Beena Rao's mission is to give free education to underprivileged-children. :-Her initiative 'Prayas Free Coaching Classes' was started in 2006 and sought to bridge a gap in delivery standards of present-day education in deprived neighbourhoods and slums of Surat, Gujarat.
'Prayas Free Coaching Classes' began. Along with her husband, she started teaching a few children in 2006 and, today, the initiative has grown to cover more than 5000 children in eight different locations of Surat.
Rao depends largely on volunteers to teach the children from 3rd to 8th grade and the funds for their wages (about 1500 Indian rupees)come from various quarters through donations or from Rao's pockets. The classes are in the evening from 6 to 8 pm and the emphasis is on holistic development of the children with discipline and moral values forming the basic tenet of the education. Workshops are also conducted in areas like craft, science, yoga and sports for older children to help them find their core strengths and plan their career accordingly.
The transformation in the children is incredible. There is a rise in self-esteem and most of the children now desist from their slang and abuse ridden lingo. Their academic performance has improved considerably and most of them now attend school reducing the number of school dropouts. The books distributed by the initiative to the slum children has inculcated and improved their reading habits.
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