Recognize Rise and Empower Association (RREA)

Partner From
11/01/2019 - On Going
RREA logo

https://rrea.in/


Supported by: Wipro

About the organization

 

Vision: To transform at-risk communities into sustainable communities through socio-economic interventions.

Mission: Our mission is to empower marginalized communities to achieve sustainable growth through education, health, livelihood, sports development, and research.


Location of work

 

We work in three subdivisions of the Kamjong District of Manipur, namely Kamjong, Phungyar, and Kasom Khullen. 


Project updates

Lack of basic learning levels in math and languages, coupled with a huge influx of drugs in the remote border regions of Manipur, has affected children’s right to quality education. More than 60 percent of students (including those at the primary level) live without their parents in rented accommodations as they come from nearby hill areas and far-off villages. 

An inadequate number of school teachers is matched than 50 percent of the teachers being proxy teachers with poor teaching capacities. This has made government schools in the region highly redundant. Despite the poor economic background of children in the border hill districts, more than 70 percent of the children in Manipur study in private schools (As per the ASER Report 2018). The biggest issue surfacing today is what is the choice and opportunity left for children in such conflict-ridden areas. 

In such a context we are trying to: 

  • Bridge the learning gaps of at-risk tribal children through remedial classes. 
  • Improve children’s regularity in schools through regular home visits and community outreach. 
  • Equip children’s social-emotional learning competencies through sports intervention. 
  • Ensure children’s right to play and recreation through sports programs. 
  • Undertake training and capacity building of schoolteachers to enhance classroom teaching and sensitivity toward children at risk. 
  • Create a network of educational leaders working towards sustainable education in the region. 

To achieve the above objective RREA employs a two-pronged approach wherein children have opportunities to learn both inside and outside the classroom. This involves an Early Literacy program intended to support children to achieve basic learning levels in mathematics, languages and science. This is done through our initiative called ‘Teach for Northeast.’ 

Teach for Northeast is a 2-years teaching fellowship program. It is intended to put children on a transformational learning path in schools. It cultivates leadership qualities in the fellows. Teach For Northeast program recruits teaching fellows for two years to support the learning needs of at-risk children in under-resourced government schools of the Northeast. 

Through this initiative, we are supporting children to achieve: 

  • Improved learning levels through Remedial classes. 
  • Regularity in school for irregular school children through home visits and Community Outreach. 
  • Remediate out-of-school children through enrolment and remedial support. 
  • Develop a culture of reading amongst children through Libraries.  


The second initiative is the Sports For Social Development. As part of this initiative, we strive to supplement and add value to the early literacy program of “Teach For Northeast”. The underlying intention of this initiative is to provide children with an atmosphere of inclusive education wherein they feel the need to attend school regularly. Through this initiative, we ensure:

  • Access to play spaces and recreation in schools and community. 
  • Improved regularity in schools as children feel excited and interested to attend school. 
  • Improved social-emotional learning of children, as a result of which they form a better image of themselves, can establish positive relationships with others, become more accepting towards children from diverse backgrounds, and can manage their emotions efficiently. 

The Sports For Development program is implemented by our community sports educators and sports coordinators to create different play spaces in schools and the community and encourage all children to play certain games and sports. The sports educators also conduct sports sessions which consist of life skill sessions like self-awareness, effective communication, and ‘good touch, bad touch’ programs to avert child sexual abuse. The idea is to create opportunities for the holistic development of children. 

Plan of action

RREA through its two project interventions is creating positive impacts in the educational lives of tribal children residing in the conflict-ridden border regions. The program is focused on children at risk. However, RREA’s educational approach impacts the entire community. It is also changing mindsets about the value of education, improving school and instructional quality for all children, building community cohesion, and inspiring self-advocacy, for infrastructure and other improvements beyond the educational system. 

In this way, the grant and project are impacting indirectly all the residents of these communities. Furthermore, the program is intended so that an initial investment not only changes participating villages but has a ‘spillover’ effect whereby other villages are inspired to replicate education activities as they see their neighbors advance, which achieves long-term, sustainable, and systemic change.