Nanhe Kadam is our flagship project. A lot of students in Government schools do not have any foundation in English till 5th class but start learning subjects in English from 6th class. They are completely unequipped to deal with the situation. The teachers too in most cases cannot teach or speak in English. This leaves them at a great disadvantage. We hope through our efforts we can help children cope with this challenge as they move into higher classes. While we try to address this specific problem, the goal is also to address the bigger issue of poor quality of education in Government schools.
Our goals include -

1. To develop life skills – working in groups, speaking in front of the class, classroom manners and behaviours
2. To provide an open channel of communication with an adult educator that is based on trust and love and not fear
3. To inculcate the love of learning
4. To enhance the quality of learning experience for students
5. To teach English

CURRICULUM:

We at Orenda Initiatives believe that children learn the most when they have fun and when they get to ‘do’ rather than just ‘listen’. Our constant endeavour is to infuse life and energy into the classrooms we deal with. To this extent, our sessions are full of activities, rhymes and games that are exciting for children. While we cannot take up the full-fledged role of a teacher, we realized that we can add value without interfering with the existing curriculum. After much thought and deliberation, we narrowed down on these four topics –

1. Health and Hygiene
2. Nutrition
3. Environment
4. My Family and Body Parts

The objective of this initiative is to provide youth with a wide range of tools and resources to be able to make informed choices about their careers and education. Our current education system leaves little scope for self-discovery and important choices are made under peer and societal pressures. Students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are often crippled by lack of just not quality opportunities but of accessibility to information.

Through this initiative, we provide students and young professionals information in terms of choices available and mentor them. Our team comprising of professionals from various backgrounds are act as friends and mentors and are available to them for guidance.

Orenda Initiatives organizes exposure visits to NGOs, Foundations and other organizations and institutions to learn from their experience and incorporate some of the lessons into our work, to sensitize the volunteers and to provide an opportunity to discover any latent interests they might have. Most of the team members of Orenda Initiatives have discovered their passion through one of such visits. We believe such ongoing visits are an extremely important part of the journey we have embarked upon.

We identify orphanages, disability centers, schools and other such institutions once in two weeks and spend time one day of a weekend interacting with the staff and pupils of those centers. We try to understand their work, identify their requirements and, to the extent possible, help them.