 |
| An artwork by Khushi, 18, Reasoning Class |
 |
| Prof. Anil Gupta Ji |
 |
| Teachers and Mentors |
15th August is a very special day for us Indians, because after over 200 years of being colonised, we finally got independence from British Rule. But freedom from foreign rule is not the same as freedom from suffering and injustice. Freedom from those things requires us to become aware citizens, and understand our rights and responsibilities towards our beloved country.
On this Independence Day, we would like to throw light on our new class- ‘Jagrik’, devoted entirely to this cause.
‘Jagrik’ is a combination of two Hindi words: ‘Jagruk’ (aware) and ‘Nagrik’ (citizen), i.e. it is a
 |
| Jagrik Class Before Lockdown |
Tulsi: So, what is the objective behind
the Jagrik class and what do you want to achieve from it?
Prerna: One of our primary objectives is to spread awareness amongst the youngsters so that they become engaged citizens. As Ravi Bhaiya describes it, we have a very rich constitution, but many of us do not know much about the document.
Nirvan: And also discussing the ideals of the constitution and the functioning of the government. Our responsibility is to gather information, to question and to be aware. So, the utmost focus is on gathering information, discussing and coming up with arguments and solutions.
Tulsi: What is the need for such classes
for the youth?
Nirvan: After talking to our students, we realized that school only lays a foundation. To be a truly aware citizen, you need much more. A school textbook gives certain facts that can be viewed from different lenses and perspectives. However, at ‘Jagrik’, we try to think outside the box, inculcating a sense of responsibility in our students, towards their country and the environment, at large.
Tulsi: What is the age group of the
students attending the class?
Nirvan: We have students from Classes 11 and 12, as well as working individuals till the age of 22 years.
 |
| Jagrik Class After Lockdown |
Nirvan: We have broadly covered CAA, NRC, the Constitution, our fundamental rights, and the difference between local elections, state elections, local body and national elections. We have also conducted 2-3 sessions on COVID-19 since a lot of people were misinformed. Recently, we have started focusing on empowering the students to make a change in their community. Currently, lack of public washrooms for students is our main focus and we are trying to resolve this issue at the earliest. We helped students understand the working of the government bodies and their role in providing funds for basic amenities. This indeed will help them further, to question the local governing bodies regarding serious issues like potholes on roads, shortage of electricity supply, etc.
Tulsi: Can you tell us what medium you
use to teach and how many students there are in the class?
Prerna: Since we began teaching remotely due to the Coronavirus, we have around 7-8 students. We have mostly discussion-based classes. We use videos and news articles to share information with our students and to stimulate conversation.
Tulsi: How has your experience been with
the class as a teacher? Was there a particular moment in which you felt there
was a positive change?
Prerna: One important thing that I have learnt is to keep the conversations and materials engaging and interesting for the students. Nirvan and I are continuously exchanging ideas, discussing what worked well with the students and what more can be done to make it a fun-learning experience for the students. It is difficult to say how successful we have been in helping the students because the time duration is very short. However, being able to just plant a seed in someone’s mind to think differently about a particular problem or a challenge in the community is change enough for me. I feel that this is happening slowly and steadily, and we will surely progress in the years to come.
Nirvan: I agree with Prerna di. Regarding learning, we have realized that it is as much learning for us as it is for the students because even we are developing the curriculum as we go along, and we need to keep evolving to make the class and conversations lively. We try to keep it interesting by making sure that no week is the same as the previous one, and there is no set protocol or curriculum as of now, so we rely on the students’ feedback.
Tulsi: What will you be doing in the
class going forward?
Nirvan: Once we have taken our public toilets initiative to a certain level, we will focus again on the Constitution and the Constitutional Rights as it is the base document of all our rights and there is still a big difference between the current scenario as compared to that mentioned in the Constitution.
Tulsi: It was great talking to both of you and understanding the thought process behind ‘Jagrik’. Thank you for your precious time and all your answers.
Note: Some of our students at the ‘Jagrik’ class have also shared their
experiences.We will be writing about the students’ learnings in the next
issue. For more information, please keep reading our newsletters.
मंज़िल हालाँकि शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में कार्य करता है, मगर जब पूरे हिंदुस्तान में कोरोना वायरस की वजह से लॉकडाउन हो गया था, तो मंज़िल संस्था और मंज़िल से निकली संस्थाओं ने मिलकर फ़ूड डिस्ट्रीब्यूशन में काम किया। ऐसे में उन्हें किन-किन चुनौतियों का सामना करना पड़ा? उनका अनुभव कैसा रहा आइये उन्ही से सुनते है।
 |
| Divya, 10 Years |
 |
| Chaitanya Vaidh, 12 Years |
 |
| Ruby Negi, 19 Years |
 |
| Hardik Vaidh, 16 Years |
 |
| Divya, 10 Years |
 |
| Aarti Paswan, 18 Years |
 |
| Dramebaaz Team (Vishal, Rahul, Amit, Balkumari, Sachin and Shrikant) |
हमारा नाम ड्रामेबाज़ है,और नाटक करना और करवाना हमारा काम है। बच्चों से हमे बहुत लगाव है। मई 2019 में हमारा सफ़र शुरू हुआ था, हमने 2019 में लगभग 700 बच्चों के साथ काम किया और बहुत सारे नाटक किए।
MY JOURNEY IN “LOCKDOWN”
 |
| Aarti Bhatt |
 |
| Online Session on Mental Health with Megha |
COVID-19 is teaching us how important it is to be healthy. We are taking our physical health more seriously. We are even eating more homemade food. Manzil is also creating awareness among its students about COVID-19.
 |
| From Offline to Online Classes |
Whereas online classes brought a positive experience to students, they also came face to face with many new challenges. It is hard for them to participate in these virtual classes from within the small spaces of their homes, inhabited by large families, all of whom depend on a single data connection accessed through mobile phones. Families do not have costly broadband connections, and with mostly pre-paid mobiles,experience low bandwidth because of lower-gen networks (non-4G). There is limited data, limited number of devices and multiple users. Some students’ homes are in locations where connectivity is poor. Rarely do they have private space in the house for focused and undistracted learning. Yet the passion for learning is strong enough to overcome these situational factors. For instance, 35 students including core members have signed up for a 3-month online Personal Mastery program under the mentorship of Neha Bhabhi, Amit Bhaiya, Ravi Bhaiya and Gurbani.
Beyond the difficult times that we all are suffering, our students have gained certain positive personal experiences. They have become more cooperative and are helping their mothers with their house work, especially boys. They are now realizing how much their mothers do for the family. They have even become good listeners and gained more interest in their parents’ conversations. This brings them closer to each other and has helped in developing stronger bonds.
Kotla School which is a pre-primary school, the first center of Manzil, led by Aunty ji (Mrs.Indira Gulati who is 85 years old), has been influenced by our youth empowerment center practices.All the four teachers -Manita, Anjali ji, Hemlata ji and Uma ji- along with Mrs. Gulati meet twice a week through zoom app which they were taught by Neha Bhabhi and share new teaching aids which will be helpful after the Kotla school reopens.
 |
| Uma |
 |
| श्रीकांत |
 |
| Safe in India Team |
 |
| Amit Ji |
