By Chandan Kumar Sahu
BERHAMPUR: Youth for Social Development (YSD) a non profit voluntary organization is working Ganjam district to improve the basic learning ability of children in primary school conducted a 28 day summer learning camp in about 31 villages/street of 3 blocks Berhampur, Khallikote and Purusottampur in Ganjam districts that concluded on 9th June 2023. More than 250 children in classes 1 – 5 participated in these camps and benefited in terms of their reading, arithmetic and scientific abilities.
While fancy summer camps with interesting activities are the norm during summer vacation for privileged children mostly in urban centres who can afford expensive schools and pay a good amount for the privilege, the children in rural India hardly get any such opportunity.
Most government schools remain shut for extended summer vacation due to heat wave conditions and government doesn’t want to take the slightest risk by giving permission for any kind of summer camp activities. As a result the children who are already behind in terms of their basic skills fall further behind their urban and private school counter-parts. In this context these summer campus organized by volunteers of Youth for Social Development (YSD) with strong cooperation of the community are a small but important intervention.
The activities were carefully chosen so that the cost of conducting them would be minimal. Initially, 31 local volunteers were selected for this camp and trained to run the camp. In the last of the summer learning camp children are organized a fair in their locality. For this fair, students made and displayed various projects.
It involved reading story cards and books, making Leaf Art, conducting low cost science experiments such as flotation of potato, air pressure experiment, projects like color changing in science water.
All camps involved children presenting their work in front of other children and parents. The children participated in these activities with a great deal of enthusiasm. The fair was inaugurated by Sarpanch of the local area, the block education officer and the corporator of Ward No. 41 of Berhampur city. Children’s parents, young boys, girls and community of the local area gathered to see this fair.
The local voluntary organization “Youth for Social Development” (YSD) continues its efforts to improve the foundation learning (Literacy and numeracy) of children of class 1 to 5 in 50 government schools in Ganjam district.
Apart from this, 10 communities based learning centers in the urban slums and remote rural areas are providing education to the children who drop out of school and children who do not attend regular school through various programs. Chandan Kumar Sahu, Purnima Dey, Arghyarupa Nayak, Rajendra Badatya, Mahima Pradhan, Smurti Kumari Sahu, Anita Patra, Sushant Pradhan, Sumitra Jena, Suchitra Biswal, Tulasi Maharana, Bikash Panigrahi, Aditya Prasad Das of Youth for Social Development (YSD) took actively participation and facilitate volunteers.
