ANKITA SHETTY

ADM NO: HPGD/JA14/1766

SOCIAL CAUSE: EDUCATION
FOR UNDERPRIVILEGED
NGO: UDAAN INDIA
FOUNDATION

PRIN. L. N. WELINGKAR INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH. YEAR
OF SUBMISSION: 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INDEX
CHAPTERS

TOPIC

PAGE NO.

Executive Summary

Social Responsibility

Understanding Isr-Individual Social

Responsibility
What Is Isr?

What Is Ngo?

10

Indian Ngos Working Toward Education Equality

11

How It Began At Udaan India Foundation

19

Who Are They

21

a) Vision And Mission

21

b) History

22

c) Values

23

What They Do

24

a) Kindergarten

24

b) Learning Centre

26

c) Saturday Club

28

d) Hamaari Udaan Library

29

e) School Support

31

f) Alumni Support And Scholarships

32

10

g) Skills Enhancement

34

h) Impact-- Stories Of Change

36

How To Get Involve With Them

38

a)Volunteer

38

b)Corporate Partnerships

39
40

c)Donate
11

Team

42

12

Partners

46

13

Fundraiser
supporting this ngo

14

47

49
Udaan News

15
16

Conclusion

54
Webliography

55

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The project attempts to give an idea about the various Individual Social responsibilities (ISR)
and awareness about the requirement of how we as individuals can perform our social
responsibility.
The social cause on which I have worked on in this project is Education for Underprivileged.
A brief insight is given on NGO UDAAN INDIA FOUNDATION, working on Education for
Underprivileged. The aim of UDAAN INDIA FOUNDATION is to help Every child educated
3

and equipped with equal opportunities to transform their lives. The same is the subject of the
project.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Social responsibility is an ethical framework which suggests that an entity, be it an organization

or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large. Social responsibility is a
duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the
ecosystems. A trade-off may[citation needed] exist between economic development, in the
material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment. Social responsibility means
sustaining the equilibrium between the two. It pertains not only to business organizations but also
to everyone whose any action impacts the environment. This responsibility can be passive, by
avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly
advance social goals.
Businesses can use ethical decision making to secure their businesses by making decisions that
allow for government agencies to minimize their involvement with the corporation.For instance
if a company follows the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for
emissions on dangerous pollutants and even goes an extra step to get involved in the community
and address those concerns that the public might have; they would be less likely to have the EPA
investigate them for environmental concerns."A significant element of current thinking about
privacy, however, stresses "self-regulation" rather than market or government mechanisms for
protecting personal information.According to some experts, most rules and regulations are
formed due to public outcry, which threatens profit maximization and therefore the well-being of
the shareholder, and that if there is not outcry there often will be limited regulation.
Critics argue that corporate social responsibility (CSR) distracts from the fundamental economic
role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; others
5

argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful
corporations though there is no systematic evidence to support these criticisms. A significant
number of studies have shown no negative influence on shareholder results from CSR but rather
a slightly negative correlation with improved shareholder returns.
UNDERSTANDING ISR-INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) has been the buzz for a while. Several attempts have been
made to define, practice and document CSR. But increasingly and from diverse and independent
pockets in the world people are talking about a different and more basic social responsibility.

ISR-Individual Social Responsibility has all the takings of being a high impact change maker.
This article tries to build understanding on the subject by studying these various points of view.

WHAT IS ISR?
6

Individual Social Responsibility (ISR) is about an individual becoming responsible in his/her

actions that have affect on communities outside his/her immediate circle. The immediate circle
being family and friends.There can be an argument about also including family and friends, but it
would be rather pertinent to include them as part of Individual Personal Responsibility.
Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF), Bulgaria, describes ISR in its position
statement on Social Responsibility as,
"The individual social responsibility includes the engagement of each person towards the
community where he lives, which can be expressed as an interest towards whats happening in
the community, as well as in the active participation in the solving of some of the local problems.
Under community we understand the village, the small town or the residential complex in the big
city, where lives every one of us. Each community lives its own life that undergoes a process of
development all the time. And everyone of us could take part in that development in different
ways, for example by taking part in cleaning of the street on which he lives, by taking part in
organization of an event, connected with the history of the town or the village or by rendering
social services to children without parents or elderly people. The individual social responsibility
also could be expressed in making donations for significant for the society causes social,
7

cultural or ecological. There are many ways of donating, as for example donating of goods or
donating money through a bank account or online".
Is ISR only about philanthropy?
ISR is not only about:
1. Committing acts of charity
2. Working for the communities where you have material interest.
These only form part of ISR, which is a broader concept that can be manifested through action as
below:
1. Philanthropic behaviour of an individual
2. The campaigner, volunteer and activist instinct in the individual that picks-up and supports
issues affecting the society
3. The above two coupled with an individual being ethical (integrity, honesty)in his/her outward
dealings
ISR vis--vis CSR
1. ISR is at the roots of CSR, because a corporate comprises of individuals and hence determines
the social responsibility culture it follows.
2. As CSR is being increasingly viewed as a tool to push wares a greater need for ISR is expected
[5]. The example of www.kiva.org in giving people the power to empower is a big indicator of
the shift.
3. If ISR becomes way of life CSR may be an automatic end result.
4. The social responsibility of business is to make a profit, famously said Milton Friedman, the
Nobel Prize winner. He explained that in making a profit a company creates thousands of jobs,
both directly and indirectly through suppliers, distributors and retailers. It imparts valuable skills
to its employees. It pays crores in taxes. It improves the lives of millions of satisfied customers
with its products and services. This is an enormous service to society. If some shareholders get

rich on the way, so what? Companies should focus single-mindedly on their competence,
providing goods and services better than their competitors, and not get distracted by extraneous
activity. A companys social responsibility is to make profits legally, not to harm nature, and
uphold the highest standards of governance.
It is then left for the promoters of the corporations to practice ISR from the profits received
above to really answer Social Responsibility

Is ISR practical?
Yes, it is. The successes of ventures like www.kiva.org that empower individuals to bring
sustainable change are case in point. Furthermore, the advent of Web 2.0 and social networking
has fuelled Individual activism, campaigning and giving. But there is still a long way to go.
According to The Harris Poll #57, June 18, 2007, when it comes to individual social
responsibility, two-thirds of U.S. adults have "Good Intentions" they believe that social
responsibility is a good idea, and they do what they can in terms of volunteering, but they do not
sacrifice huge amounts of time or money. At the top end of the spectrum, 8 percent of U.S. adults
"Practice What They Preach" and for this group, individual, as well as corporate, social
responsibility is extremely important. One-quarter of U.S. adults, however, follow a
Philosophy of "To Thine Own Self Be True" and, for this group, social responsibility has little
consequence in their lives.On the other hand the trends show that the biggest growth for big
charitable organisations in the world is coming through individuals and not through corporations
and governments. The aspects of ethics, honesty and integrity surely need further consultation.

WHAT IS NGO?

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is basically a legally constituted organization which is

operated by legal persons who act independently from any government. In those cases where the
NGOs are funded partially or completely by governments, the NGO barred the government
representatives from any membership in the organization in order to sustain its nongovernmental status. The term is used for those organizations which have wider social target
with political aspects. However, any NGO cannot be blatantly political organizations. The term
non-governmental organization has no agreed legal definition and these are termed as civil
society organizations in many jurisdictions.
Across the world, the number of internationally operating NGOs is around 40,000. The number
of national NGO in countries is even higher with around 1-2 million NGOs in India and 277,000
NGOs in Russia. The remodelling processes of the welfare state have led to the rapid
development of the non-governmental sector in western countries. With increasing globalization,
the intensity of such processes has increased further. In the 20th century, the Globalization makes
the people understand the importance of NGOs.There are many problems which could not be
solved effectively within a country. The international bodies at a global level including
international organizations like World Trade Organization were considered to be too centred to
favour the interests of capitalist firms. The growth and rise of NGO is seen as an attempt to offset
this trend, where NGO emphasize the core issue related to human cause like sustainable
development, developmental aid and other humanitarian issues. One such remarkable example of
organization for raising the cause of people is World Social Forum. This organisation is an
opponent convention to the World Economic Forum. In some cases, it represents the popular
movements of the poor and other ways, it is regarded as an aristocratic form of politics.

10

INDIAN NGOS WORKING TOWARD EDUCATION EQUALITY

Many NGOs in India are doing a great job in helping out the
underprivileged kids with education and to bring about a social
change. Foradian being a company which is dedicated to evaluate
the face of education, celebrates these organisations which are
working day in and out to provide every child a chance to get
education. Read on to know as we talk about 5 such Indian NGOs
which are doing their best in providing education equality:

1.

Teach For India: One day all children will attain an

excellent education- a vision that defines Teach For India, a Teach To Lead project that
encourages young college graduates and professionals to take up two years of full-time
teaching sessions in under resourced schools. In an effort to provide quality education to
all, Teach For India currently works in 5 main cities of India- Mumbai, Delhi, Pune,
Hyderabad and Chennai and is well equipped with some 700 Fellows who are working
towards eradicating the high inequality present in Indian education system.

2.

Make A Difference

(MAD): Along with education partner, Cambridge University

Press, Make A Difference or MAD has initiated a unique project
The English Project to educate children from poor homes,
orphanages and street shelters with English. Currently, some 1200
volunteers are working hard to teach 4000 children in some of the
major cities of India including Mangalore, Chennai, Bangalore,
Mysore, Delhi, Dehradun, Kolkata, Vellore, etc. A winner of the
11

prestigious Ashoka Staples Youth Social Entrepreneur Competition

in the year 2008 and also a Noble Laureate of the Karamveer
Purashkar awarded by ICongo, global fellow of YouthActionNet
and Cordes Fellow 2010, MAD also runs a Placements project
running that aims to place underprivileged children on the same
platform with the children from regular homes.

3.

Pratham: Established in the year 1994,

Pratham is dedicated to provide education to children belonging to

the slums of Mumbai. Team Pratham comprises of civil servants,
PhDs, social workers, educationists and many other educated
personnel who are working for a common dream of developing the
future of children of the country. With an aim to offer every child
their fundamental right to education, Pratham has slowly grown
into a larger organisation covering 19 states of India.

4.

Barefoot College-India: An

entire campus that runs on solar power. Yes, thats Barefoot

College that was originally started by two friends Meghraj and
Sanjit Bunker Roy and who wanted to establish college for the
rural population of India and was established in 1972. Today, the
organisation trains local community people into teachers,
specialized professionals in other fields and has initiated many
educational efforts for children. The organisation has also been
ranked as the second best educational NGO in the year 2013 by
The Global Journal.
12

5.

Cry: Child rights and you or CRY is an

NGO in India working for children and their rights. CRY has
undertaken a lot of initiatives to improve the condition of
underprivileged children and one of them is the Chotte KadamPragati ki Aur, a literacy drive that has reached out to more than
35000 children in 10 states of India. Mission Education is another
very popular campaign from CRY to make sure that education is
every childs right and that proper education reaches to more
children in every new academic year.

6.

Akanksha Foundation : The Akanksha

Foundation is a non-profit organisation with a mission to provide

children from low-income communities with a high-quality
education, enabling them to maximize their potential and transform
their lives. Akanksha works in the field of education, initiating
school reform through The School Project, and providing a
supplemental education through the Akanksha centers.
Currently, Akanksha reaches out to over 4600 children through two
models: the after-school or center model and the School Project.
Akanksha has 15 centers and 15 schools in Mumbai and Pune.

13

7.

The Candle Project: To serve as a catalyst

and drive social change through the medium of education and

provide opportunities to children from underprivileged
communities
The candle project is a movement to empower children from
underprivileged communities through holistic learning and quality
education for self sustainable and independent living. The
organization works to remodel the education space by integrating
learning with arts through partnership programs with god
infrastructure schools
Vision: To provide every child with opportunities to make their
dreams believable and goals reachable.

8.

Door Step School : Door Step School

provides education and support to the often-forgotten children of

pavement dwellers, slum dwellers, construction site families and
many other underprivileged families. Many of these children are
not enrolled in school and have limited access to books and a place
to study. Additionally, many children drop out of school to work or
care for younger children. With neither support nor resources at
home some children also suffer from very low learning levels. We
are trying to bridge this gap by bringing education to the Door
Step of these underprivileged children.
14

Door Step School was established in Mumbai, India in 1988 and

later expanded to Pune in 1993. It has impacted the lives of over
50,000 children since its inception.
Vision To be an instrumental force that brings development to
children.
Mission All children deserve an education. An alarming number of
Indias urban poor still remain without an opportunity to receive
formal education. Our mission at Doorstep School is to bridge this
divide using innovative programs that will bring education to these
children and help them make the transition to literacy and a
brighter future.
Goal Primary education for all children up to 14 years of age.

9.

Yuva Parivartan: It is a collective effort of

transformers, visionaries, corporates, and the benefactors. An NGO

which was cradled in the Kherwadi region of Bandra, is now
brimming with endless energy and has spread across the entire
nation. In 15 years of its existence, Yuva Parivartan has shown a
tremendous growth. The parent centre has now branched out to
over 300 centres across 18 states of India, which includes 50
Livelihood Development Centres, more than 200 Partnership
Centres, 5 jail Centres and over 2000 mobile rural camp centres.
As one of the largest NGOs in the livelihood space in India that
works for the out of school youth, we strongly believe that the
nations strength and future lies in the hands of its youth. Unlike
the developed countries where 90% youth opt for some or the other
sort of vocational training, less than 5% undergo vocational
15

training in our country despite the fact that India is a country with
the largest youth population.
From 100 students to 4,00,000 students, from 1 centre to more than
300 centres, from the violence affected tribal areas of Maharashtra
to the hostile snow-clad terrain of Kashmir, Yuva Parivartan has
expanded its horizons to become a national movement.

10.

Eoto India :

Vision: We aim to enrich the lives of children in the urban slums

and rural India, by strengthening their intellectual and emotional
capabilities.

Mission: Provide the underprivileged children with an opportunity

to discover their inbuilt potential, enabling them to take up
responsibilities and challenges in life.

16

11.
Aseema: Aseema Charitable Trust is a Mumbai based nongovernmental organization with a mission to equip children from marginalized communities with
high quality, value based education enabling development of their limitless potential. Over the
past 17 years, Aseema has worked extensively with children living in slum communities in
Mumbai and remote tribal communities in Igatpuri.
In Mumbai, Aseema works in partnership with the Municipal Corporation of Greater
Mumbai(MCGM) to create centres of excellence within the public education system. We have
adopted the English medium sections of the Pali Chimbai Municipal School, Santacruz (W)
Municipal School and Kherwadi Municipal School. In each of these schools, Aseema supports
the MCGM by providing teachers who are oriented to Aseemas child friendly approach, making
the learning environment stimulating and safe and creating a culture that respects the child and
promotes learning.
17

In Igatpuri (Maharashtra), we have set up an Education Centre for Tribal Children in the remote
village of Awalkheda. The Centre currently has a Pre Primary Section and reaches out to children
from the village and eight neighbouring hamlets.
Over the past few years, Aseema has been invited to offer training and support to other
organizations working in the field of education. Through these and other initiatives, Aseema
reaches out to over 4000 children annually.

12.
Umang Foundation : Umang Foundation is a registered Public
Charitable Trust, It was started by three IT Professionals in July 2008, who believe theres more
to life beyond office and home.
Umang Foundation consists of more than 450+ dynamic professionals spanning across various
sectors which also includes doctors, elite senior citizens, students, house wives who are
enthusiastic to work for uplifting the society.
Umang Foundation focuses on the upliftment of society in every possible way, to achieve this
goal Team Umang have organized many philanthropic events and activities including

distribution of stationery kits, clothes to villagers, Blood Donation drives, celebration of festivals
with people in old age home, celebration of special days with children and children suffering
from cancer.
Umang Foundation has a strong focus on providing education material to underprivileged
children. Team Umang has provided educational material to these children starting from
Kindergarten to the high school and have provided educational material to 9200+ less fortunate
children since its inception. In year 2011, Team Umang has provided education material to 5500
children. Team Umang aims to increase this number to a whopping 10,000 children by April
2012.
Apart from education, a complete creative growth is facilitated by the foundation through clay
modeling workshops, Warli painting, paper collage and paper-bag making workshops for
orphans, magic shows and dance competitions.

18

13.
Udaan India foundation : Udaan India Foundation (Udaan) is a
Mumbai based not-for-profit organization working with children from low-income communities
in the field of education. Our primary aim is to ensure that every child of school going age is
gaining a strong and holistic educational foundation to become a responsible, compassionate and
confident citizen of tomorrow.

UDAAN

19

EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION

Our Vision
Every child educated and equipped with equal opportunities to transform their lives.

20

HOW IT BEGAN AT UDAAN INDIA FOUNDATION

Mamta Rangan is the founder and chairperson of Udaan India Foundation. Her foray into the
social sector started as a result of her desire to give back to society. Taking a sabbatical from the
corporate sector, she moved base to Mumbai when her husbands job brought the whole family
here. They moved into the then upcoming suburb of Powai. Powai was still developing then and
Mamta recalls, there was construction happening everywhere! With construction, come workers,
and in most cases, their families too. Mamta was thus brought face to face with the stark
inequities that we so often fail to notice in our busy lives children out of school, bare clothed,
just running around on the streets, living in houses that were nothing more than shanties.
What do you want to be when you grow up? question. She recalls Santoshi replying, Main
bartanwalli banna chahti hoon. (I want to become a dishwashing lady). Unlike Santoshi who
had a response, most of the other children kept mum. Thats when Mamta realized that these
children either had no dreams or very unambitious ones. And that didnt go down too well with
Mamta.
As she was anyway on a sabbatical, she decided to help these children a simple desire to help
them have somewhat of a childhood. So she, and even some of her friends and neighbours from
time to time, started spending time with the children in parks, quiet street corners etc. From
singing and dancing with them to teaching them numbers and the alphabets, many a afternoon
were spent giving these children some memories of a childhood. They would also help these
children revise what they had learnt at school in the mornings. So, without really intending to,
they became a regular after-school programme.
It was only after a year or so that the thought of formalizing the same came to her mind. And it
was a couple of small incidents that happened at the time that made her realize why continuing
her venture was so important. One was when a little girl called Santoshi gave an atypical
response to the obvious What do you want to be when you grow up? question. She recalls
Santoshi replying, Main bartanwalli banna chahti hoon. (I want to become a dishwashing
lady). Unlike Santoshi who had a response, most of the other children kept mum. Thats when
Mamta realized that these children either had no dreams or very unambitious ones. And that
didnt go down too well with Mamta.

21

Thus, was born Udaan in 2004 based on the belief that education is the key to
change. Continuing as an afterschool programme, Udaans aim is to give
children access to quality education. They started with 26 children, some of whom
were already in school, some who had dropped out and the rest who had never
been to school.
Today, it has over 425 students under its wings, who are taught by
14 full time teachers and over 20 volunteers.
Classes are conducted between 3.15 and 6 15 pm daily, at a private
school in Powai, after regular school hours, in accordance with the
SSC curriculum.

Udaan India Foundation is a Mumbai based not for profit

organisation working with children from low income communities
in the field of education. Our mission is to enable brighter futures
for children from low-income communities by providing them with
the desired knowledge, skills, values and support to achieve their
true potential.
Udaan has under its wings a range of teaching - learning spaces
that meet the needs of the children who have limited access to
22

quality education. A child's journey at Udaan starts at foundation

level and continues till they are employable. Today, over 800
children benefit from our initiatives that include

Kindergarten, Learning centre, Saturday club, School Support

programme, Library, Alumni support and Scholarships and Skills
enhancement programme.
At Udaan, we believe in making education a continuous, joyous
and voluntary experience for children, which inspires them to
believe in themselves and take on the future with confidence.
Through our work we strive to see perceptible changes by way of

Decrease in school dropout rates

Enhanced academic performance

Better job opportunities for the less privileged

WHO ARE THEY

VISION AND MISSION

Udaan India Foundation (Udaan) is a Mumbai based not-for-profit
organization working with children from low-income communities
in the field of education. Our primary aim is to ensure that every
child of school going age is gaining a strong and holistic
educational foundation to become a responsible, compassionate
and confident citizen of tomorrow.

Most Udaan children are from families where there has been little
or no formal education, where education is not a priority and it is a
common place for children to drop out of school in order to
23

contribute to the family income. Believing in the power of

education to change lives, a childs journey at Udaan starts at the
Kindergarten level, continues through school years and supports
them until they become employable. The focus is always in making
learning a continuous, joyous and voluntary experience that will
help the children discover and achieve their true potential and take
on the future with confidence.
Through our work we strive to see the following perceptible
changes:

Short term

Enhanced academic performance

Decrease in drop-out rate

Intermediate term

Increased enrolment in higher education

Enhanced employability skills

Long term

Meaningful employment

Self-sufficiency

Responsible citizens

24

Udaan strongly believes that education has the power to transform

lives. We want to ensure that every child, regardless of their social
and economic background has access to quality education, enjoys
learning and makes progress towards discovering and realizing
their true potential. Through a holistic approach to education that
integrates academic achievement with non-academic learning we
provide knowledge, skills and values that prepare our children for
a future full of opportunities.

Vision
Every child educated and equipped with equal opportunities to
transform their lives.

Mission
To enable a brighter future for children from low-income
communities by providing them with the desired knowledge, skills,
values and support to achieve their true potential.

HISTORY
The groundwork for what is Udaan India Foundation today was laid in August 2004, when a few
like-minded people came together for a common cause a cause to educate underprivileged
children in their neighbourhood. With no formal system or infrastructure in place, all that was
there was a purpose to get together as many children as we could from the bastis nearby, and
teach them how to read and write.
We started with 26 children, some of whom were already in municipal school, some who had
dropped out and the rest who had never been to school. Classes were conducted on an informal
basis for a few hours a week in the classrooms of a private school in the Powai neighbourhood,
after regular school working hours. As we worked with the children, we realized that the lack of
learning in school and absence of academic support at home created a huge challenge igniting
and maintaining the interest of children towards education. These were children who were at a
risk of dropping out.
25

To support these children to cope with the academic curriculum and to maintain their interest in
education and learning, a need was felt to start an after-school programme. This laid the
foundation for our Learning Centre. Starting in 2005, the Learning Centre became a space of
remedial teaching to bridge the learning gaps and stress the importance of education to both,
children and their families. Over the years the Learning Centre became more than a mere
remediation programme and grew into an after-school centre of quality education with a
structured learning programme. We also introduced extra curricular activities such as art, dance
and sports to expose the children to learning opportunities that would go beyond the regular
academic curriculum.
The overwhelming progress shown by our students gave us confidence that the project was
heading in the right direction. In 2009, this informal project was officially registered as a nonprofit trust under the name of Udaan India Foundation with the following objectives:

To stress the importance of education to children and families and to be facilitators in

ensuring that every child attends school.
To provide holistic learning to the underprivileged in order to maximize their potential.

To instill confidence and self-esteem through exposure to art, dance, sports and other
activities.

To be a stepping-stone for children and young adults towards a better employment and a
better quality of life.
Over the years we have grown to meet the educational needs of children and youth in lowincome communities. Today we reach out to over 800 beneficiaries. All our programmes are
directed towards providing access to quality education and opportunities enabling a brighter
future for our beneficiaries.
VALUES

At Udaan, we are committed to the cause for which we exist and our values are core to our
existence. We, at Udaan, uphold these values in everything we do. They are our guiding
principles of building an effective organization, which diligently works towards achieving our
mission and taking us closer to our vision.

26

Child at the core

All our thoughts and actions are directed towards understanding and delivering what is in the
best interest of the child.
Learning is growing
We facilitate the growth of our children and that of our team by nurturing a happy learning
environment.
Together we achieve more
Collaboration is critical to achieving our vision. We believe that a vibrant team spirit, effective
teamwork and durable, mutually beneficial partnerships with like-minded individuals and
organisations enable us to have a greater impact.
Excellence is key
We are committed to achieving excellence in everything we do. We continuously review our
performance, set higher benchmarks and seek to enhance ourselves to deliver a qualitatively
superior experience to all our stakeholders, internal and external.
Building trust
We believe that by being open and transparent in all our communication and actions we foster an
environment of mutual trust and respect for all stakeholders

WHAT THEY DO
1)KINDERGARTEN
27

Research across several educational communities upholds that

children learn most in the development years of 0-5. However,
learning in these crucial years is a remote luxury to most children
in low-income communities. If school readiness is a crucial
beginning to formal learning, then we believe that all must have it,
irrespective of their economic standing.

The Udaan Kindergarten provides pre-school learning to children

from low-income communities, equipping them with a strong
educational foundation to take on the rigour of formal schooling
with confidence. Classes of happy children experience the joy of
learning under the gentle care of trained teachers in a safe, loving
and vibrant environment.

Kindergarten is the year of basics. Thus, the curriculum focuses on

the essentials of all: languages, numerical literacy, development of
fine and gross motor skills, awareness of self and environment,
social skills and respecting of routine and discipline. The teaching
methodology adopted to achieve the learning objectives is a
combination of drill and reinforcement learning which facilitates
memorizing and acquiring of habitual skills of writing and reciting
and a play-way approach which allows for learning through doing,
exploring and discovering.

28

Teacher observations, student talk, classwork and orals help

teacher assess the progress of the student on a continuous basis.
Formal assessments are conducted twice in an academic year in a
child-friendly manner. A thorough record of observations of each
child enables teachers to give constructive feedback to the parents
and suggest reasonable tasks to support the childs learning at
home.At the end of the Kindergarten year, our children are ready,
both on an academic and social level, to enter Grade 1 of a formal
school.

AN INSIGHT

At 9.30 am toddlers between the age of 4 and 6 step out of their

homes, sometimes with their parent, sometimes alone, and sprint
into the colourful and vibrant space of the Udaan Kindergarten
located in a construction workers basti in Powai, Hiranandani.
After a greeting to the teacher and a short prayer followed by a
healthy snack, the children are ready for the day. Giggling,
laughing, crying, and sulking, the little ones get lost in the world of
flashcards, worksheets, games, puzzles, playdough, crayons and
toys and all too soon it is time to go home. When their teachers bid
them goodbye, they walk home with a smile on their face taking
back home the joy of a safe and happy childhood - one of the most
significant objectives for Udaan.

AT A GLANCE
Number of beneficiaries - 56
Age group from 4 to 6 years
1 year pre-school programme
Preparation for formal schooling
Combining traditional and play way learning
Safe and Happy Learning environment
Response from one of the Mother
29

"After completing his Kindergarten at Udaan my son settled well in the first grade of
school. Udaan ensures that a child learns well but they also ensure that the child is happy and
healthy. Now my daughter attends the Udaan Kindergarten and I am happy to see my little one
settled and happy".
Poonam Dingya
Mother of Udaan student

2) LEARNING CENTRE

A regressive sequence of lack of quality education leading to

school dropouts creates a mass of uneducated and unskilled youth,
which is responsible for the vicious cycle of illiteracy and poverty
in low-income communities.

The Udaan Learning Centre is an after-school programme, which

aims to provide a solid and holistic educational foundation to
children from low-income communities to bridge the learning gaps
and ensure the children stay in school. Following the principle of
empowering through education our teaching does not focus only
on academic education but also on non-academic learning to
mould and nurture confidence, self-esteem and self-awareness
amongst our students.

The Learning Centre follows a structured curriculum for English,

Math, Hindi, Science and Social Sciences from Grade 1 till
Grade 10. A vertical progression of learning objectives for each
subject ensures a steady and logical unfolding of learning at each
30

level. Upholding the principle of holistic learning, the curriculum

is implemented through a dual approach of ensuring conceptual
understanding through lecture, demonstrations and experiments as
well as experiential learning through celebrations, events, field
trips and workshops. From moments of sheer joy at riding the fire
brigade truck at the fire station to learning opportunities of
understanding the vast universe at the Nehru Centre, from wearing
new, festive clothes during Diwali to understanding constitutional
rights through special assemblies, every exposure is about
providing opportunities.

Assessments are conducted on a regular basis with the purpose of

adapting the curriculum to meet the students needs. This allows us
to record students performances on monthly intervals on an
assessment matrix. An analysis of the students performance
indicates the gaps in the teaching-learning spaces and the cycle of
curriculum management is revisited so to teach students the way
they learn best. It is such analysis that enables us to identify
students with remedial needs; students with learning disabilities
and students who need a teachers stern eye and create solutions
within the environment of the Learning Centre such that each
student achieves their true potential.

The Udaan Learning Centre is an effort towards instilling the faith,

belief and culture of empowerment through education in the
minds of children from low income communities to ensure that
they pursue the path of knowledge, skills and values needed in
order to break the restraints of Illiteracy.

AN INSIGHT
Children in their crisp green-checkered uniforms, proudly wearing
their Udaan ID cards and carrying their school bags wait at 2.30
31

pm every day for the Udaan bus to arrive and take them to the
Udaan Learning Centre at Gopal Sharma School, Powai Vihar.
Learning moments start with an assembly where all the children
pray together and teachers share the news of the day. This is
followed by a healthy and nutritious snack to ensure the children
get energized to take on the lessons. After the assembly, teachers
and volunteers armed with lesson planners and worksheets lead the
students to their classroom. For the next two and a half hours
students and teachers are seen pouring over books and
concentrating, sharpening pencils and writing, discussing and
debating. At 6 pm, the tired but happy children are dropped back to
their homes, where hopeful parents park their dreams of breaking
the cycle of poverty through their childs journey of empowerment.

AT A GLANCE
Number of beneficiaries- 387
After-school programme

Supplementary education for grades 1 to 10

Conceptual understanding and experiential learning
Regular assessments
Includes Health and Nutrition

Reponse from one of the student

" I learn a lot at Udaan and I also have a lot of fun. I enjoy the field trips the most. Recently we
went to the Nehru Vigyan Kendra where I learnt about how many planets are there, that stars are
uncountable, the shape of earth and which vehicle did scientists first use on the surface of the
moon. I was so fascinated to learn all these facts."
Salim Shaikh, Grade 5A
Udaan Learning Centre student

32

3) SATURDAY CLUB

The famous quote from Confucius, "I hear and I forget. I see and I
remember. I do and I understand." is the heart of learning. Learning is a
continuous journey of multi-sensory experiences and joyous discoveries.
It is the learning by doing that allows opportunities of questioning,
discussing, discovering, analyzing, synthesizing, creating, thus
stimulating the mind to develop academic thought with deep logical
considerations. The Saturday Club is a realization of this theory of
learning.

The Saturday Club programme is an extension of the Learning Centre

that aims to concertize academic concepts through experiential learning
integrated into co-curricular activities. This is a joyous space where
through art and origami, tabla and songs, dance and drama, chess and
pictionary, books and movies, windmills and Egyptian pyramids,
children imbibe aesthetics, rhythm, diction, expression, historical,
environmental and cultural sensitivity and a volume of intangible life
skills which mould what we call the character of a child.

The different clubs such as the Science Club, Around the World Club,
Book Club, Dance Club, Music Club, Sports Club, Environment Club,
and India Club are led and conducted by volunteers and subject experts
who are provided with clear objectives, curriculum and logistic plans for
each of the clubs. With a period of 13 Saturdays in every term, each class
is assigned different clubs in a term, one being academic
33

the other being cocurricular. After 12 joyful Saturdays, each club

presents its learning through an interesting mode of presentation, with
the help of their Didis and Bhaiyas.

AN INSIGHT
Each Saturday children are brought to Gopal Sharma School,
where they immerse into the different clubs from 3 pm to 5.30 pm.
A week before the commencement of the Saturday Clubs, there are
animated discussions amongst the students about which new club
will be introduced this year. When the clubs are assigned to each
class, you can hear squeals from some classes and protests from
others.
In the first few weeks the children learn about the content of their
club through concepts, stories, demonstrations, movies and audiovisuals. After that it is time for learning by doing: Cardboard,
chart-papers, colours and clay are provided and every group
disappears behind closed doors to translate their learnings into
models or presentations. Children and volunteers passionately put
together their miniature wonders of the world or solar system or a
demonstration of folk dance and classical music. On the final day
of presentations, some children transform into well-informed
presenters explaining the mysteries of the Egyptian mummies
while others present the grace and beauty of Bharatnatyam
Danseuse or sing Akla Chalo Re in a sonorous voice. The
volunteers in the background watch their students with pride and
satisfaction.
AT A GLANCE

Number of Children - 197

Co-scholastic learning

Led by subject experts and volunteers

34

Experiential learning

Runs for 13 Saturdays in each term

Student presentations at the end of term

Reponse from one of the student

"I enjoy the Science Club the most. Through activities and
experiments we are taught concepts of science which otherwise I
find difficult to understand. We learnt about pressure by doing an
activity of creating a fountain and also about magnets and force
through experiments."
Vivek Singh, Grade 8 Udaan Learning Centre Student

4) HAMAARI UDAAN LIBRARY

It has been said, Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in

the world a door opens to allow in more light. Then, imagine the
darkness that awaits a population of children who have no access
to any books other than the school textbooks made available at the
beginning of an academic year and to be returned at the end of the
year.

35

The Hamaari Udaan Library aims to provide easy access to books

for children in low-income communities. It is a platform for
reading and informal learning through a range of English, Hindi
and bilingual books. The library follows the GROWBY model of
Hippocampus Reading Foundation. Each child and book is
assigned with a GROWBY (Green, Red, Orange, White, Blue and
Yellow) colour which represents a specific reading level. Trained
librarians and volunteers provide support to students in their
reading and observe their progress as they graduate to higher
reading levels. Books open the window to a whole new world and
take children on a flight to spheres of countries, history, science,
human behaviours and fantasy that otherwise would be unknown
to them. The immense potential of the library as a tool of informal
learning is harnessed by supplementing it with language games and
grammar lessons. Book based activities and worksheets reinforce
the incidental learning that occurs when children immerse in the
universe of stories and incidentally walk the path of knowledge as
they discover the joy of reading. Afterall, reading is the gateway to
knowledge.

AN INSIGHT

Sometimes after school and often on weekends, children eagerly

walk into the Hamaari Udaan Library to travel into the cosmos of
fascinating people, friendly animals, mysterious happenings and
exotic lands. Falling over each other to reach out to the coveted
Amar Chitra Katha or to grab the beautiful looking book of the girl
with the long golden hair, children settle down into their assigned
groups having satisfied themselves with their trophy of the desired
book. The little ones wait with teacher didi for her to choose a
book.

36

Volunteers and teachers in each group start with an interesting

story - someday taking children to visit Arabia on the magic carpet
and sometimes getting them to believe how good always conquers
evil as in fairy tales, thus training young minds to always hope and
believe in goodness. Their minds stimulated towards imagination,
children now are eager to meet the characters of their own book
and thus follows the time of silent, individual reading, which is the
time when one can see the child getting into the role of a brave
prince or beautiful princess - a world that he/she often dreams
about at night.

AT A GLANCE
Easy access to a variety of books
GROWBY model by Hippocampus Reading Foundation
Book based activities and worksheets
Led by trained librarians
Helps improve language skills
Inculcate reading habits
Reponse from one of the student
"There are many good books in the library. I like to read them all. I also like the circle time when
we all sit together and read books. That is so much fun. My favourite tale is ' Ekki dukki'. I like it
because it is a tale of two sisters and I have a sister too."
Bhumika Tiwari, Grade 4
Learning Centre student

5) SCHOOL SUPPORT

37

20th century India has seen a promising trend in primary school enrolment owing to efforts of
governments and non-profits. However, despite the apparent positive data on government-run
public school registers, a bitter reality confronts us in a staggering volume of millions of children
dropping out of school. The reason for this situation is that we chased the numbers and neglected
the core the quality of education.
Udaan's School Support Programme is an initiative to strengthen the aim and efforts of the
government to proceed from quantity to quality. In 2012, Udaan partnered with two Municipal
Corporation of Greater Mumbai schools to provide a strong educational foundation to children
by establishing an Udaan Kindergarten and providing remedial support to primary sections in an
after-school programme.
A baseline assessment of language and math competency enabled the Udaan teachers to
understand the academic needs of the students. Adopting appropriate teaching strategies and aids
to bridge the learning gaps of the students, children slowly mastered the conventions of
languages, concepts of math and fascinating facts of general knowledge. Going beyond academic
focus, Udaan also brought about attitudinal and behavioral changes in the students by integrating
value education into day-to-day studentteacher interactions. The progress of the students was
continuously monitored through teacher observations and oral and written examinations.
Meetings with the school teachers and parents reinforced our impact. At the end of the year, the
performance graph of these students was like a rising star.
A successful first year of collaboration built trust and confidence, and the Udaan School Support
programme has now expanded to include a government-aided school. Besides providing afterschool remedial teaching, Udaan also took up the responsibility of creating an environment
conducive to learning by changing the face of the school with pleasant, soothing newly painted
walls, solid desks, black boards and vibrant notice boards. The aims of the school support have
evolved and hence today the school support has gone beyond the remedial classes, to provide a
library programme, aid computer literacy and introduce co-scholastic experiences. All efforts are
directed towards delivering quality learning experiences to ignite and maintain the interest of the
children in education.

AN INSIGHT
38

Children who could have been potential dropouts are now willing to come to the Udaan Support
Programme before school and stay after school sometimes coaxed by their parents and other
times egged on by their friend. They enjoy sitting in a classroom for 2 hours to learn phonetics,
grammar, vocabulary, division, subtraction and much more - all that children usually want to
escape from even during regular school hours. Now, as this child has progressed from not
knowing the sounds of the alphabets to being
able to read the stories of The Clever Crow, he has experienced the power of learning and so,
even if it means sometimes to be forced to treat a corner of an assembly hall as a class, both
teacher and students are lost in their world of learning. For the teacher it is the satisfaction of
making a difference, for the student it is simply the joy of learning.

AT A GLANCE
After school support in government run and government supported schools
Bridge learning gaps
Reduce number of dropouts
Regular monitoring and evaluation
Progress from quantity to quality education

6) ALUMNI SUPPORT AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Teenage years are years of building on knowledge and skills to prepare for a higher-level course
of study, of goal setting and aspirations and of exploring spaces to identify possible career paths.
It is a vulnerable and precarious age and in the absence of any support for children in the
communities, it is an age when many drop out to support the family income or simply stay at
home due to the inability of parents to support them for further education.
The Alumni and Scholarship Programme is an anchor for each Udaan child, post Grade 10, to
turn to for emotional, moral, academic and financial support to tide over the trying period of
doubts ad decisions. The Alumni Programme begins with sessions of aptitude testing and career
counseling to understand ones strengths and challenges in order to choose an appropriate course
of study. A one-on-one counseling session helps students make an informed choice towards the
path of higher level education.

39

The Scholarship Programme, then, provides financial aid towards the childs junior and senior
graduation years, be it for mainstream college or open school, a vocational or professional course
or coaching classes. The performance of each child is monitored in regular alumni meetings to
erase hurdles of any nature which could set the child back in his strides towards progress. Visits
to industries, professional college fests and guest lectures ensure that the child is introduced to
the real world of business and commerce, stimulating him to work on himself to be a part of this
world in the future. A unique feature of the Udaan Alumni Programme is the recruitment of
Udaan alumni, as paid assistants in its existing programmes without impinging on their academic
responsibilities, to provide a small stipend to meet their daily needs.
The aim of the programme is to be a mentor and guide for students to help them stay focused on
their goal as they begin their second phase of learning journey.
AN INSIGHT
After the euphoria of passing Grade 10 dies down, a child starts getting lost in the whirlwind of online
admissions, choice of college, which stream, which subjects, amount to be paid, how to get the money,
earning while studying. All these question marks are gently erased, one-by-one, when the child is guided
through each challenge through aptitude tests and career counseling which help draw up a realistic path
for the student. Admissions done, scholarships secured, the child looks forward to new learning. But
suddenly, a parent decides that the child needs to earn and stop studying. A search for an appropriate
temporary job begins in or beyond Udaan.
All throughout the childs confusion, immaturity, sparks of responsibility and teenage abandonment,
Udaan handholds the teenager, ensuring that he stays focused on his goal.

AT A GLANCE
Number of Beneficiaries - 71
Post Grade 10 mentoring and guidance
Aptitude and Career counseling
Financial aid
Significant feature get-give principle
"When I failed in class 10, I was completely demotivated in life. I thought I could do nothing in
life. But Udaan didis really supported me, lifted my spirits and told me to be positive in life. I
realized that positive thoughts leads to positive things in life. And negative thoughts lead to
negativity in life. At Udaan I was encouraged to think positively and I did. Today, I am an
assistant teacher at Udaan and I am very happy. I always try to think positively these days."
Laxmi Yadav
Udaan Alumni

7) SKILLS ENHANCEMENT
40

Much has been written and spoken about the problem that is
plaguing our developing nation: the volume of educated,
unskilled, unemployed youth losing faith in the significance of
education. Every citizen, bureaucrat and politician is aware that the
future of the country lies in creating a skilled workforce for the
problem facing our country, which is not that of unemployment but
of unemployability.

The Udaan Skills Enhancement Programme (SEP) aims to equip

the youth with theoretical knowledge, practical skills and a positive
attitude to seek meaningful employment and take them towards
self-sufficiency. Thus, the emphasis of the SEP is on enhancing the
employability level through 4 segments:

Computer literacy

Spoken English

Vocational training

Soft Skills

Any youth is eligible to apply for the SEP and enrol for all the
segments or for just one or some of them.

41

At the Udaan Computer Centre we run a NIIT accredited

programme, where students are introduced to the basics of
computer literacy that build a foundation to take on higher level
computer skills at a later stage in their professional lives. The focus
of the curriculum is on learning practical computer skills along
with a theoretical foundation of computer science. The course that
covers Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Internet is divided into two
stages: the preparatory stage and NIIT first level, to ensure a
gradual and thorough assimilation of studied material. At the end
of the programme, a NIIT evaluation certifies successful
candidates.

The Udaan Spoken English course aims to impart basic English

language skills to support the youth in achieving their higher
educational goals, equip them to do well in their future jobs and
confidently converse in social situations. The course follows the
Yuva English curriculum designed by the Centre for

Learning Resources specifically for learners in the age group of 16

25 years who have completed their secondary education in a
vernacular medium. Yuva English is an interactive course with a
bilingual and learner centric approach that focuses on learning the
application of language tenets rather than assimilation of mere
language concepts. Language games, conversations, discussions,
drill, functional writing exercises, mock interviews all aim at shaping
a confident youth empowered to accomplish basic social and business
communication.

42

The Vocational training programme imparts working know-how

and practical skills for a specialized discipline of knowledge to
take up careers in fields such as Retail, Automobile, and
Hospitality. Udaan collaborates with different agencies of
vocational training who implement the actual training sessions
after a thorough audit of the curriculum, implementation and
monitoring systems. Udaan has collaborated with such agencies as
Rustomjee Academy of Global Careers (RAGC), Youth Career
Initiative and Skills Academy.

Sessions on Soft Skills conducted by corporate volunteers prepare

the participants to confront the professional work place with the
desired set of values, attitudes and behaviour. Sessions on
grooming, goal setting and time management focus on getting
them ready to take on the future with confidence.

The ultimate goal for SEP is to yield self-sufficient, compassionate

and responsible youth, who are meaningfully employed.

AN INSIGHT
Selfmotivated youth walk into the SEP sessions with great hope
and dreams for the future. After the initial formality of screening
and admissions, gradually each student is gently encouraged to
share their dreams. Udaan teachers, the educational partners and
the volunteers, discreetly note down these aspirations and start
guiding the youth through the chosen path. While the training on
specialized skills enhance their expertise, the sessions on personal
grooming, time management and goal setting shape their
personality. In a span of 3-4 months, the participants starts
expressing their concrete plans for the future. Thus, armed with
43

content, capability, confidence and faith, each youth is ready to

walk the journey of self-sufficiency and end the cycle of poverty
for himself and his family.

AT A GLANCE
Enhance employability skills
Theoretical knowledge and practical skills
Computer literacy programme
Spoken English programme
Vocational training programme
Soft skills training sessions
"General Mills India has an unwavering commitment towards our mission of nourishing lives.
Udaans Skills Enhancement Programme provides us with a unique opportunity to make a
differential impact to the lives of 30 aspiring youth to embark on their own forward looking
journey of nourishing life. The partnership with Udaan also allows us to live our core
championship value of Grow and Inspire and thus help us create a leader in every chair at
General Mills."
Cheryl Bethune, Director Human Resources
General Mills India Private Limited-GBS

8) IMPACT
Stories of Change

1)

Santoshi Maitri, 19 years

If Udaan was not there, I would have never been able to go to school.

44

19 year old, Santoshi Maitri lives with her parents in the construction workers' basti at
Hiranandani Gardens in Powai. She had never been to school when she joined the Udaan project
10 years ago. A keen learner, Santoshi was enrolled at Tirandaz Municipal School and through
her hard work, dedication and the support provided by teachers at Udaan, Santoshi soon
blossomed into an all - round student. She excelled in academics and was always appreciated for
her dancing skills when she performed regularly at our Annual Day functions.
In 2014, Santoshi passed her XIIth grade examination with 57% and has now received a
scholarship to pursue a diploma in Education at Mahatma Gandhi Teacher Training College. One
day Santoshi hopes to be a teacher and help many like her. An outstanding example of how
education can change lives!

2)

Vinay Giri, 20 years

Udaan is helping me to realize my dream of becoming a computer engineer."

Vinay Giri is the eldest son of Mr. & Mrs. Shambhu Giri who migrated from Bihar 15 years ago
and reside in the slums of Phule Nagar. Vinay joined Udaan when he was in class VII at Tirandaz
Village
Municipality School. With the constant motivation, encouragement and guidance provided by
teachers at Udaan, Vinay became a top student with big dreams. He scored 93% in the 2010 SSC
board exams and, with the help of mentors from Udaan, completed his diploma in Computer
Engineering from K J Somaiya College and is now pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering
at Vivekanand Engineering College, Mumbai.
The scholarship received from Udaan has given him an opportunity to realise his dream. He
volunteers at the Computer Centre over the weekends and believes that Udaan has really
developed his skills and personality and it is because of Udaan that today he can have a long
conversation in English. In Vinays words, If I had to describe Udaan in one word, I would say
that it means life to me

45

3)

Malkawa Bomidi, 25 years

Udaan nurtured me and gave me an identity of which I am very proud."

Malkawa today represents Udaans journey. She and her 5 siblings belong to our very first batch
of 2004. Struggling with her academics, she failed to pass her grade X in 2006. Very
demotivated, she wanted to drop -out, but the teachers at Udaan, ignited her fighting spirit and
with concentrated efforts and mentoring she managed to clear her grade Xth in the second
attempt. While she wanted to continue her education, there was pressure to supplement
household income. Udaan helped her get a part - time job
while she continued her education. Her experience and growth with Udaan convinced her that
education is key to change for everyone and inspired her to enrol for a professional teaching
course post grade XII.
While pursuing her diploma in Education, she was supported and mentored by teachers at Udaan
that helped her pass with distinction. She is now herself a teacher at Udaan and giving back
what she got from Udaan. But more than an Udaan teacher, she is a role model for all in the
community who aspire to be like her.

HOW TO GET INVOLVE WITH THEM

1) Volunteer

46

One of our core values is collaboration because we believe that together we can achieve much
more! We believe we are able to make a huge difference in our childrens lives through the
dedicated efforts of our staff and volunteers. Volunteers are an essential part of Udaan and we
would not be where we are today without their unconditional support!
Volunteer opportunities with Udaan are available in different areas, from teaching a class,
leading an extracurricular activity, accompanying the children on field trips to supporting our
office team in administrative tasks.

2) Corporate Partnerships

Today, corporate organisations across the globe are doing their bit in making the world a better
place for all. For corporate organisations it is increasingly about doing responsible business,
where profits must benefit not only their own stakeholders. Udaan is an opportunity for
corporates to positively impact the communities we live in. Accredited by Give India, as one of
the 200+ highly transparent and accountable
NGO's in India, Udaan offers a range of initiatives for corporate involvement that are aligned
with the objectives of doing social good.
47

With engagement being an important component of our partnerships with corporates, Udaan
offers hands on volunteering opportunities for employees, within a range of Udaan projects, that
meet the needs and match the values of the organization. With mutually meaningful employee
engagement, the program not only creates a sense of social commitment and responsibility but
also develops a cohesive corporate culture by providing excellent opportunity for team building
and leadership development of employees.
Partners Feedback
"With dynamic leadership and a successful track record of increasing school enrolments,
decreasing dropouts and focusing on better employment opportunities, Udaan was the best
partner of choice for JLT."
Balamurugan V, CEO - Jardine LLoyd Thompson

3) Donate

Education is the best gift one can give to a child. Support us through a donation and enable
a brighter future for the children we work with. Your contributions could not only take an
Udaan child closer to realising his/her dream, but also help us reach out to many more
children in need of quality education.
Be a part of a child's journey by sponsoring one or more of the following donation options:

Scholarship for a child beyond grade 10

Rs 10000
Allows meritorious and deserving students to continue their
education in junior/degree college or enrol for vocational courses
to enhance their employability.
48

Sponsor a child for a year

Rs 8500
Includes after school academic support, school supplies, uniform, supplementary nutrition,
Diwali clothes and educational trips for a child at the Learning Centre.
Sponsor a teacher for a month
Rs 4800
Covers monthly salary of a teacher at the Learning Centre. Each teacher receives training from
Udaan to ensure that they deliver quality education in the classroom.
Healthy snack for a class for a month
Rs 3000
Provides supplementary nutrition and covers nutritious snacks like energy bar, seasonal fruit,
chikki for 30 children at the Learning Centre.

School supplies and uniform for a child

Rs 1000
Includes everything from books, notebooks, stationery, uniform, T-Shirt to sandals and socks for
a child at the Learning Centre.
Contribute to our general corpus
Any amount
Help us build a healthy corpus for a secure future.
Contribute In-kind
We welcome any form of in-kind donation. Support us by providing healthy snacks, donating
new clothes, footwear, stationery, dictionaries, and notebooks for our children or infrastructure
and IT equipment for our centres.
Celebrate Your Special Occasion with Us
Bring a smile to our childrens faces by sharing your special occasions with us. Celebrate your
loved ones birthdays/anniversaries or even festivals such as Diwali and Christmas with us. You
can do so by sponsoring a meal or distributing sweets or gifts on these occasions.

49

TEAM
1) Mamta Rangan
Founder and Chairperson

Mamta is a graduate of Science from Delhi University with 12 years of experience in the
corporate sector. Her love for children and desire to do something for the society led her to start
Udaan as a small informal project in 2004 to support the education of children of construction
workers. Her belief that every child must have an equal opportunity and access to quality
education made her to register Udaan as a not-for-profit organisation in 2009. Mamta has been
instrumental in developing the educational programs over the years and led Udaan to what it is
today, a journey from Kindergarten to Employability.
50

2) Padma Vaswani
Trustee

Padma Vaswani is an alumna of Elphinstone College, Bombay University. She began her career
in education at a school in Kolkata. While in Kolkata, she was associated with the East India
Charitable Trust and was also the Chairperson of the Cheshire Homes. On her return to Mumbai,
she was associated with the Hiranandani Foundation School for 17 years from where she retired
as Principal in 2007. Subsequently, she was a consultant to a few schools and was the
Consulting Editor with Madhuban Educational Books for their History series. She is currently on

the panel of Raj Mohindra Education Consultants. Padma has been a believer in the philosophy
of Udaan since its inception.
3) N Rangarajan
Trustee

Rangarajan has 29 years of experience in corporate sector and is currently the Head of
Operations at Nomura Services India. Rangarajan is a Commerce graduate from Delhi University
and is a member of the Institute of Chartered and Cost Accountants of India. His involvement
with Udaan stems from his deep -rooted desire to help less privileged children and his
commitment to education
51

4) Ashlesha Chitnavis
CEO

Ashlesha Chitnavis is an educationist with a Master's degree in English Literature and a

Bachelor's degree in Education from Mumbai University. She has been associated with R.N
Podar School and Billabong High International School and her inclination towards structuring an
educational ecosystem comes from her work experience with Kangaroo Kids Education Limited.
Believing strongly that a sound education system, a healthy childhood and a happy home is key
to a self sufficient & dignified adulthood, Ashlesha is committed to the task of imparting quality
education to children irrespective of any disadvantages in their environment.
5) Sushree Mishra
Education Officer

Sushree is an educationist, author and a reading specialist with a passion for storytelling. She has
8 years of experience in the field of curriculum development, teacher training, community
development, as well as hands-on teaching. She has worked with Pratham, Dr. Reddys
Foundation, and the Pasadena Unified School District in California, USA. She has also been a
consultant with Oxford University Press India. She strongly believes that every child has a right
to education in a happy and nurturing environment. Her role at Udaan enables her to translate
this belief to action.
6) Karthik Ramanathan
52

Programme Officer

Karthik is a post-graduate in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology from Deccan
College. He started his career with Cell for Human Values, IIT- Bombay. It is his love for
children and his inclination towards teaching that drew him to Udaan in 2011. He believes that
education is the medium through which one can create proud citizens with a sense of

responsibility towards the nation. Working with the Udaan children gives him hope that this goal
can be achieved.
7) Shradha Pevekar
Admin Co-ordinator

Shradha is a post graduate in Commerce from Mumbai University. She has 8 years of experience
in the retail, facility management and telecom sector. Her strong belief that a good education is
essential for every child, motivated her to join Udaan

53

Their Team
Sitting (left to right): Mamta Rangan, Komal Torne, Laxmi Yadav, Divya Dubey, Malkawa bomidi,
Sushma Vishwakrama, Shradha Pevekar . Standing (left to right): Suseela Venugopal, Pinky Gupta, Jyoti
Francis, Indu Singh, Preeti Gupta, Neelam Shrivastava, Savitri Pal, Mrunalini Shrivastava, Varsha
Gaikwad, Vedanti Desai, Kavita Saroj, Sunita Khamkar, Ashlesha Chitnavis, Vedika Dhuri, Sushree
Mishra . Standing behind (left to right) : Karthik Ramanathan, Ajit Vishwakarma

PARTNERS
One of our core values is collaboration because we believe that together we can achieve much more! We,
at Udaan, believe that mutually beneficial partnerships with like-minded individuals and organisations
enable us to have a greater impact and move closer to our vision. We are privileged to have corporate
partners, educational partners, dedicated staff and volunteers who come together to share knowledge,
skills, and resources.
From providing space to run our Learning Centre to funding projects, our partners have been our pillars
of strength in doing their bit in reducing the educational inequities in our country.
Corporate Partners

54

Accreditation & Funding Partner

Infrastructure Support

Gopal Sharma School for the Learning Centre

Hiranandani Group for the Library

Transocean for the Computer Centre

Partner Organizations
Atma
Childrens Movement for Civic Awareness
Magic Bus
MCGM Education Department
Shobhadevi School
Skills Academy

Other Support
Kherwadi Association
KOOH Sports
Mahesh Tutorial
Rajan Chakravarthy and Associates
Saicare Travels
United Way
Victory Arts Foundation

FUNDRAISER SUPPORTING THIS NGO:

Amit Chilka

55

Support My Campaign
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. `Nelson
Mandela
I personally believe that education is everyone's right. It pains when I see children who want to
learn are not able to go to schools because of the financial problems in the family.
K.C. Mahindra Education Trust has been doing great work through their project 'Nanhi Kali' in

providing high quality learning outcomes guaranteed education interventions to underprivileged

girls studying in government schools across India. Their primary objective thorough this project
is to reduce the high rate of dropout among girl children from socially economically
marginalized families.
Udaan India Foundation too, works towards empowering low income community children
through education. Their primary aim is to ensure that every child of school going age is gaining
a strong and holistic educational foundation to become a responsible, compassionate and
confident youth of tomorrow.
Hence I sincerely request all of you visiting this page to generously donate towards the above
noble causes help these underprivileged children use education as a powerful weapon to change
their world.
About Him

56

I started running a couple of years back and it changed my world. It has now become a part of
my everyday life and am passionate about it. To take it to the next level I want to start running
for a cause.
I intend to run 21k thrice a week for the next 8 weeks so as to gear up for SCMM i.e. going to be
21 x 3 x 8 = 504k and for every km I run I intend to raise INR 100 which makes it INR 50400!
I need help and support from all of you! :)
Fund Usage:
The Mumbai Marathon is an opportunity for beneficiaries and well
wishers to come together and pledge their support for a common
cause. The funds raised during the marathon will help us reduce
education inequities for less privileged children, sustain and scale
up existing programs and to provide scholarships to children who
would otherwise be unable or are unlikely to pursue further
education post 10th std. We look forward to your support in
helping us realize our childrens dreams.

UDAAN NEWS
1 ) Powaites enjoy a cool, bright, sunny afternoon Taare
Zameen Par, a drawing and crafts competition organized by
Rotary Club of Bombay Powai By Vivek V Govilkar

57

The annual signature event of Rotary Club of Bombay Powai was

held on Sunday, 16th Feb 2014. With a light drizzle on Saturday,
there was a concern whether the event could be held as planned on
the lawns of the Heritage Park. Luckily, the skies cleared and the
lawns dried up just in time. The sunlight enhanced the bright
colours of the flowers and cool breeze made the afternoon very
pleasant. More than 250 kids participated in this event along with
their parents and grandparents. We even saw come enthusiastic
grandparents try their hand at painting. Children from NGOs like
Mobile Crche and Udan as well as our local municipal schools
participated and won some prizes. Topics for painting were given
on the spot. Children let their
imagination run wild to illustrate My favourite sport, My vacation
with the family, Fun at summer camp, India in 2025 or Save water
save earth. The younger kids were given stencils and they were
required only to add colours to the printed pictures. This year we
included a new category in crafts. Participants were asked to use
only dry, household waste creatively to make some useful objects.
The artwork produced by the kids was truly amazing. Saloni and
Kala were the winners in the crafts competition in the up to 12th
58

Std. and above 12th Std. categories respectively. In the painting

competition, Aryan Bajaj bagged the first prize in the KG category
whereas Kamalini Ramesh was the winner in the 1st to 3rd Std.
Category. Vedant Bandarkar

(4th to 6th Std.), Bhakti Dalal (7th to Tues, May 27, 2014Tues,
May 27, 2014 12:01:20 PM about us contact us advertise here how
to get copy NEWS Archive 10th Std.) Yogesh Kirpana (Jr. College
to 35 years), Mona Kothari (35 to 60 years) and Mandakini
Panchdhari (above 60 years) were the other deserving winners. All
the participants were given a drawing kit donated by Pidilite in
addition to some yummy snacks. While the judges (Kalpana
Gandhi, Bandhe Nawaz, Rohit Soni and Sudipta) were busy
looking at the artwork, the kids were kept engaged by local
amateur dancers. Later the kids and some parents also joined the
dance floor. This has become an annual event that Powai kids look
forward to. So see you next year, same time, same place.

2) Udaan India Foundation (UIF), a Powai based non profit organisation celebrates its
Annual day.
Hum honge kamyaab ek din the hall resounded with these words as well healed adults
clapped and sang along with bright eyed children as part of the curtain call.. The venue : Gopal
Sharma Memorial School Auditorium, The day: the evening of 20thFebruary, 2011, The
occasion : the Annual Day of the children of Udaan India Foundation (UIF), a Powai based non
profit organisation working towards educating less privileged children.
The evening of dance and drama put together by the Udaan children and team centred around the
theme of One Earth , Save it .The concert began with a welcome speech by Mrs.Padma
Vaswani, a renowned educationist, which beautifully captured the essence of the evening an
acknowledgement of our responsibility towards the environment and making small efforts to
save our planet as there is only One Earth . While seeking the support of the residents
of Powai, she had a message from the children of Udaan: Do not walk in front of me, I may not
follow, Do not walk behind me, I may not lead, Walk beside me and be my friend.
This was followed by the auspicious lighting of the lamp by dignitaries from the corporate
world- the CEO of Transocean, the MD of Nomura, the Head of Barclays Offshore business and
the trustees of Udaan .
59

The programme began with a Ganesh Vandana and a relook at Vande Mataram as a song
celebrating bountiful Mother Nature. It looked like Lord Ganesh was benignly smiling at the
people assembled there that evening because the programme that followed was a thing of
beauty enjoyed by both, the audience and the performers if one were to go by the smiles on
either side of the curtain!
Popular Bollywood numbers like All is well and Aashayein were danced to with as much
gusto as numbers like Michael Jacksons Earth Song, and nursery rhymes like Roly Poly
making it a delightful bhel puri for the senses. The children of grade 4,5,7 and 8 in their
musical Izz all well? expressed how human greed is instrumental in destroying our natural
resources and the need to act responsibly towards the environment.
Ms Anuradha Murthi took the audience through the evening with some very touching compering.
The Annual Day is an opportunity for the children of UIF to showcase their talent and reinforce
Udaans commitment in providing the children holistic learning with focus on extracurricular
activities like dance,
art and drama to help them grow up into confident individuals, says Mamta Rangan, the
chairperson of Udaan; and if one were to go by the evening of the 20th of February, one would
say the little fledglings of Udaan have really come into their own bringing the audience to their
feet for a standing ovation at the end of the programme.
The outstanding students for the academic year 2010-11 were felicitated by guests for the
evening. It was a fantastic show , so well coordinated and more importantly each child had a
smile. I was very moved by the entire program said an impressed Deepa Ramani while the
awestruck mother of Manisha Rathod, DOR [Drop Out Remedial] student of Udaan mused, I
never dreamt of my child going to school , leave alone performing on stage . I was so proud to
see my daughter dancing on stage today. I will now support whatever she wants to do now.
3) Empower through Education
Udaan India Foundation believes in providing equal opportunity through education to children
from disadvantaged backgrounds. N Madhavan and Aditya Govindaraj write about how the
Foundation is making a difference
Did you know that 37% of global illiterates live in India? According to latest Global Monitoring
Report, a whopping 2.3 million Indian children have never been to school. The future of the
Indian economy hinges on our young population; most of them are poor and unskilled. They do
not get what they deservetheir fundamental right to education; access to quality education
remains a dream. Our country has the dubious distinction of having one of the highest school
dropout rates and child labour levels in the world! Mumbai is no exception. Mamta Rangan,
founder and trustee, Udaan India Foundation (UIF), followed her belief that education is key to
60

change and set up Udaan in 2004 to help children of construction workers to enrol in
mainstream schools.
Udaan, a project that started as an informal initiative, is now a registered trust with 800 students,
15 full-time teachers and over 25 volunteers under its wings. Most children who come to Udaan
are from families with little or no formal education. Education is not a priority in such families; it
is commonplace for children to drop out of school to contribute to the family income. Udaan is
sensitive to the fact that the girl child is usually the worst victim of poverty and, often, forced to
drop out of school. Hence, UIF pays special attention to the girl childevident from the girl:boy
ratio at their centres.
A childs journey at UIF begins with the Kindergarten programme and continues through the
learning years, steadily taking her/him towards employability and a better life. Udaans learning
centre lays the foundation of a childs holistic development and imparts learning that ranges from
the scholastic to the co-scholastic. Beyond this, children are guided, mentored and provided
financial support on an equal opportunity basis, to meet his/her true potential. To open the world
of books for children and supplement their language skills, UIF runs a community library that
implements the GROWBY reading programme of the Hippocampus Reading Foundation.
Children are taken through a structured programme to become confident and eager readers.
Under the guidance of qualified staff, the library brings relevant and meaningful literature within
the reach of children who cannot afford to buy books. Udaan also has a computer centre that
provides computer literacy to children. Through a defined curriculum, students from the eighth
grade onwards undergo training in basic computer skills and learn the use of Internet which will
equip them for skilled jobs. Udaan, through its work, hopes to see a perceptible change by way
of increased enrolments in schools, decrease in school dropout rates and better job opportunities
for the underprivileged. But, beyond that, Udaan aims to groom children to become confident
young adults equipped to tackle various challenges in life. Udaan welcomes volunteers to engage
in a range of activities that include teaching, assisting the Saturday Club activities (such as art,
music, drama and sports), managing events (like Annual Day, Sports Day), reading at the
community library, organising health camps, field trips and fund raising. You can also be a part
of a childs journey by donating to Udaan. Your contributions wouenrld help Udaan-supported
children realise their dream and help it reach out to many more children in need of quality
education

61

Please come and join hands with UDAAN

62

CONCLUSION
63

The first responsibility to society is to operate at a profit, and only slightly less important is the
necessity for growth. The business is the wealth-creating and wealth-producing organ of the
society. Management must maintain its wealth-producing resource intact by making adequate
profits to offset the risk of economic activity. And it must beside increase the wealth-producing
capacity of these resources and with them the wealth of society.
Ethics play an importance role in social responsibility. The business organizations must have
ethical responsibility as they are doing business, including production, management, and services
and so on. Without ethics, it would be danger to the human. Ethics is simply the rules that say
what is right and wrong, as defined by a particular reference group or individual.
The social responsibility is very importance to both society and business organizations. Although
there are some arguments for and against social responsibility, even more of the organizations
would take action on social responsibility. Many of the advantages being social responsibility
was created, some of that was already discuss on previous pages. Believed that, the best interest
of business organizations is social responsibilities, that would be benefit in the long run of
company, can be earn more profit, and benefit to the human and the environment.
Why they Do it?
In India today, 4% of our children never start school. 58% do not complete primary school. 90%
do not complete secondary school. And only 10% complete college.
Udaan aims at changing these statistics by providing children from low-income
communities the academic and non-academic support that will enable them to stay and
succeed in school and realize their true potential through continuous learning.

WEBILOGRAPHY
64

www.udaanindiafoundation.org
ngos.giveindia.org/ngos/udaan-india-foundation
http://www.isrworld.org/2008_06_01_archive.html
powai.info/.../udaan-india-foundation-a-powai-based-ngo-celebrates-in
http://www.slideshare.net/anuptiwari/isr-individual-social-responsibility
www.ngo.in
http://www.unitedwaymumbai.org/ngo22_udaan.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NGOs_in_Mumbai
http://ngos.giveindia.org/ngos/udaan-india-foundation/

65