Our children
Each one of our children is an irreplaceable part of the Gyandeep family. Their incredible stories of achievement,
growth and success make us very proud and inspire us everyday.
Anjali won the first prize. That achievement transformed her. The happiness in her face made her eyes dance with joy. It boosted her self-confidence, and made her want to learn further. She now wanted to learn the alphabet and numbers. The love and support at Gyandeep was always with her. The encouragement she received developed her interest in academics. She started learning and participating in all our activities. Her parents attitude also changed towards her. She came out of under her chair to a new world of knowledge.
Today, she is in the tenth standard. Very confident and friendly, she helps her younger sister with her studies too. Gyandeep has been her strength. The love, care and understanding she received helped her to lose her inhibitions and move ahead.
In the afternoon Gyandeep would be bustling with life, Anjali Diwakar, student of class third would enter looking tired, her eyelids heavy with sleep. She was oblivious of the other children, quietly she would go and sit under her favourite chair, adamant and stubborn refusing to come out.
She would do what she wanted to do, i.e drawing. No alphabets, no numbers, just the world of colours. Leaving the left side of her notebook blank, always working on the right side, with the magic in her fingers she would draw beautifully. She loved to come to Gyandeep as this was her time with herself, no looking after younger siblings or cooking a whole meal for the family.
Gyandeep's children participate in the World Book Fair, held at Pragati Maidan. It was one such time, that changed Anjali's life, when the children after their performance participated in the 'on the spot' drawing competition.
Anjali Diwakar
The love and support that she got at Gyandeep helped her bloom. Her small achievements encouraged her, gave her
self confidence. Gyandeep was like her second home.
Today, she stands tall at five feet three inches, smart and charming. Doing well in academics and co-curricular activities. She is in the tenth standard. She is a friendly child, independent, respectful and obedient, sincere, helpful and considerate.
A petite girl, Kavita, student of the third standard, in a frock, her hair braided, carrying a bag heavier than herself, would sit leaning against the wall. She would take out her books, eager to learn. Aloof and indifferent to the others. She used to go to school once or twice a week, as she had to take care of her younger sibling. When her younger brother was enrolled into a school, she was in the fifth standard.
It was a blessing for her, as she was able to go to school regularly. She loved it because the initial years she had spent at Gyandeep, had given her an academic foundation. She had learnt to read, write, do basic numbers and participating in activities had given her a lot of courage and confidence.
Kavita
Anu, Rashmi, Meenakshi and Raghav’s mother (Saroj) has been working in my home, for almost seven years. Initially Anu and Rashmi, both lived with their mother. Meenakshi and Raghav lived with their Dadi in their village.
One day Saroj asked me to get Anu and Rashmi admitted to a school and also enquired if they could join Gyandeep. Initially both the girls were reluctant, but upon my persuasion, they agreed.
They were both very shy and hesitant.
They didn’t speak much at first, but eventually started interacting and mixing with the other children.
In addition to academics, they also participated in other activities and became smarter and confident. Two years later, Minakshi and Raghav also came to Delhi and enrolled in Gyandeep. All the four children have changed a lot. They want to study well and participate in every activity. There is no more hesitation and they are full of confidence.
Anu, Rashmi, Meenakshi & Raghav
Now due to the current lockdown, the children are not able to physically come to Gyandeep, so they have been learning virtually. He is now taught by a volunteer, who also started facing the same problem as me. I told her how I tried to make learning fun when I taught him. She followed suit and the results are visible. The volunteer now tells me that she often has to resort to Google to answer his incessant questions!
I spoke to his mother and she is really happy with the way Suraj is responding and interacting now. He is always eager to do all the work and activities given to him by me and the volunteer. To see such a change in him, gives me immense joy and pleasure.
Getting a positive feedback from our volunteers and the parents encourages me to do more and I am hopeful that he, along with all the other children at Gyandeep, will do extremely well in the future.
Suraj, a student in the fifth standard at Modern Jain School (Greenpark Extension), had a sharp mind but was very naughty.
He would get easily frustrated and start disturbing the other students at Gyandeep, within a couple of hours of studying.
He would sit quietly and stop responding.
I noticed this for a few days and thought
of changing the study pattern to one
subject a day.
I told all the children that we would study for an hour and a half every day and then play some games for the remaining half an hour. They loved the idea! I started playing Atlas, antakshari, word chains (start a word with the last letter of the previous word), tables while singing, name/ place/ animal/ thing and many more. The children loved it and I saw a tremendous change them, especially Suraj. He started learning well and getting good results. Even his mother came upto me personally and said that the teachers in his school were very happy with his results. This was really overwhelming for me.
Suraj
She is now studying in a private school under the EWS quota and is at par with all the other students in her class. She is able to study on her own, although she asks for help whenever required. Her father is now a fruit seller and her brother Anurag is also a very bright child at Gyandeep .
She recently made the video below, about how she contributes to saving the environment in her daily life. The confidence and fluency in her expression in this video gives us a sense of achievement and a reassurance that we are on the right path.
Anjali was the daughter of a security guard at a construction site. My friend brought her to me at Gyandeep when she was around 4 years old. She told me that Anjali kept playing around all day while her parents worked, and suggested that I allow her to come to Gyandeep, where she would be safe and would also be able to learn.
I spoke to her father and took Anjali to the nearest government school, Gargi Sarvoday Kanya Vidhyalaya. Unfortunately, the parents didn't have any of the documents required for enrolment. I then, decided to get all the necessary documents made, with her father.
Ever since, she has started going to school and has also been coming to Gyandeep every day, 5 days a week. It has been 10 years now. She was a shy and timid girl who wouldn't mix with any of the other children. After becoming a part of the Gyandeep family, with the efforts of the volunteers and the love she got from all of us, she started enjoying the activities here and began opening up. Gradually she has become a very friendly and confident child.
Over the years she has taken a keen
interest and has participated in everything we teach here. There are ups and downs, but her absolute trust in us makes us even more responsible. We find ways to encourage her.