SHEF’s teacher and clinical psychologist from DOSTI (Development of Self Through Interaction, SHEF’s program for children with disabilities) provides additional support for parents who are caring for their children with disabilities during the COVID19 lockdown. The tips shared in this video are intended to help parents and families understand how they can best support their children’s needs during this difficult time. While the tips presented in this video are primarily intended to support children with autism, they are also helpful for all children.

An article and short film on Prerna Girls School, written and produced by Shree Paradkar, Toronto Star race and gender columnist, won the Amnesty International Media Awards this year. The Amnesty International Media Awards are a unique set of awards that pay tribute to the best human rights journalism in the UK. The piece captures Prerna’s use of critical feminist pedagogy to empower young girls from marginalized communities in order to help them break barriers of gender, caste, and class to claim their rights as equal persons, deserving respect and having the right to live a life of their own choosing.

Given the unpredictability of the situation, and the fact that we cannot anticipate when schools will reopen, SHEF is moving all of its teaching and learning activities online. All our schools have begun a new academic session, and the students are receiving assignments, activity-based lessons, and other resources through WhatsApp, so that they can continue learning from home. Where possible, teachers are also using on-line platforms, such as Zoom, to conduct regular classes with their students. This is perhaps most challenging with our children from Prerna Girls and Boys Schools and Vidyasthali. While the children in these schools are also sent activities and assignments through WhatsApp and audio conference calls, there are still many children who do not have access to mobile phones and internet connection. Our teachers are constantly in search of new, creative ways to ensure that they are able to reach all children.
SHEF is also promoting its online library of virtual lessons prepared by Digital Study Hall (DSH), so that children everywhere can continue to learn. DSHOnline has more than 1000 high-quality classroom video lessons for classes 1 to 8 available free of cost on YouTube. In just the past month, since the start of the COVID19 crisis, our viewership has increased threefold!

In partnership with Didi’s, SHEF has produced and distributed close to 1000 washable face masks to various hospitals and others across Lucknow. We have also distributed 140 packets of sanitary napkins to 125 girls with the help of Prerna alumni. We are working to produce reusable sanitary pads for girls who don’t have access to these necessities during the lockdown.

We understand that these are times that are particularly challenging for children, especially girls from underprivileged backgrounds who live in fragile and abusive environments. We have received notice of 3 cases of domestic violence, and our Aarohini team has taken quick action to resolve them with the help of the child helpline. The team has also made and shared a video on how girls can stay safe and protect themselves from domestic and sexual violence, including who they can reach out to for help. Our helpline numbers have been included in Shakti Shalini’s (a nationally recognised NGO working to prevent gender/sexual violence) pan-India list of organistation offering support to survivours during the lockdown.
We are also working to maintain close vigilance through our alumni and teachers at Prerna Girls School, as the girls who attend Prerna are one of the most vulnerable populations. In times like these, they are at a higher risk of facing domestic and sexual violence.

Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF), through its partner organisation Didi’s Foods, is providing 1130 meals per day to a community kitchen set up by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. These meals are being served to migrant labourers in the Gomti Nagar area.

Since the schools first closed due to COVID19, SHEF’s teachers have been innovating new ways to engage their students over the phone and internet to ensure that the learning continues. The last few weeks have truly been an exploration into the territory of distance teaching and learning! From which online platform to use, to how to engage children who don’t have internet access, our teachers are working hard to find the best way to reach their students during this time. (A few more lines here on what they’re doing/how it’s been going.)

Now moving into our 6th week of lockdown, Dr. Sahni has a message for them as they continue to explore.

Satyam, 8 years old, is a student of our GyanSetu center in Nabipanah, a village 33 km outside of Lucknow. He lives with his brother (16) and grandmother. Satyam lost his father when he was younger. After the mishap, his mother started a roadside tea stall and his brother got a job as a small-time caterer on a contractual basis to support the family. Things only got worse when his mother met with an accident. Despite the fact that the family gave up their life savings for her treatment, she eventually succumbed to her injuries on Mar 20, leaving Satyam’s brother as the sole breadwinner of the family. The recent pan-India lockdown has taken away their only source of income to sustain their livelihood.

Our GyanSetu team reached out to Satyam and his family to know of their well-being. They realized that the family was in dire need of food, on the brink of starvation. For now, our center has donated a few essential items to help Satyam and his family get by. Someone from our team is constantly in touch with them to make sure they are able to make ends meet. The team has also spoken to the local Pradhan (head of the village), who assured us he would make arrangements to help the family at this time.

Because the populations SHEF serves are particularly vulnerable in the current situation, our teachers and staff are reaching out to students on a regular basis to check on their safety and well-being. In this way, our teachers are also able to assess the overall situation in these communities and ascertain which needs are most pressing. Much like Satyam and his family, the vast majority are facing food shortages as a result of the lockdown, which has left so many without work and with little means to sustain themselves at this critical time.

We are currently working to provide essential food items to these children and their families, especially as we anticipate conditions worsening as the lockdown continues. If you wish to join our efforts.
Please contact Siddharth at siddharth@studyhallfoundation.org

Stay safe and healthy.

During these distressed times as an organisation, we are always thinking of ways to help those less fortunate and are working hard to serve our communities.
Our GyanSetu team is in touch with the local communities and are trying to find individuals and families who are in desperate need of our help.
Pictured here is food distribution in Aurangabad, Lucknow facilitated by Gyansetu teachers.