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About Samaaveshi Pathshaala Foundation:
Samaaveshi Pathshaala Foundation is a registered nonprofit based in Karjat tribal block of Maharashtra, founded in 2018 by two graduates of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. Our mission is to build 'inclusive classrooms' where all children irrespective of their social background or disability study together, using a multi-sensory learning approach. And we strongly believe that the journey to build an inclusive society starts from an inclusive classroom.
We started our journey as an ‘inclusive kindergarten’ from a two-room rented space with a small playground in Kashele village, on 3rd December 2018 (World Disability Day) - with a total of 15 students, including three children with disabilities (two children with hearing impairment and one with cerebral palsy), who studied together in the same classroom. Our curriculum is designed in a way that each child gets equal opportunity to learn and participate in all activities both in and outside the classroom. Besides, by integrating principles of constructivism, universal design for learning (UDL) and social-emotional learning (SEL), we strive to enhance creativity, expression and learning outcomes for all children with diverse learning needs.
Vision and mission of the organization:
VISION: One day, all schools will become 'inclusive'.
MISSION: To bring systemic transformation in schools where every child irrespective of their social background or disability has equal access and opportunity to quality education.
What is the meaning of 'Samaaveshi'? How did it start?
The idea of Samaaveshi came about in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake in 2015 when young children who sustained severe injuries - and became temporarily or permanently disabled - were excluded and discriminated against by their own schools and communities. Nivedita and Ashok saw this first-hand during relief and recovery assignments to remote hilly districts affected by the earthquake.
Schools are a microcosm of society, and the journey to build an inclusive society starts from an inclusive school where young children are instilled with values of empathy and compassion in their formative years. Thus, the duo decided to quit their jobs and set off on a mission to set-up 'Samaaveshi' where all children with and without disabilities study together in the same classroom. Samaaveshi means 'inclusion', and we strongly believe in the need to build 'inclusive classrooms' where all children irrespective of their social background or disability study together, in an environment that promotes diversity and inclusion.
Samaaveshi was founded by Nivedita Tiwari and Ashok Shah, both social work graduates of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. Two years after the Nepal earthquake, the founding couple confirmed Kashele village in Karjat tribal block (60 km from Mumbai), as the location to set-up Samaaveshi. They conducted a baseline survey to identify children with disabilities from 50+ villages in Karjat block. Finally, on 3rd Dec 2018 (World Disability Day), Samaaveshi was inaugurated as an inclusive kindergarten operating from two-room rented space in Kashele village.
What problem is our organization aiming to address? Why are we focusing on this problem?
Education is a basic human right and one of the most important indicators of a country’s growth. However, in India, children with disability do not get equal access and opportunity to quality education. They face discrimination and serious obstacles in their journey to access quality education at all levels. The result is: a significant number of children with disabilities either remain out of schools, or dropout well before they complete secondary education.
Despite the mandate of ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)’ to provide compulsory education for all children between the ages of six and 14, children with disability form the largest ‘out-of-school’ group in India. According to a 2015-16 report by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), of all children with disability who enroll for school, only 8.5% make it to secondary level, and a dismal 2.3% finally get to pursue their higher secondary education.
While the reasons for high dropout and low enrolment among children with disability can be diverse, it’s primarily because regular schools and classrooms often fail to address their specific needs and understand their learning abilities. Although this can be due to the lack of trained teachers and limited resources in schools, most often it's a result of deep-seated prejudices and negative attitudes towards children with disabilities. Lack of social support further isolates these children and their families to increased hardships, exclusion and stigma.
What is our approach to solve this problem?
Our approach is to bring systemic transformation in education by building 'inclusive classrooms' where children with disabilities study along with fellow children without disabilities, in an environment that promotes holistic learning and development. This can be achieved by designing an 'inclusive curriculum' that addresses the specific learning needs of each child in the classroom; and back it up with an ‘individualized educational plan (IEP)’ that takes into consideration the strengths and the areas of improvement.
Besides, we work intensively on building capacity of local Anganwadi and school teachers, to build a cadre of inclusive educators who believe in the principles of inclusive education, and foster a learning environment that promotes diversity and inclusion. This is crucial to 'build an ecosystem of inclusive education' in Karjat where all key stakeholders (schools, teachers, students and the community) believe in inclusion, and have necessary skills and resources to practice inclusive education.
Thus, our strategic approach to address this issue is:
PHASE 1: To facilitate inclusive education in local schools and Anganwadis in Karjat block.
PHASE 2: Research, resource development and teacher-training to build an ecosystem of inclusive education in Karjat block.
PHASE 3: Establish Samaaveshi as 'specialized centre for inclusive education'.
What are the key programmes of Samaaveshi?
For the academic year 2024-25, Samaaveshi is working with a 'whole-system approach' to implement inclusive education at all educational centres situated under Kashele gram panchayat in Karjat block. This comprises of two strategic projects:
1) AARAMBH (inclusive, early education project with seven Anganwadis),
2) SAKSHAM (inclusive primary education with five Zilla Parishad (ZP) primary schools).
Collectively, these two projects impact the education of 150+ preschool and 300+ primary students, including 15+ children with disabilities (CWDs). The idea is to provide improved school & classroom infrastructure (solar power, classroom furniture, mini-library and smart TV, playground, water filter and toilets/WASH etc.), and daily classroom intervention through a team of 'inclusive educators' to deliver quality inclusive education for all children with and without disabilities.
Besides, there are three key programmes aimed at 'building an ecosystem of inclusive education' in Karjat:
3) Community library / disability resource centre (weekly children's workshops & awareness sessions)
4) Inclusive Anganwadi Training (six-month teacher-training with 100 Anganwadis in Karjat block)
5) Smart Anganwadi Transformation (15 solar-smart Anganwadis accomplished since 2021).
.
Ways to support Samaaveshi:
1. Volunteer: Come, experience what it's like teaching-learning in a truly inclusive classroom.
2. One-time donation: Make a small contribution to support our work on inclusive education.
3. Sponsor a child’s education: Please donate Rupees 500 per month to support one child’s education.
4. Donate in-kind: We accept learning resources such as books, play items, laptops, school furniture, physiotherapy equipment etc. – to provide a better learning environment, and address therapy needs of our students.
Contact us:
Address: Samaaveshi Pathshaala Foundation, #1059, Kashele village, near Rural Hospital, Karjat taluka, Maharashtra - 410 201, INDIA.
Phone: +91-9821006662.
Email: Connect (dot) Samaaveshi (at) gmail.com
Samaaveshi Pathshaala Foundation is a registered nonprofit based in Karjat tribal block of Maharashtra, founded in 2018 by two graduates of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. Our mission is to build 'inclusive classrooms' where all children irrespective of their social background or disability study together, using a multi-sensory learning approach. And we strongly believe that the journey to build an inclusive society starts from an inclusive classroom.
We started our journey as an ‘inclusive kindergarten’ from a two-room rented space with a small playground in Kashele village, on 3rd December 2018 (World Disability Day) - with a total of 15 students, including three children with disabilities (two children with hearing impairment and one with cerebral palsy), who studied together in the same classroom. Our curriculum is designed in a way that each child gets equal opportunity to learn and participate in all activities both in and outside the classroom. Besides, by integrating principles of constructivism, universal design for learning (UDL) and social-emotional learning (SEL), we strive to enhance creativity, expression and learning outcomes for all children with diverse learning needs.
Vision and mission of the organization:
VISION: One day, all schools will become 'inclusive'.
MISSION: To bring systemic transformation in schools where every child irrespective of their social background or disability has equal access and opportunity to quality education.
What is the meaning of 'Samaaveshi'? How did it start?
The idea of Samaaveshi came about in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake in 2015 when young children who sustained severe injuries - and became temporarily or permanently disabled - were excluded and discriminated against by their own schools and communities. Nivedita and Ashok saw this first-hand during relief and recovery assignments to remote hilly districts affected by the earthquake.
Schools are a microcosm of society, and the journey to build an inclusive society starts from an inclusive school where young children are instilled with values of empathy and compassion in their formative years. Thus, the duo decided to quit their jobs and set off on a mission to set-up 'Samaaveshi' where all children with and without disabilities study together in the same classroom. Samaaveshi means 'inclusion', and we strongly believe in the need to build 'inclusive classrooms' where all children irrespective of their social background or disability study together, in an environment that promotes diversity and inclusion.
Samaaveshi was founded by Nivedita Tiwari and Ashok Shah, both social work graduates of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. Two years after the Nepal earthquake, the founding couple confirmed Kashele village in Karjat tribal block (60 km from Mumbai), as the location to set-up Samaaveshi. They conducted a baseline survey to identify children with disabilities from 50+ villages in Karjat block. Finally, on 3rd Dec 2018 (World Disability Day), Samaaveshi was inaugurated as an inclusive kindergarten operating from two-room rented space in Kashele village.
What problem is our organization aiming to address? Why are we focusing on this problem?
Education is a basic human right and one of the most important indicators of a country’s growth. However, in India, children with disability do not get equal access and opportunity to quality education. They face discrimination and serious obstacles in their journey to access quality education at all levels. The result is: a significant number of children with disabilities either remain out of schools, or dropout well before they complete secondary education.
Despite the mandate of ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)’ to provide compulsory education for all children between the ages of six and 14, children with disability form the largest ‘out-of-school’ group in India. According to a 2015-16 report by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), of all children with disability who enroll for school, only 8.5% make it to secondary level, and a dismal 2.3% finally get to pursue their higher secondary education.
While the reasons for high dropout and low enrolment among children with disability can be diverse, it’s primarily because regular schools and classrooms often fail to address their specific needs and understand their learning abilities. Although this can be due to the lack of trained teachers and limited resources in schools, most often it's a result of deep-seated prejudices and negative attitudes towards children with disabilities. Lack of social support further isolates these children and their families to increased hardships, exclusion and stigma.
What is our approach to solve this problem?
Our approach is to bring systemic transformation in education by building 'inclusive classrooms' where children with disabilities study along with fellow children without disabilities, in an environment that promotes holistic learning and development. This can be achieved by designing an 'inclusive curriculum' that addresses the specific learning needs of each child in the classroom; and back it up with an ‘individualized educational plan (IEP)’ that takes into consideration the strengths and the areas of improvement.
Besides, we work intensively on building capacity of local Anganwadi and school teachers, to build a cadre of inclusive educators who believe in the principles of inclusive education, and foster a learning environment that promotes diversity and inclusion. This is crucial to 'build an ecosystem of inclusive education' in Karjat where all key stakeholders (schools, teachers, students and the community) believe in inclusion, and have necessary skills and resources to practice inclusive education.
Thus, our strategic approach to address this issue is:
PHASE 1: To facilitate inclusive education in local schools and Anganwadis in Karjat block.
PHASE 2: Research, resource development and teacher-training to build an ecosystem of inclusive education in Karjat block.
PHASE 3: Establish Samaaveshi as 'specialized centre for inclusive education'.
What are the key programmes of Samaaveshi?
For the academic year 2024-25, Samaaveshi is working with a 'whole-system approach' to implement inclusive education at all educational centres situated under Kashele gram panchayat in Karjat block. This comprises of two strategic projects:
1) AARAMBH (inclusive, early education project with seven Anganwadis),
2) SAKSHAM (inclusive primary education with five Zilla Parishad (ZP) primary schools).
Collectively, these two projects impact the education of 150+ preschool and 300+ primary students, including 15+ children with disabilities (CWDs). The idea is to provide improved school & classroom infrastructure (solar power, classroom furniture, mini-library and smart TV, playground, water filter and toilets/WASH etc.), and daily classroom intervention through a team of 'inclusive educators' to deliver quality inclusive education for all children with and without disabilities.
Besides, there are three key programmes aimed at 'building an ecosystem of inclusive education' in Karjat:
3) Community library / disability resource centre (weekly children's workshops & awareness sessions)
4) Inclusive Anganwadi Training (six-month teacher-training with 100 Anganwadis in Karjat block)
5) Smart Anganwadi Transformation (15 solar-smart Anganwadis accomplished since 2021).
.
Ways to support Samaaveshi:
1. Volunteer: Come, experience what it's like teaching-learning in a truly inclusive classroom.
2. One-time donation: Make a small contribution to support our work on inclusive education.
3. Sponsor a child’s education: Please donate Rupees 500 per month to support one child’s education.
4. Donate in-kind: We accept learning resources such as books, play items, laptops, school furniture, physiotherapy equipment etc. – to provide a better learning environment, and address therapy needs of our students.
Contact us:
Address: Samaaveshi Pathshaala Foundation, #1059, Kashele village, near Rural Hospital, Karjat taluka, Maharashtra - 410 201, INDIA.
Phone: +91-9821006662.
Email: Connect (dot) Samaaveshi (at) gmail.com
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