Sheetal MEHTA for “Project Nanhi Kali”
Who is Sheetal MEHTA?
Sheetal Mehta is the Trustee and Executive Director of K. C. Mahindra Education Trust (KCMET) and leads Project Nanhi Kali, the Trust’s flagship project. Sheetal graduated in Psychology, Sociology & Economics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and has enrolled many positions ranging from Marketing in the Automotive Sector, Product and Brand Manager at Mahindras and a joint venture company with Ford. Executive Director of KCMET, she played a key role in designing the Control and Status Register (CSR) architecture and road map for the Mahindra group. She has been invited to be a member of the CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) National Committee on Primary Education and Literacy and the CSR Committee of Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
What is Project Nanhi Kali?
In India, girls are still considered a liability and an economic burden on the family, remaining educationally backward compared to boys. Launched by KCMET in 1996 with the objective of providing education to underprivileged girl children in India, since 2005 Nanhi Kali has been jointly managed with Naandi Foundation, an NGO of repute, to ensure that the needy girls get ten years of continuous and quality education. It is now reaching out to 52,000 girl children (from 1,700 in 2002) in urban, rural and remote tribal areas across eight states of India.Nanhi Kali identifies girls at risk of dropping out of government schools and creates special sponsorship for them, working with 25 NGO implementation partners at grassroots level to provide academic and material support.
The academic support takes the form of a pedagogically innovative and entertaining class covering maths, science and language, before or after school hours, to bridge gaps in learning. The teaching methodology includes the extensive use of original teaching tools and activities, such as story telling and group games, which make learning not only meaningful but also playful. The material kits are ceremonially handed over and include uniforms, school bags, shoes and socks to enable the girl children to go to school with dignity. The Nanhi Kali team also works with the parents and community to sensitise them to gender equity.
Nanhi Kali is a participatory initiative: sponsors – be they individuals, groups or corporations – support a girl child’s education for at least a year. To become a guardian of a Nanhi Kali, it costs only Rs. 1800 (for girls studying in Grade 1 – 7) and Rs.2500 (for girls studying in Grade 8-10) annually per girl child. All guardians receive a profile of the girl along with her photograph, followed by regular progress reports, so that they can track her performance in both academic and extra-curricular activities.
Future perspectives:
Project Nanhi Kali has increased enrolment and attendance of girl children in schools, reduced dropout rates and improved learning levels. Its goal is to provide education to 100,000 underprivileged girls by the end of 2009.
Featured partners:
25 grassroots-level NGOs, community elected representatives, the government.
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