated by every individual. Post  lunch, the volunteers from Kolkata distributed school bags,slates,colouring books,crayons,biscuits among all the kids. The happiness on their faces upon wearing those new, cartoon-printed bags was unmatchable. The VKA team concluded the event and departed from the village . The buses returned to Kolkata , and each volunteer bade goodbyes with magnificent memories of this wonderful day.

“There is nothing better than being able to bring a smile to someone’s face and hear their laughter.” 

Shishu Mela gives an opportunity for the Youth volunteers to interact with the Vanvasi “shishu” and cater towards giving them a day of happiness. The kids are sensitized towards creative and skill development activities and few of their necessities are provided for through this initiative. The Mela also facilitates the aim of increasing participation and promotion of the Vanvasi culture. With the immense response and participation this year, Shishu Mela 2014 was a grand success.

“To know that atleast one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.”
Thanks & Regards,
Anurag Agarwal

Highlights of 62nd Medical Camp – August, 2014, Kolkata Team

Medical Camps have a significant impact by providing better healthcare to the marginalized sections of our society. In this connection Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram Kolkata organized its 62^nd Medical Camp on Sunday, 31^st August, 2014 at Pattarhuri village, 26 Kms from Kharagpur (Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal). 

Scroll below for the highlights of this camp ! 

Medical Camp site – Pattarhuri village, 26 Kms from Karagpur, Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal

Strong group of 95 volunteers from Kolkata – Businessmen, doctors, professionals, house wife & students

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Warm tribal folk song and traditional tribal dance by local vanvasi school girls and teachers

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380 vanvasi patients examined for pulse rate, blood pressure, weight, blood sugar, eye sight, dental ailments, general health and underlying diseases.

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60 vanvasi households surveyed for family size, education, source of earning, domestic animals, power & water availability etc.

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Visits to various Rain Water Reservoirs built by Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram under Rain Water Harvesting Program

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Apart from this the volunteers planted around 50 saplings of Mango, Pepal and Guavaa and also attended a power packed session by Professor S N Panda and Prof Swain of Rural Development Centre at IIT Kharagpur on ‘Climate Smart and chemical free organic Agriculture Techniques’ at IIT Karagpur Agriculture Department.

Overall the camp was a grand success!

Do contact us to volunteer / sponsor in the next Medical Camp! 

         Regards,
     
         Vanavsi Kalyan Ashram Youth Team

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