Katha

Katha is an organization whose mission is to impact social injustice and economic poverty in urban India by providing quality education for children (living in slums) that will transform them into community leaders.  www.katha.org

This blog on Katha is done best by speaking through pictures, so let's start with the street we walked down to arrive at the Katha school we visited:

 The two pictures above are the "street face" of the slum.  These semi-permanent shops line the true slum behind.

The smell was atrocious.  Open trash bins, sewage leaks, and scavenging animals were everywhere (dogs, goats, and horses)

We then saw this sign like a beacon in the slum...even the state of Texas would like it, it's "recognized!"  Once we were inside, the gate was closed and we entered the oasis with white washed walls in which the noises and smells of the slum all but disappeared.

The walls of the school were filled with student motivation, color, and student created artwork.  Several times a year the walls are painted over and the students re-paint it.

Most classroom did not have traditional desks and chairs; it is customary to leave your shoes outside and sit on the floor (if you have shoes).

Many classes had the students up and active playing games.  This one was a game called "story play" in which they act out a story to deepen the meaning.

This is me with a group of boys that were at the school for English tutorials.  I helped them practice by telling me stories about animals, habitats, and food sources.

The school even offers vocational classes such as this for women living in the slums to provide them a skill or craft.  If that is mastered they could not only bring in money, but they have the potential to become the family breadwinner, thus improving her chances of eventually moving to a more secure dwelling.

Katha had so much more to offer than what is posted here.  They have computers with Internet, and even participate in international multi-media competitions.  Students from last year won one such contest and got to fly to Boston to attend a conference.

The Katha organization has around 95 such schools.  They reach over 200,000 children.  Yet, this doesn't even begin to make a dent in the children that need to be reached.  Many of the schools have the facilities for more, but lack the finances to be able to hire and train teachers.

Katha is always trying to improve the lives of the students within.  They take the work, bind it in books, and sell them at the schools and online.  They also sell the crafts that students make in school such as wooden toys, bags, and jewelry.  Again, all can be purchased in the schools and online.  Many of the teachers within the school were once the students in the halls, serving as examples of the changes that can be made.

Katha is always looking for help.  It may be through a partnership with schools in America, or it may be the tax exempt gifts people can give.  For more information, visit www.katha.org