1. PRAGATI Society for Reformation of Mentally Challenged

2. An action group for basic education in India2/23 Outline Description Goals Background/Impact Organization Description Existing Infrastructure/Facilities Curriculum/Pedagogy Expected Outcome Budget Other funding sources Big Picture Discussion Acknowledgments

3. An action group for basic education in India3/23 Project Description Location: Hyderabad Area: Urban Primary Focus: Children with disabilities Project Type: Special Education / Vocational training Amount Requested (US$): ~3205* (INR 125000) Purpose of Funding Request: Infrastructure & Operating Expenses # of Beneficiaries: 20 * At conversion rate of 1USD = 39INR

4. An action group for basic education in India4/23 Project Goals Current status of students - all 20 are still at the institute –One student is a paid assistant at the institute –Two girl students attend normal school, half a day Short-term objectives –Individualized education and personal care to all students –Improve the therapy methods that are currently in use 5-year vision –Increase the number of vocational trainings and support service to more number of students. Actively involved in increasing the awareness of the community towards mentally challenged people – participation is good. (please refer pictures) –Celebration of Holi, Rakhi, Republic Day, Independence Day and other National Holidays –Periodical visits to parks, railway station, exhibition, etc.

5. An action group for basic education in India5/23 Detailed Organization Objectives Reform and rehabilitate mentally retarded children and grown ups. Educate the parents and public about mental retardation and the various measures to improve mental faculties of the disabled. Integration of the disabled children with normal children. Provide care for children with low ability by imparting training of basic life skills. Provide vocational training for youths. Serve adults with mental retardation through community based rehabilitation and strengthen ties with families. Grouping the mentally retarded into pre-primary, primary I & II, secondary, pre-vocational I & II CARE groups and impart training. Provide library, general, technical and professional education. Provide short term training to special educators.

6. An action group for basic education in India6/23 Background / Impact The cause of the mental disability could be due to: –Chromosomal abnormality, low IQ (Down syndrome) –Cerebral palsy –Infections / injuries to brain –Complications during delivery Motion, thinking processes and senses might be impaired The severity of the disability can be broadly classified into: –Mild (will be able to function daily routine) –Moderate –Severe (severely dependent for most activities) The above classification can be used to distinguish different categories of handicapped children too, e.g. we will refer to a person with mild disability as ‘mild student’ for the purpose of this document

7. An action group for basic education in India7/23 Background / Impact (contd..) I was sensitized to the situation when I visited the locality in October 2006. Secretary of the institution is a cousin of mine. Started with 5 students Started in a slum area, comprising a number of uncared & poor mentally challenged children – parents are daily wage earners and have no understanding of mentally challenged children Started with 2 trained teachers and 1 untrained teacher assisted by an ayah Main objective is to facilitate integration of the mentally challenged into the society and provide rehabilitation Current strength is 20 students – average attendance is about 75% owing to health issues of students

8. An action group for basic education in India8/23 Background / Impact (contd..) Evidence of success –Two mild category children, name Bhavana & Jyoti, are being sent to normal school half day since 2003 (for integration of mentally challenged students into normal society). –One mild category student, name Praveen, made rapid improvements and is performing now as a waged assistant teacher. Has won various participation awards. Recognition –Secretary (and the most experienced teacher with 15 years of experience) received recognition from a famous social worker and writer Smt. Srigiri Raju Vijayalakshmi, in the form of ‘Smt. Polavarapu Venkata Subbamma Memorial Award’ for the institution’s work

9. An action group for basic education in India9/23 Background / Impact (contd..) Challenges –Requires lot of patience & dedication –Difficult to recruit trained educators because of lack of funds –Missing out on a good number of students because of lack of school transportation, and the parents do not want to send the kids because of that –Difficulty obtaining Government funds due to the corruption and (in)effective Government.

10. An action group for basic education in India10/23 Organization Description Established in 1999 Executive / Managing committee consists of 8 members Registered under the name: Pragatisheel (Institute for Reformation of Mentally Handicapped) ® –Registered Oct-26-1999 –Started taking students in November 2000 –Run mainly by individual donations so far –Donations obtained through word-of-mouth and individual solicitations

11. An action group for basic education in India11/23 Key Members Smt C. Rajyalakshmi – Secretary (teacher) Sri P. Rajeswara Rao – President (lawyer, by profession) Smt P. Jagadamba Devi – Treasurer Shri C. Seetarama Raju – Honorary Member Smt P. Geeta – Executive Member No political affiliations No FCRA clearance, not yet applied Secretary is the main person, the rest of the members take care of the logistics and paperwork. Most other founding members are close family

12. An action group for basic education in India12/23 Community Outreach The organization puts a lot of effort in educating the community around about mentally handicapped children –Literacy levels in the community are at ~50% –Of the illiterate parents, only a small fraction of them send their kids to the school quoting “what can these kids get out of school” –Majority of the children currently attending school have literate parents The organization interacts with other similar organizations nearby.

13. An action group for basic education in India13/23 Existing Infrastructure / Facilities Staff –3 untrained teachers (given only short-term training) & 1 ayah –1 trained teacher with 15 years experience in the field & a diploma from NIMH (she designs the individual curricula) Infrastructure –Toilets, Chairs & Tables, Drinking water, Playground, Blackboard, Electricity, Toys & Teaching Aids Food/Medical Service –Medicines are provided to students in case of illness –Occasionally, clothing is provided to needy students –Students get their own lunch –School timings are from 10:30am – 2:30pm

14. An action group for basic education in India14/23 Curriculum / Pedagogy There are no special schools run by Government Focus of Pragati is on basic livelihood skills –Drinking, eating, using toilet, basic movements, communication skills –Vocational training such as candle making, plastic flowers making, shampoo making ‘Functional academics’ is employed –Whole word approach (only relevant or useful words are taught) Educating parents of disabled children

15. An action group for basic education in India15/23 Curriculum / Pedagogy (contd..) Minimum age limit is 5 years Teacher : Student ratio is 1 : 6 (severely understaffed) –A special school for mentally challenged would require Occupational Therapists, Ayahs, Psychologists, Assistants & Special Educators Boy : Girl ratio is 3 : 1 Current strength is 20 Guidelines provided by National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped are used for assessment & therapy

16. An action group for basic education in India16/23 Evaluation of success What happens to the beneficiaries of this program? –Students will be able to earn their livelihood through the training received, and improve their confidence and reduce the inferiority complex –Some mild students will be accepted into the normal schools till a certain period of time for better integration into the society What are evaluation methods to measure student learning? –Assessment made every 3 months based on guidelines from NIMH. –No exams are conducted. Success of the organization is gauged from the feedback of the parents (subjective)

17. An action group for basic education in India17/23 Budget - 2007 Recurring CostsFixed CostsNote Item Cost per month Annual cost (INR)Item One-time cost (INR) Rent250030000paper cutting machine35000 Salaries400048000candle moulds (3 #'s)15000 Electricity3003600Office equipment30000 Refreshments / Reinforcements1001200 incentives given to students Sundries1001200 Telephone2002400 Conveyance3003600 90000 80000Total (INR) Only relevant budget years are being presented. Detailed budget for 2009 is in the reading material that is passed. Highlighted in red is what is requested.

18. An action group for basic education in India18/23 Budget - 2008 Highlighted in red is what is being requested. Total requested amount = Rs. 125,000 /- Recurring CostsFixed CostsNote Item Cost per month Annual cost (INR)Item One-time cost (INR) Rent350042000 second-hand vehicle75000 Salaries500060000 Electricity5006000 Refreshments / Reinforcements1501800 incentives given to students Sundries1501800 Telephone4004800 Conveyance3003600 120000 75000Total (INR)

19. An action group for basic education in India19/23 Other funding sources Previous/Other Funding Sources? –Only individual donors so far –Some are regular –Some are one-time donors appreciating the work –Funding is not assured and it varies depending on the financial circumstance of the individual donors. Plans for self-sufficiency? –It is not possible to generate significant revenue with the professions that mentally handicapped people can perform under supervision. –Open to suggestions

20. An action group for basic education in India20/23 Project Big Picture Funding requested is for –Vocational training equipment (education component) –Purchasing a school vehicle (non-education component) Use of funding –NGO: entire amount is used for the project –Our Component: ~3200$ –Balance sheets and audits available in detail –All donations are deposited & managed through the bank account associated with the organization

21. An action group for basic education in India21/23 Discussion No site visit done yet Strengths/Opportunities –To increase the awareness through partnering with other similar projects (e.g. Sandya Sanwardhan Sanstha) –The model of this organization is to provide personal care, free of cost. This model can be compared with other private special schools which charge about Rs. 2000 pm per child –Geared towards underprivileged Weaknesses/Risks –Secretary is considering moving to a new location within the city (based on survey results, the need is more at the new location) My recommendation –Fund

22. An action group for basic education in India22/23 Discussion (contd..) Questions/Thoughts Arguments for funding Arguments against funding Decision criteria.. (in the order in which they need to be done) –Do we need more information? –Site visit report –Vote to approve / reject –Full funding / partial funding –FCRA or can the funds be disbursed locally?

23. An action group for basic education in India23/23 Acknowledgments Asha Stanford chapter for providing template and guidelines online Asha SV chapter for attendance and feedback