AARAMBH - INCLUSIVE EARLY EDUCATION
Samaaveshi started its journey as an 'inclusive kindergarten' in Kashele village, on 3rd Dec 2018 (World Disability Day). From Dec 2018 to April 2024, we operated an in-house kindergarten (LKG & UKG) with 30 students, including 3-4 children with disabilities (CWDs), every academic year. A majority of these students are first-gen learners belonging to local Katkari and Thakur (Scheduled tribes/ST) communities residing in Kashele and adjoining hamlets.
In 2024, Samaaveshi revised its operating model to work directly with 7 Anganwadi centres situated in Kashele gram panchayat (THE HUB), comprising of 150+ children aged 3-6, including five CWDs. The intervention entails renovating physical infrastructure (by providing solar power, mini-library, smart TV, WASH facilities etc.), and placing an Early Educator at each Anganwadi to facilitate inclusive, early education from 10AM to 1PM (Monday to Friday).
LIBRARY / DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTRE
On 3rd June 2019, Samaaveshi inaugurated a 'Community Library / Disability Resource Centre' in Kashele village, to improve literacy and life skills among rural children with diverse learning needs in Kashele panchayat (THE HUB). The library has 2,000+ books, magazines and early learning tools, including 100+ assistive learning resources to support the education of CWDs. Besides, we offer support to issue Unique Disability ID (UDID) card, referrals, school enrolment, and weekly physiotherapy services to CWDs in the area.
The highlight of the library is the ‘Weekend Library Workshop’ held since its inception, on a range of topics related to foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN), storytelling, creative arts and life skills - attended by 20-30 children from Kashele and adjacent tribal hamlets, including a group of CWDs. By 2030, we plan to build a network of five community libraries-cum-disability resource centres, to build thriving a ecosystem of inclusive education in Karjat block.
SAMAAVESHAK - ANGANWADI TRAINING
In August 2019, Samaaveshi began a collaboration with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Karjat, to launch the 'Inclusive Anganwadi Training Programme’. The idea is to build the capacity of local Anganwadi teachers in early disability identification and inclusive education skills - needed to gradually transform rural Anganwadis into ‘inclusive, early education centres' for all children with and without disabilities.
The programme comprises of two key components: 1) A series of 12 workshops exploring disability and inclusive-ed practices, with small clusters of Anganwdi teachers, and 2) Providing a ‘mini-library’ resource kit of 20+ multi-sensory play and learning items. At present, Samaaveshi is working with 100 Anganwadis (THE SPOKES), and plans to cover all 300 Anganwadis in Karjat block by 2030.
SMART ANGANWADI TRANSFORMATION
Over 50% Anganwadis (of total 300) in Karjat block DO NOT have electricity. In 2021, Samaaveshi transformed five local Anganwadis without electricity, into ‘Solar Anganwadis’ - to offer uninterrupted access to digital (and assistive) learning to Anganwadi children during COVID-19.
In 2022, Samaaveshi launched 'Smart Anganwadi Transformation' to undertake comprehensive renovation of Anganwadis (physical renovation & painting, classroom furniture, mini-library, smart TV and WASH facilities). This resulted in improved attendance, classroom engagement and learning outcomes among Anganwadi children. As of 2025, Samaaveshi has transformed 20 Anganwadis into 'Solar, Smart Anganwadis'. Our goal is to solarize all 150 Anganwadis in Karjat (without electricity), by 2030.
NIPUN - ZP SCHOOL INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Post COVID-19 pandemic, Samaaveshi began a new collaboration with the Block Education Office (BEO), Karjat division, to launch the 'Zilla Parishad (ZP) School Inclusive Education Programme'. The objective is to improve the quality of education in public schools by strengthening infrastructure, and deploying a team of inclusive (primary) educators to facilitate ‘universal design for learning (UDL)’.
Starting with one ZP school in June 2022, Samaaveshi gradually expanded the initiative to an all five ZP schools in Kashele gram panchayat (THE HUB), directly impacting the education of 350+ students, including 10 CWDs. Over time, we diversified our focus to include social-emotional learning, STEM (Science, technology, Engineering & Maths) education and teacher-training, showing that inclusion can extend beyond disability to different forms of learning diversity.
Attached is an image of Samaaveshi's 'STEM & INNOVATION LAB' at ZP School (Kashele), set-up with a grant from Amazon India.
