Thank you for coming together to send Bushra Shaik to school for an entire year.

Eleven year old Bushra Shaikh lives in a slum community in Bandra West. Her father, a mason is the sole bread winner of the family of five – Bushra’s parents, Bushra and two siblings. Bushra’s father envisions a bright future for his children through education. He takes keen interest in their daily school life and is proud of their achievements.

The warm and vibrant environment at Aseema nurtures Bushra’s love for learning. She eagerly looks forward to school each day and actively participates in academic and co curricular activities. A committed and responsible student of Standard VII at a municipal school supported by Aseema, Bushra performs her duties diligently. She also takes ownership for her learning. Sometimes, Bushra suffers from stomach ailments, which causes her to miss school. However, she ensures that she has completed her assignments and voluntarily asks the teachers to assist her with difficult concepts.

This year, Bushra has been learning through the Activity Based Learning (ABL) approach. Creative activities consisting of games, experiments, research and group discussions have made learning a fun and meaningful experience. An intelligent student, Bushra easily grasps concepts and is always ready to help her fellow students. Bushra loves singing, dancing and studying. Currently, she is preparing for the Independence Day celebration in school where she will be presenting a song about this important day.

Bushra has also started developing computer skills through Project Ringtones. Under this project, she is learning to create animation on tablet computers through “Scratch”, a programming language.

Thank you for sending Riya Nithore to school for an entire year.

Riya Nitore, aged five years and eight months is a student of Prithvi Pre-Primary class at a municipal school supported by Aseema. Riya lives with her parents, grandparents and brother in a fishing community in Khar West. Her father works as a peon and her mother works as a domestic worker. Riya’s mother is very involved in her development. She regularly interacts with the teachers to discuss Riya’s progress.

Learning through the Montessori Approach has helped Riya become confident, independent and focused. She enjoys participating in academic and co curricular activities offered in school. Riya can read simple phonetic words and independently write two-letter words. Working with scientifically designed Montessori apparatus, Riya has developed good motor skills. Her teachers remark on her beautiful handwriting.

In Mathematics, She has understood the concept of numbers and symbols. Riya loves working with materials focusing on addition and can perform additions of 4-digit numbers. Riya enjoys singing so much so that during Music class, Riya’s voice is the sweetest and loudest voice in class. She also enjoys art and has developed a good sense of colour combinations. She loves painting with crayons and water colours.  This year, Riya has participated in cultural events such as Raksha Bandhan, Janmasthami and Independence Day.

Riya is now being prepared for entry into Standard I. She is quite excited and looks forward to all the preparations.

Thank you for gifting a year of schooling to seven year old Savita.

Savita Awali lives in a remote tribal village in Igatpuri. Her father is a contract labourer and her mother a housewife. Accessibility to school is difficult; hence, Savita has been staying with her maternal aunt in Awalkheda. Her parents have now moved to Awalkheda to be closer to Savita.

Savita is currently studying in the Primary Section at Aseema’s Education Centre in Awalkheda. Since she lives at a distance of about 3 kms from the school, Aseema has arranged for a rickshaw to pick her up every day.  She comes regularly and neatly dressed. Learning with the ‘Activity Based Learning’ materials helps Savita explore her love for learning. An enthusiastic learner, she is keen to work with all the new material she sees in the classroom. She enjoys learning new activities and observes children who are working with new materials. She also likes to read books.

In Mathematics she has been learning about numbers and addition.  Her teachers say that she enjoys addition and looks forward to learning subtraction. On Sports Day, she took part in the skipping rope race.

On the field trip to a local agricultural farm, Savita saw leaves of various spices and was fascinated by them. She collected leaves of different kinds and took them home to share with her family. Savita loves to spend time with the older children in the school who are appearing for a grade III public exam. She looks forward to continuing in school and appearing for this exam herself.

Thank you for gifting a year of smiles to Shanti.

Shanti Shingwe aged seven years has been with Aseema since 2007. She was earlier enrolled in Aseema’s Pre-Primary Centre at Jambhwadi. Shanti lives with her parents and two sisters in Jambhwadi. Her father, the sole bread winner works as a contract labourer. He is barely makes enough to support his family. Shanti and her sisters are often ill. They are provided medical assistance and two nutritious meals by Aseema.

Currently, Shanti is studying in the Primary Section at Aseema’s Education Centre in Awalkheda. She enjoys working with Montessori materials, especially the number rods in Mathematics. She likes sensorial materials like colour tablets and knows all the colour names. A gifted artist, Shanti is drawn to drawing insets, which is a material to aid pre-writing skills.

With encouragement from teachers, Shanti participates in sports activities. On Sports Day, she took part in a pencil balance race. She enjoyed the study trips to a tourist spot and an agricultural farm. On both these field trips she learnt new names of trees.

Thank you for gifting an education to Deepak.

Nine year old Deepak Mengal lives with his parents in Jambhwadi, a tribal village in Igatpuri, Maharashtra. Deepak’s parents are farmers. Working long hours makes it difficult for them to visit his school and meet his teachers. However, the Aseema teachers visit his parents to talk about his development.

In 2006, Deepak joined Aseema’s Pre-Primary Centre in Jambhwadi. He is now studying in the Primary Section at Aseema’s Education Centre in Awalkheda, which is about 3 kms from his home. Deepak avails of the transport facility offered by Aseema to reach school. Learning through the Montessori Approach, has improved his concentration. He is able to grasp concepts easily. He finds reading most challenging, but makes an attempt nevertheless.  Deepak has enrolled for the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) Level A exams. This month, Deepak will be appearing for his Mathematics examination.

On the Annual Sports Day, Deepak participated in the sack race. He enjoys sports and willingly plays with his friends. This year, he has gone on excursions to a local tourist spot and an agricultural farm. Coming from an agricultural background, Deepak found the farm visit very interesting and eagerly enquired about different farming activities.

Thank you for gifting a year of education to Manisha.

Manisha Mengal aged seven years old is studying in the Primary Section at Aseema’s Education Centre in Awakheda, Igatpuri. Her home in Gawaldewadi is very far from the school, hence she avails of the transport facility provided by Aseema. She lives with her parents, one sister and 2 brothers who are also enrolled at Aseema. Her father is a contract labourer and her mother is a housewife. Her parents live far so her teachers visit her home to discuss her progress in school.

Manisha is a friendly student and enjoys talking to her classmates. She shows eagerness to learn new things. However, she is easily distracted by the other children. She is most interested in working with materials that promote sensorial development. Her favourite material is the ‘colour box’ and she knows the names of all the colours. She enjoys Exercises of Practical Life (EPL) activities such as pounding and cutting paper which help her develop dexterity, concentration and motor skills. She has also learnt to work with drawing insets which is a pre-writing activity.

On Sports Day, Manisha participated in the pencil balance race. She has been on field trips to a local tourist spot and an agricultural farm. On field trips, Manisha was more excited to be outside and enjoyed the freedom.

Thank you for gifting a year of education to Shalini.

A student at Aseema’s Pre-Primary Centre at Awalkheda, seven year old Shalini Agivale lives in Gawaldewadi. Shalini lives with her grandparents, parents, and two younger siblings. Her brother is also enrolled at Aseema. Her father is a mason and her mother is a housewife. Shalini’s parents show keen interest in her development.

Shalini comes regularly to school by the transport facility provided by Aseema. She is a quiet child and does not indulge in mischief. She does not speak much in class and has to be encouraged to participate in group discussions. Shalini prefers to play and work alone. She enjoys lunch time and eats well.

Shalini likes learning through the Montessori Approach, which allows her to learn at her own pace. She enjoys the ‘snake game’ which is a Mathematics activity. She has learnt counting, addition and subtraction. Although she learns quickly, she needs encouragement to take new activities.

On Sports Day, Shalini participated in the pencil balancing race. She often asks to do drawing and loves making flowers and trees. On her field trip to a local tourist spot, Shalini enjoyed playing the ‘musical chair’ game.

Thank you for sending Alka to school for an entire year.

Nine year old Alka Lote lives on the outskirts of Jambhwadi, a tribal village in Awalkheda. She lives with her parents and two siblings, one of whom is enrolled at Aseema. Her father works as a contract labourer to support the family. Although economically challenged, Alka’s father is very keen that his children get a good education. He regularly attends meetings to discuss Alka’s progress in school.

Alka is currently studying in the Primary Section at Aseema’s Education Centre in Awalkheda. She is often absent due to ill health and has been offered medical relief by Aseema. She enjoys the nutritious meals and eats well. Alka is well settled and is comfortable interacting with her classmates. She enjoys playing and participated in the pencil balance race on Sports Day.

With the help of Montessori materials, Alka has learnt vowels and consonants. She can read and write simple sentences. In Mathematics, she knows numbers from 1-100 as well as multiplication tables of 2 and 3 . With the help of Mathematics materials such golden beads and ‘spindle box’, Alka is confident doing additions.

Alka loves gardening. She and her friends have grown garlic and coriander in the school garden. She was very excited about the study trip to the agricultural farm.

Thank you for ensuring that Nilesh goes to school for an entire year.

Five year old Nilesh Ware lives in Wariachiwadi, a tribal village in Igatpuri. His father works as an auto rickshaw driver to support Nilesh and his three siblings. Nilesh’s parents are not educated; however they are always open to suggestions about their children’s welfare.

Nilesh is currently studying in the Pre-Primary Section at Aseema’s Education Centre in Awalkheda. He is energetic and loves interacting with his classmates. He is also obedient and helpful. With the help of Montessori materials, Nilesh can identify vowels and consonants. He enjoys the ‘moveable alphabet’ activity which develops pre-writing skills. In Mathematics, Nilesh knows numbers from 1-100 and additions.

On Sports Day, he participated in the ‘Getting ready for school” race. Being punctual and neatly dressed, Nilesh enjoyed this race. A budding artist, Nilesh loves drawing flowers and houses. The field trip to a local tourist spot was a fascinating experience. Nilesh admired the intricate craftwork done on the temples he saw there.

Thank you for ensuring that Jyoti goes to school for an entire year.

Five and half year old Jyoti Rere, lives with her parents and two brothers in Rerewadi, a tribal village in Igatpuri. Her father is a contract labourer and her mother collects and sells firewood from the adjoining forest. Jyoti’s mother is actively involved in her development.

A quiet girl, Jyoti pays attention in class. She enjoys interacting with her classmates. Jyoti finds the Montessori materials challenging and fun. She enjoys working on language developing games such as the “I Spy” and the “Moveable Alphabets”. She knows the vowels and consonants and can read simple words. In Mathematics, with the help of Mathematics materials such as the number rod and spindle box, Jyoti has learnt numbers from 1-100 and understands the concept of quantity and symbol.

She also enjoys sensorial activities such as the colour tablet and sound boxes. In Geography, she enjoys working with the map of India. On Sports Day, Jyoti loved hopping to the finish line in the “Rabbit Leap” race. On the field trip to the agricultural farm, she was fascinated by the banana trees as she loves eating bananas.

Jyoti eagerly looks forward to being promoted to joining the Primary Section next year.