Page 13 - 10X GOOD Issue 17 October

spent over a month volunteering at a primary school With the support of UNICEF,
in Singalagunta, Tirupati, as part of her Learning this initiative is bridging the gap
Improvement Program. She engaged children in between higher and primary
activities like paper origami, drawing, and storytelling education, creating a ripple effect
with two peers to make learning fun. She also helped that promises to reshape the
students improve their reading comprehension educational landscape of Andhra
and math skills through number games. “Using my Pradesh. The youth are now leading
storytelling, drawing and craft skills to engage children the way, improving both their own
was incredibly fulfilling,” she gushes. learning and the future of younger
generations with hope and purpose.
Becoming a Prerana Mitra begins with the simple
desire to make a difference in the community. College “Teaching is tough, but the fulfilment
students across Andhra Pradesh are showing active ©UNICEF it brings is worth every effort,” quips
University students, as ‘Prerna Mitras,’ serve as advisors and
interest in volunteering as part of their undergraduate friends to children in government schools. Leelamanasa.
Community Service Project, a program designed to
link students with communities for mutual growth. In journey. Simultaneously, primary school children are
exchange for their time and dedication, students gain identified by their teachers as needing extra support to ©UNICEF
two academic credits and invaluable life lessons. develop the essential foundational skills crucial for their
future learning.
The process is simple: just register on the Prerana Mitra
app and choose nearby schools to start the engagement Partnerships leveraging learning
upon approval from their college BCDE coordinators. pathways
Due to the large number and widespread location of The Community Service Project (CSP) empowers
Prerana Mitras, face-to-face training was not feasible. college students to actively contribute to and learn from
This led to building a Prerana Mitra app, designed as community development, aligning perfectly with the
both a self-learning platform and a resource hub for National Education Policy (NEP) vision.
Prerana Mitras. It offers twenty learning modules and
additional tools to support them throughout their By linking higher education institutions with school
journey. education, CSP fosters a mutually beneficial relationship
that strengthens government school children’s
By spending just a few hours each week, they gain foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills. This
hands-on experience and develop important skills like collaboration, tied to the Learning Improvement
communication, confidence, patience, and other soft Program, benefits the children and equips the youth
skills—key essentials as they start their professional with essential life skills.

©UNICEF
©UNICEF Children enjoy art and crafts building excitement before starting the
day’s learning modules
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