Our Work

ArchPhilosophy

left-quote  Education is a journey of learning which makes and paves way for a worthwhile life. We strive to fill curiosity and fun in young minds and empower them to fly beyond realms.  right-quote


Projects & Programs

  • iLearn
  • Pahel
  • Project Umang
  • EduCode
  • Anandi Resource Centre
  • MINI SCIENCE LAB
  • BRIGHTER WORLD LAB
  • Umang Activity & Resource Centre
  • Anandi
  • WOW from the Waste
  • Theatre for a cause
  • ROBOTICS & ELECTRONICS WORKSHOP

iLearn

iLearn EDUCATION MAY TAKE A PAUSE.....BUT LEARNING CONTINUES


Outreach

5000 plus children

Duration

May 2020 - cont...


 Locations – Across India

The pandemic has exposed inequities—kids not having internet access or a quiet space to study or their basic needs met. It’s amplified things by putting their families in more dire circumstances in terms of unemployment and food insecurity, conditions that can hamper students’ willingness and ability to learn and to succeed in school. We worry that under these and remote learning conditions the number of children who don’t finish primary school might increase.

Since ARCH has a wider reach out to the students from less privileged section under various educational initiatives, it is even more important for us to step up to take our cause even further. One side where we wish to ensure every child is connected to any/some form of learning, the other side we ponder on how do we follow all the rules of social distancing and the laws around epidemics while continuing to serve our students.


iLearn, an initiative by ARCH Development Foundation, is committed to address and overcome problems of child labor, forced school dropouts, lack of interest, and low self-esteem. We aim to change this belief by building blocks for a better and brighter future through education and selfdevelopment.

iLearn is connecting with children in two ways - 
  • Community classes to ensure every child we can reach to is connected with the learning
  • Adopting the online meeting platform Zoom in partnership with various organizations and experts, a priority was to adopt the pedagogy to ensure students would engage and participate in experiments and learner-led discussions.

Pahel

Pahel – A step towards Sustainability


LOCATION

Rajkot

OUTREACH

5 villages


Supack Industries collaborated with ARCH Foundation in 2015 for the implementation of Project Umang in 5 schools of Rajkot near their plant area. In 5 years of collaboration, this project has achieved many milestones and one of them is achieving 0% drop-out rate in targeted schools.
In 2021, Pandemic has raised many more challenges in targeted villages and the project Umang is now transformed into a community-level intervention – ‘Pahel’ focusing on –

Vaccination campaign – As per the preliminary study done in the targeted villages, it was realized that despite rising infections and death rates, vaccine hesitancy prevails in the rural part of Rajkot, owing to insufficient information or the myths related to the same. Project Pahel targets to achieve 90% vaccination in targeted villages through an awareness campaign, coordination with PHC and sub-centers, and mobilizing the community during vaccination.

Digital literacy – A dynamic and integrated initiative to create digital awareness, education, and capacity program especially focusing on youth helping them to understand the use of digital technologies, its useful aspects, and also the online threat and safety.

Education – With a long gap of one year and no foreseen improvement in the current situation, community classes will reach out to students from all 5 villages to engage them in the different learning programs. This initiative will reduce the digital gap and provide a learning opportunity to every child equally.

Project Umang

Project Umang


LOCATION

Ankleshwar, Padra (Vadodara), Vadodara rural and urban, Rajkot

OUTREACH

Government Primary schools


School closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a complete disconnect from education for the vast majority of children in the rural area. The government has recommended moving to online learning as a stop-gap arrangement to evade any disruptions in academic calendars. Technology and smart classrooms are not only transforming education in highly paid private schools, but it is gradually making inroads in government schools with the help of organizations working in the field of education. 

In collaboration with Bostik India Pvt. Ltd, ARCH Development Foundation has initiated a program ‘Umang – Joy of learning’ to ensure the safe return of the children to school when it reopens.

The project will be focusing on –

1. Transformation of conventional learning to Digital learning by developing smart classrooms in 5 Government Primary schools
2. Improving the learning level of students through community classes.
3. Creating an eco-system in community and school to promote the holistic development of children

Project Umang aims to promote a Joyful experience of learning to every child. It aspires to make the students ready to join the schools when they re-open without having the fear of not having learned anything. This activity supports the children’s learning as a bridge that can connect them easily to the continuity of learning once schools reopen. To ensure that maximum students are part of this program various stakeholders like parents, teachers, and school management are also involved in this project to make it one big community-driven initiative.

EduCode

EduCode


Outreach - 350 Plus students

Location - Vadodara


As the world progresses into the 21st century, we are layered with technology in the form of programming becoming a critical and essential aspect of our lives. Coding is the language of much of the world around us. The time has come for children to develop the skills needed to not only use computers but to understand how they work. 

EduCode introduces children to the concept of coding and makes them feel confident about their ability to grow in this area. By the end of the program, children can develop small games that they could play by themselves and share the same with their friends. 

They know the basics of coding that are applicable in all programming environments e.g. control statements, variables, message passing, reacting to events, etc.

EduCode uses Scratch programming environment. Scratch was designed by the researchers at MIT to make it children friendly. It has been under development for 15 years and it is used worldwide as the first programming environment for children.

Through this program, children start with basics of Scratch and write simple programs that do things like "make a cat roll on the screen". They then move on to control statements that can make programs do different things based on user interaction. For example, simulating a bouncing ball or playing a number guessing game. This would be followed by message passing and event handling that is useful in making games. This way, children can write complex games like ice hockey or break the wall, etc.

Anandi Resource Centre

Anandi Resource Centre


Total Outreach

100 students from 9th & 10th grade

Current status

Ongoing


 Locations – Padra-Vadodara

Due to poor teaching at government schools, it has been observed that students reaching class 10th do not know even fundamental of subjects like Maths, Science and English. Naturally they lose interest in subjects and ultimately add the number of either dropout, fail or pass outs with very poor marks in their matriculation. 10th is the “Gate-Way” of carrier for any student. If a student does not get good marks in Matric (10th) exams or fails the exam then, it is very difficult for the students to get in to good college for higher studies.

 

Objective of Anandi Resource Centre is -
  1. To improve the academic skills and linguistic proficiency of the students in various subjects especially science, math, English and social science.
  2. To raise their level of comprehension of basic subjects to provide a stronger foundation for further academic work
  3. To strengthen their knowledge skills and attitudes in such subjects, where quantitative and qualitative techniques and activities are involved so that the     necessary guidance and training provides under the programme may enable the student to come up to level necessary for pursuing higher studies efficiently

MINI SCIENCE LAB

MINI SCIENCE LAB


TARGET GROUPS

Government aided and corporation run school children and teachers

OUTREACH

40,000 students and 650 teachers


 Locations – Vadodara

Kids are natural scientists. It is this thought that gave birth to Project Mini Science Lab. While kids are born with an ability to explore and discover their surroundings, the burden of the formal and rigid education structure has started to kill the spirit of self – learning in them.

To address this issue and to keep the excitement and ignition of science burning ARCH has designed, developed and implemented Program Mini Science Lab. With more than 15000 students and 500 teachers benefitted to date, this is an on-going project in primary level government aided and corporation run schools. The program is holistically created with 4 strategic areas of outcome:

1. Improving quality of access to education & learning, especially for students from less privileged sections of society. This is achieved by setting up of Mini Science Labs in the school and ensuring that children and teachers routinely use it as a part of their formal curriculum. A log book is maintained on a daily basis to assess its proper usage.

2. Enhancing capacity and skills of teachers to teach science and mathematics in more effective and interesting ways at school. Routine workshops and module based trainings are held to educate the educators to hone teaching skills and exchange ideas to keep the class interactive, engaging and effective. Routine assessments keep a check on the effect of improved skills.

3. The students and teachers are given a platform to exhibit and execute learning through the customized programs. Periodic debates, science fairs and science quizzes are held to keep the learning interesting and eventful. Children get an opportunity to showcase their talent and knowledge acquired in a competitive space.

4. Create partnership and collaboration with various stakeholders for the sustainability of the project. A project management company is established with principals and administrators of different school to manage and review the program. There is a periodic advocacy meeting that works towards smooth planning and implementation of the Mini Science Lab.

BRIGHTER WORLD LAB

BRIGHTER WORLD LAB ALL SET TO BRIGHTEN THE WORLD WITH PROJECT BRIGHTER WORLD LAB


TARGET GROUPS

Government primary schools

OUTREACH

20000 students, 150 teachers


 Locations – Greater Noida, Ankleshwar and Mumbai

Keeping with our commitment to focus on education as a means for promoting rational thinking and building an exciting platform to develop curiosity, courage and creative environmental sensitivity amongst children we launched Project Brighter World Lab (BWL), in association with Covestro, in three locations of Greater Noida, Ankleshwar and Airoli (Mumbai). 

The program was designed to instil three values amongst the youth:

Curiosity – 
To fuel interest and allow kids to remain inquisitive we set up 20 Brighter World Lab in schools with more than 110 working models in each facility and designed a new approach for hands-on scientific learning amongst school students which encouraged them to explore and discover their own learning. As a chemical based company, Covestro was keen to promote the concept of chemistry in the budding minds, an objective which eventually shaped the USP of the BWL intervention – ‘Science Club’. We at ARCH created this unique proposition in all the beneficiary schools encouraging students to undertake Do-it-yourself activities based on principles of chemistry where they learnt novel ways to conduct experiments and surveys first hand. Seeing is believing and the the joy of doing and learning through practical observation proved to be sheer delight for the children. 

Courage– 
The project was designed to also hone spirit, confidence and competitiveness in students through interesting activities like competitions, debates and discussions that gave them a platform to present their thoughts, ideas and scientific point of view. The scale of these events was a new exposure for them which gave them self- assurance of their own abilities, a drive to excel, a sense of healthy competition and an opportunity to perform. 

Colorful – 
Science is beauty in sustainability and concept this was driven by introducing students to environmental safety, sensitivity and concepts of reduce, reuse and recycle using engaging aid of resources. We built this value by teaching students the true worth and importance of science and how it makes our life joyful and colourful.
 

Umang Activity & Resource Centre

Umang Activity & Resource Centre Issues addressed – Irregular / low attendance of students/reducing drop-outs,/improving learning


Total Outreach

4000 students

Targeted schools

Government primary schools


 Locations – Rajkot

Issues addressed – Irregular / low attendance of students/reducing drop-outs,/improving learning level of students/ building confidence and enhancing creativity, imagination and expressions

Big challenge facing Government schools is of low student attendance. In spite of no school fees students are irregular in attending school and the drop-out rate is alarming.

ARCH has developed a unique program called Umang to address this low attendance issue and develop a curriculum to enhance creativity and fun in everyday school. Project Umang has a two-way learning curve where creativity is promoted in the structure of education and vice-versa. The students are given a unique platform to explore the joy of learning. It is held everyday, as part of the formal curriculum of the school, where our educators spend time with children delivering the extensive project module.

With an outreach of over 4000 students belonging to primary schools run by government, Project Umang has been a runaway success. The children are exposed to art and craft where fun activities are integrated with the syllabus of Grade 1 to 8.

Further, they are exposed to performing arts in the form of music, dance and theatre where their self-confidence gets a mighty boost. The focus mainly lies on better presentation skills, expressions and voice modulation that help overcome their stage fear and prepare them for different walks of life.

Spoken English, an important aspect of learning in this program emphasizes on developing conversational skills in the English language.

Concepts of maths and science are promoted through a series of workshops with teachers and students using the methodology of demonstration, construction and presentation. This enhances curiosity and makes difficult concepts easy to understand and use in everyday life.

Anandi

Anandi At ARCH we believe that education beats at the heart of sustainability. As the name suggests, Project Anandi


Total Outreach

1800 plus students and 33 teachers

Targeted schools & Anganwadies

10 Schools and 9 Anganwadies


 Locations – Padra (Vadodara), Ankleshwar & Chakan (Maharashtra)

At ARCH we believe that education beats at the heart of sustainability. As the name suggests, Project Anandi, in collaboration with Huntsman, is designed with an objective of creating an eco-system of holistic growth in child development by creating a joyful learning atmosphere. The major components of the project are
  1. To create an positive atmosphere in the school which encourages children to attend school everyday.
  2. Hands-on and activity based academic intervention covering math, language, social science and science to enhance learning abilities and interest.
  3. To ensure optimal utilization of existing school resources.
  4. To Work on capacity building of teachers which ensured sustainability of the project.
  5. To establish discipline in school though improvisation in systems and processes.
Our intervention with Project Anandi has been fruitful and successful in the last one year. From a festive Diwali Camp promoting creativity and innovation, a mega funfair instilling entrepreneurship in an engaging style, a science quiz raising the bar of healthy competition supporting analytical reasoning and finally a workshop endorsing recycling and waste management made Project Anandi a runaway success in the true sense.

The school kids were left with a never-before exposure to such interesting mediums of learning and having fun with a concrete purpose. In fact, the teachers have already noticed a positive curve in their learning graph. Parents who were earlier uninvolved in school have now shown an optimistic change of being proactive and encouraging in their child’s academic and co-curricular progress. It’s truly an ANANDI time for all!

WOW from the Waste

WOW from the Waste WOW from the waste is a stand-alone intervention by ARCH and focuses on introducing students and teachers to waste management


Total Outreach

800 students and > 200 teachers

Targeted schools

Government primary & secondary schools


WOW from the waste is a stand-alone intervention by ARCH and focuses on introducing students and teachers to waste management and the concept of making the best out of waste. They are oriented to recycle what would normally be tossed into dustbins each week and create awareness about looking at JUNK as a tool for science and innovation.

This new light on exploring waste encourages divergent thinking in children. It’s sheer joy to let them use plastic, buttons, metal objects, wooden pieces, screws etc. in innovative and out-of-the-box experiments and watch interesting outcomes.

This initiative further teaches schools and students to look at resource management while setting up science labs on a small budget. Indeed a fun way to learn!
 

The focus of this unique program is to introduce the students to waste management and the concept of making the best out of waste. They are oriented to recycle what would normally be tossed into dustbins each week and create awareness about looking at JUNK as a tool for science and innovation.

 

 

Theatre for a cause

Theatre for a cause Students of government schools are generally exposed to rigid education curriculums that focus on subject


Total Outreach

300 students

Targeted schools

Government primary & secondary schools


Students of government schools are generally exposed to rigid education curriculums that focus on subject, limiting knowledge to marks and grades. The opportunity to expose them to extra-curricular skills is often overlooked.

However, the theatre workshops held by ARCH aim to create a nurturing environment for kids from under-served communities who have a love for performing arts.

Our intensive training and coaching help perfect their voice modulation, dance skills and acting ability and pave way for developing self-sufficiency, confidence, and discipline – important life skills that determine the overall success of a child.

Such a workshop can be incorporated as an ongoing and long-term program or as a standalone program of the school. So far 300 students have benefitted from our theatre workshop.

ROBOTICS & ELECTRONICS WORKSHOP

ROBOTICS & ELECTRONICS WORKSHOP Children are untapped creative powerhouses. The robotics and electronics workshop is designed to channelize their creativity with relevant knowledge


Total Outreach

250 students

Targeted schools

Government primary & secondary schools


Children are untapped creative powerhouses. The robotics and electronics workshop is designed to channelize their creativity with relevant knowledge enabling them to make DIY projects on different subjects of their interest.

The outcome of this workshop has been very encouraging to say the least as the participants create novel models that lift their own understanding of concepts in science, engineering and technology.

With digital technology paving way for the future such a workshop is an eye opener for students to think of the unthinkable and build on inventions. So far 250 students belonging to government run primary and secondary schools have benefitted from the robotics and electronics workshops.

INSPIRATIONAL STORY FROM GROUND


Project Anandi Case study – Padra

Project Anandi, in association with Huntsman

Project Anandi, in association with Huntsman, is designed to bring joy and happiness in the existing education system and thereby create an ecosystem of holistic development in students. One of the main components of the project is to encourage and help government aided schools to utilize all their available resources optimally. During a routine field visit, we made an interesting observation at a few schools, particularly Umraya and Luna school where the available science library, fully equipped with working models based on the course curriculum, was not being used by the students.  On further enquiry with the school authorities we gathered the reasons behind this problem and took it upon ourselves to solve it.
 


Project – Anandi - Ankleshwar

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

Sports is essential for the overall development of a child. As a part of Project Anandi, in association with Huntsman, students of 2 government aided schools were given a special uniform for sports. However, with no prior exposure to formal play the uniforms remained unused by most students. We at ARCH decided to take this initiative up in a big way and planned an entire sports education schedule for the school kick. We kick started this competitive culture by organizing a sports day in all schools where it was compulsory for students to wear their sports uniform. The meticulously organized and creatively planned sports day became an unbelievable experience for most children who experienced a new adrenaline rush by participating in different types of races and team games. The joy of physically challenging oneself to win a medal brought out the best in the kids whose body language and energy changed after the event.  To make their first sports day memorable all winners were given a medal and all participants a certificate of appreciation. Having tasted the fun attached to sports after the completion of the first activity the school authorities and students now became more receptive to inculcating sporting activities in the school time-table. We ensured that each student got at least one morning per week in the outdoors where they could exercise, run, jump and play organized games and develop a new source of entertainment with a purpose.
 


Winner - Poster competition

Hearing impaired who has a vision that can speak thousand words

8thGrade student of Kamlaben Badheer Vidyalaya, Keyur Desai may be a hearing impaired but has a vision that can speak a thousand words. Coming from a small family of agricultural labourers, Keyur is a differently abled child, by differently abled, we mean he has a special ability to draw and depict his ideas. 
In his poster, Keyur depicts a future city of his, which is silently crying for help. A hidden message that Keyur has loudly says that we are all active on platforms like Facebook but in reality we all are deaf for not hearing the pleas of the city which we are destroying day by day. 
At a tender age of thirteen years, Keyur has learnt that the human race is slowly depleting its green cover for urbanisation and in the near future, we will lose all our green cover slowly and gradually. 
Its hard to believe that this is an original idea of a thirteen year old “specially abled child.” He cannot hear, but he sure does hear the silent pleas of the city and through his poster makes an urgent appeal to his fellow beings to wake up and start acting in order to save his nation from further depletion. 
Young Keyur bagged the consolation prize and his confidence was boosted to stir his inner creativity, this has only motivated him to imagine more and create more. 
This is what creativity does to our young minds, it not only helps their capabilities grow, but in the process, ensures that their conscience is struck as well!
 


“I enjoyed a lot in Science City, wish there would be more visits as such”

Exposure Visit

“I enjoyed a lot in Science City, wish there would be more visits as such”
It was the first time for an excited Kusum to visit the Science City in Ahmedabad. 
“When I learnt we would be going to the Science City, I was very excited. I wanted to go as soon as possible since I heard that a visit would be carried out there,” says Kusum . 
For many students like Kusum , exposure visits are almost negligible through schools due to which their horizons remain closed and they cannot imagine a life outside their curriculum. Through Project Anandi’s School Intervention program, visit to Science City was organized so as to help children like Kusum  learn that there are many things to Science beyond the school curriculum. 
“We were made to wear strange glasses and made to watch a movie which was very exciting. I liked it the most. There was also an electric staircase (escalator),” exclaims Kusum . 
Kusum learnt a lot through the visit and hopes that more such visits are conducted in the future so they can get exposure. 
“I would wish to go to Gir Somnath next time if an exposure visit is conducted as I want to enjoy the Gir mountains, the Somnath Temple and the Zoo at Gir.”
Kusum ’s parents are agricultural laborer and her mother says “ I am happy that our daughter participates in various activities, we make her work hard in every sphere and we hope that the school activities also compel her to work hard in order to achieve her dreams.”
It’s not just the students alone, but the parents too who have become hopeful that the child will achieve something through the activities conducted under Project Anandi

ENDORSEMENTS