Mr. Vasudev D. Patil working as a teacher with Zilla Parishad School Bhoyacha Paada, Taluka Mokhada, District Thane attended the workshop again this year in Sept. 2009. He has earlier attended a MelJol workshop 6 years ago. Since he has been associated with MelJol since 6 years, he shared his experiences of the Aflatoun programme in his school and was an enthusiastic participant in this workshop. He also took 3 MelJol songs in the course of the workshop. He taught the songs with actions et all to the others. He said that the Aflatoun bank in his school has collected Rs. 261 in it. The children use their money to buy books, pens or pencils, etc.
Teachers take the MelJol curriculum in the 6th or 7th period twice every week. Mr. Patil has even been part of the State Level Meeting of Trainers organized by MelJol in 2003 held at Sajan and remembers that experience with joy.
It is with support from such teachers as Patil Sir that MelJol is able to achieve it’s objectives of giving social and financial education to children. Patil Sir, happy to have you as a part of the MelJol family!!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Aflatoun Effect - Nimani School, Korpana Block, Chandrapur District
The children from Nimani School have formed Aflatoun Bank and collectively saved Rs 12000/-. They have nominated representatives such as President, Secretary and Treasurer through a secret ballot system. The village education committee is aware about the banking programme and they are also providing full support and encouragement.
On the other hand, the teachers and children have purchased school stationery from the market and have set up a small shop to sell the material in the school because of demand from the children. Children have developed their passbooks and they record their monetary transactions habitually with the help of the Secretary. Most of the children are utilizing their money to take care of education related expenses.
The Aflatoun Concept
Heres a bit more on the Aflatoun Programme that we implement across India:
The five core elements of the Aflatoun concept are:
1) Personal Understanding and Exploration : Children investigate their own personal values. Through exploration of citizenship ideas and interaction with peers each choose the values that they feel are right for them.
2) Rights and Responsibilities : Aflatoun is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), which identifies four sets of interdependent rights. Through this programme children are made aware of responsibilities towards themselves, their family, the environment and their community.
3) Saving and Spending: Financial empowerment hinges not only on constructive personal systems but also on specific, practical skills. Children learn how to save and spend in a responsible manner.
4) Planning and Budgeting: Financial Empowerment is achieved when children use their saving and spending skills to maximise their life choices. For eg, a consistent savings habit can enable a child to stay in school longer when payment for education is required.
5) Child Social Entrepreneurship: Children are encouraged to view themselves as active participants in shaping their community. Through managing community activities or entrepreneurial enterprises, children begin to sewe how they can have a positive impact on the community.
So...how do we at MelJol do this????
MelJol works in partnership with the education system. We tie up with other NGOs and have an extensive network. We conduct training programmes with well designed modules to develop the capacities of NGO staff, teachers and trainers. The teachers alongwith volunteers then conduct sessions. The books developed by us aid them in conducting sessions effectively.
The five core elements of the Aflatoun concept are:
1) Personal Understanding and Exploration : Children investigate their own personal values. Through exploration of citizenship ideas and interaction with peers each choose the values that they feel are right for them.
2) Rights and Responsibilities : Aflatoun is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), which identifies four sets of interdependent rights. Through this programme children are made aware of responsibilities towards themselves, their family, the environment and their community.
3) Saving and Spending: Financial empowerment hinges not only on constructive personal systems but also on specific, practical skills. Children learn how to save and spend in a responsible manner.
4) Planning and Budgeting: Financial Empowerment is achieved when children use their saving and spending skills to maximise their life choices. For eg, a consistent savings habit can enable a child to stay in school longer when payment for education is required.
5) Child Social Entrepreneurship: Children are encouraged to view themselves as active participants in shaping their community. Through managing community activities or entrepreneurial enterprises, children begin to sewe how they can have a positive impact on the community.
So...how do we at MelJol do this????
MelJol works in partnership with the education system. We tie up with other NGOs and have an extensive network. We conduct training programmes with well designed modules to develop the capacities of NGO staff, teachers and trainers. The teachers alongwith volunteers then conduct sessions. The books developed by us aid them in conducting sessions effectively.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
A Case Study - Dalkhan Zilla Parishad School
We wish to share with you one of our best practices. And the interesting thing about the success of this school’s savings program is the presence of the post office in the vicinity. Could the Indian Postal Department join hands with MelJol for a better today for the children of India?
Mr. Kadlag, a committed teacher from the Dalkhan school, situated in Thane district who has been trained in the MelJol-Aflatoun training program, has taken the program ahead in the school ever since 2001. He was so convinced with the need and utility of the savings program that he has continued the program until today. Initially he had opened an account for the children in the co-operative bank close-by but since there was a railway line to cross, it wasn’t so safe for the children. Hence thereafter, the account for the bank was opened with the post office that was located in the school premise itself. Infact the 2 main reasons for the success of the Aflatoun program in this school are
1) The presence of a convinced and committed teacher and
2) Having a post office nearby.
The children, who passed out of this Dalkhan primary school and went to 8th standard to the new school, took the bank program with them and made an effort to continue a savings program there too. The children passing out of the 7th standard used their savings to buy their new uniform, school bags and books. These savings helped them meet these very important expenses.
The Sarpanch of this village is a 20 year old young lady who has passed out of this school and she was a part of the Aflatoun program. “She sang lot of Aflatoun songs and even saved in the Aflatoun bank”, she reminisces. The Aflatoun program also helps make the children more actively involved in their learning process.
Another school which has been able to open the account in the post office is Z.P. School Kerul, Block Ashti, Beed district. In this school 170 children are having an account in the Aflatoun bank and they have collected Rs. 17,000/-.
The Aflatoun bank program is one that has been started since 2001 in the schools of Maharashtra. After generations of indebtedness, children learn new ways of handling money. The programme encourages school children in the age group of 6 to 14 years to save their pocket money, however small the amounts. The money is pooled and stored under the guidance of the class teacher. It is accompanied by a continued discussion on the concept of child rights as laid down by the U. N. Convention on Child Rights, 1990. A classroom club run by children facilitates the scheme and helps develop notions of rights, responsibilities and values that have been found to be essential to the success of the programme. In most schools the money is collected together and given to the headmaster or to one of the teacher, to be kept in his/her safe custody.
If we can have a post office in every village, the teacher will be spared the tension of keeping the money with himself/herself and the children will also be able to get a small interest on their savings. This is the first way for them to learn that they can earn something. These two very important things are learnt by the children.
1) To save
2) That you can earn an interest on savings
The Post Office Savings Bank is the oldest and largest banking institution in the country. It operates about 140 Million Savings Accounts. The Post Office Savings Bank Scheme is an agency function performed by the Department of Posts on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. If the postal department joins hands with MelJol we will be able to create a revolution in the country. Could we have a post office in every village where our schools are? If we pass on a list of all the Zilla Parishad Schools and the villages they are in, would Postal Department be able to start a post office there with minimum facilities so that the children from the school could open a savings account in the post office? The postman could be the postal ‘mitra’ who will collect the funds from the school regularly and deposit in the savings account.
Mr. Kadlag, a committed teacher from the Dalkhan school, situated in Thane district who has been trained in the MelJol-Aflatoun training program, has taken the program ahead in the school ever since 2001. He was so convinced with the need and utility of the savings program that he has continued the program until today. Initially he had opened an account for the children in the co-operative bank close-by but since there was a railway line to cross, it wasn’t so safe for the children. Hence thereafter, the account for the bank was opened with the post office that was located in the school premise itself. Infact the 2 main reasons for the success of the Aflatoun program in this school are
1) The presence of a convinced and committed teacher and
2) Having a post office nearby.
The children, who passed out of this Dalkhan primary school and went to 8th standard to the new school, took the bank program with them and made an effort to continue a savings program there too. The children passing out of the 7th standard used their savings to buy their new uniform, school bags and books. These savings helped them meet these very important expenses.
The Sarpanch of this village is a 20 year old young lady who has passed out of this school and she was a part of the Aflatoun program. “She sang lot of Aflatoun songs and even saved in the Aflatoun bank”, she reminisces. The Aflatoun program also helps make the children more actively involved in their learning process.
Another school which has been able to open the account in the post office is Z.P. School Kerul, Block Ashti, Beed district. In this school 170 children are having an account in the Aflatoun bank and they have collected Rs. 17,000/-.
The Aflatoun bank program is one that has been started since 2001 in the schools of Maharashtra. After generations of indebtedness, children learn new ways of handling money. The programme encourages school children in the age group of 6 to 14 years to save their pocket money, however small the amounts. The money is pooled and stored under the guidance of the class teacher. It is accompanied by a continued discussion on the concept of child rights as laid down by the U. N. Convention on Child Rights, 1990. A classroom club run by children facilitates the scheme and helps develop notions of rights, responsibilities and values that have been found to be essential to the success of the programme. In most schools the money is collected together and given to the headmaster or to one of the teacher, to be kept in his/her safe custody.
If we can have a post office in every village, the teacher will be spared the tension of keeping the money with himself/herself and the children will also be able to get a small interest on their savings. This is the first way for them to learn that they can earn something. These two very important things are learnt by the children.
1) To save
2) That you can earn an interest on savings
The Post Office Savings Bank is the oldest and largest banking institution in the country. It operates about 140 Million Savings Accounts. The Post Office Savings Bank Scheme is an agency function performed by the Department of Posts on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. If the postal department joins hands with MelJol we will be able to create a revolution in the country. Could we have a post office in every village where our schools are? If we pass on a list of all the Zilla Parishad Schools and the villages they are in, would Postal Department be able to start a post office there with minimum facilities so that the children from the school could open a savings account in the post office? The postman could be the postal ‘mitra’ who will collect the funds from the school regularly and deposit in the savings account.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
An Aflatoun Story - Pandit Maruti Bhoir
Well , 'Aflatoun' means 'Explorer' in Urdu. This programme is implemented by the teachers (trained by MelJol) with the help of the Aflatoun books series created by us. The programme works towards enhancing the self-esteem of children in local government/zilla parishad schools/ashram schools to make them confident to be active participants in affecting their immediate environment. We implement the Aflatoun Programme at the national level on a large scale.From Ushid School, Thane District - Mumbai , Pandit Maruti Bhoir was a part of the Aflatoun program when it was first implemented in Thane in 2001 -02. The Savings Programme was started in his school whereby children were taught the importance of savings and how they could save. Both of Pandits parents are illiterate and his father is a farmer.
He has now passed his 12th std and done a government recognised computer course which later gave him employment. He states that because of the savings habit he learnt as part of the Aflatoun Programme, he learnt how to save and use money effectively. As a result he could do a computer course and he got a job.
He has now passed his 12th std and done a government recognised computer course which later gave him employment. He states that because of the savings habit he learnt as part of the Aflatoun Programme, he learnt how to save and use money effectively. As a result he could do a computer course and he got a job.
Pandit also remebers that he had taken part in the songs and rally organised in his village as part of the Aflatoun Club activities for creating awareness about the ill effects of guthka consumption. He also states that the programme helped him gain confidence and imbibe good habits.
We currently reach out to directly impact 410000 children and 1600 teachers from 800 schools in six states. Hmm...just one of the many Aflatoun stories!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, September 7, 2009
MelJol - What We Do??
Hmm..basically MelJol is an organisation that deals with issues related to Child Rights. MelJol was initiated in 1991, as a field action project of the Department of Family and Child Welfare, Tata Institute of Social Sciences. We are registered under the Societies Registration Act (1860) and Bombay Public Trust Act (1950).
What we do is aim at developing responsible citizenship skills among children through Child Rights Education. ‘Equal Rights, Opportunities and Respect for all,’ forms the basis of MelJol’s philosophy. We focus on fostering healthy attitudes among children, creating awareness of the different needs of children from different backgrounds, and building the spirit of confidence and entrepreneurship in order to create a civil society based on the spirit of coexistence and achievement.
For more information on us and what we do please do visit us at http://www.meljol.net/
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