Gramothhan

Supported by: Wipro

Gramothhan is an Odisha-based non-profit organization that works for quality education to build an empowered society by engaging with marginalized communities and public primary schools in vulnerable geographical areas. We have varied projects focusing on transforming schools and enabling communities to bring change in society.

Vision: Ensure quality education for all rural and tribal children to build an empowered society.

Mission: By 2025 Gramothhan will empower 50,000 children with holistic education through innovation, contextual and scalable solutions, and transforming government schools into model schools in rural and tribal areas of Odisha.

Location: We are working in one of the backward regions of Odisha, i.e., the Ullunda and Sonepur Blocks of the Sonepur district which have a population of 6.5 lakhs and a literacy rate is 65%. Despite challenges such as seasonal and distress migration which leads to an increase in child dropout rate, we committed ourselves to ensure that every child in Sonepur district receives quality education.

Learnings: The crew has been consistently learning. Over the last year, our team has gained more knowledge of leadership skills, problem-solving and action research, and pedagogical knowledge by practicing in the classroom, participating in a range of capacity development and seminar activities, and being a member of various networks and communities.

Gramothhan has assembled a local team, with 70% coming from the same communities and knowledgeable about local concerns, culture, language, and so on. Last year’s long-term pandemic situation provided valuable learning opportunities for a variety of stakeholders.

Apart from workshops and seminars, our team has gained valuable knowledge from students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders. In addition, the team learned about organizational strategy plans, program design, the documentation process, fundraising abilities, and documentation. The year 2022-23 was both healthy and educational for us.

Challenges: When you learn to do something, you will confront numerous challenges. In the organization, we had similar experiences in the previous year. At the organizational, operational, and educational levels. We have also had fundraising problems due to limited experience and access in the Sonepur district.

Plan for the next 1-3 years:

• Structured Library and Language Program in 10 Government Schools: we have set up two structured libraries in two government schools.
• Develop locally relevant and contextual resources for use in centres and schools.
• Set up four more Community Learning Centres in three years along with the six existing ones and at least five CLCs led by the Community.
• Work with around 10 government schools on a structured library, language, and math. this will include work with both, teachers, parents, as well as students to improve teaching-learning practices.
• 100% of teachers use effective lesson plans in classrooms in implementation schools.
• Develop 50 local storybooks. the stories collected locally.
• Develop Art Curriculum, Math curriculum, Language, and EVS curriculum and implement them in schools and Learning centres.
• Work on STEM education in five Government high schools.
• Documentation (Report, Newsletter, Case study, success story, Audio, Video) from stakeholders.
• Content from external organization and co-plan, that was re-designed by Gramothhan.
• At least 50 youths are associated with Gramothhan.
• Develop a Quality Team. Resources person in math, language, EVS, and art education.
• To develop organizational policies, financial aspects, legal aspects, etc. Organization development documents (strategy, planning, etc.)
• Networking and presence in the ecosystem: Leveraging the ecosystem, partnership with other NGOs, and government relationships.