Ankur

Support a Child under Project Ankur - the Born Learning Initiative of United Way Mumbai

Project Ankur recognizes that early childhood development plays a critical role in ensuring that a child is able to achieve her/his full potential as a healthy adult. This project strives to provide an environment of holistic development for children from disadvantaged communities, within the age group of 6 months to 6 years. Through Project Ankur we aim to improve their health and early learning abilities, ensuring a growth-appropriate development.

By partnering with us, you can help create an enabling environment for a child to ensure optimum physical and cognitive development for as little as INR 875/- a month or INR 10,500/- a year. With this contribution, the child will be provided with all the benefits of UWM's Project Ankur, for setting the building blocks of good health from the very beginning, development of social-cognitive skills and, most importantly, a safe and nurturing environment. This will be done through result oriented and time bound interventions to ensure maximum social return on your investment in a child's development.

Ankur

Latest Updates

Building Parent Capacity in Financial Literacy

3rd May 2024

Over 36 days, Financial Literacy trainings were conducted across 10 centres in the Ranchi district of Jarkhand. A total of 254 parents were sensitized to improve their awareness on financial health and financial literacy. The sessions aimed at helping families and parents identify goals and strategies to support childrenâ€™s upbringing, growth, and learning all from the standpoint of financial health. By the end of these sessions, parents were aware of the different ways to save their money, how they can create a budget for the family and work with that to manage their expenses. Another important lesson was how to borrow and what are the healthy ways to borrow.

MAKING CHILDREN SCHOOL READY

3rd May 2024

At UWM we follow the National Education Policy's (NEPâ€™s) focus on holistic development, where our early childhood education program prioritizes five key domains:

Physical and motor skills,
Cognitive development
Socio-emotional-ethical growth
Cultural and artistic expression
Communication and early literacy & numeracy

A variety of skill-building activities are conducted across these domains that have resulted in remarkable learning outcomes. These daily interventions have resulted in children achieving their developmental milestones and becoming school ready. We have seen an average of 50 % increase in children achieving their developmental milestones.

Government Stakeholder Engagement

3rd May 2024

We have seen major engagement of government stakeholders in the different districts in support of the Anganwadi Centres through the efforts of the United Way Mumbai (UWM) in collaboration in the Anganwadi Teacher. Awareness of the Ankur Project reached the District Welfare Officer (DWO), Khammam District.

As a result the local panchayats themselves supported some of the infrastructural requirements in the form of:
Construction of Toilets for some centres

Building a Water Tank for a centre
Provision of Electricity for some centres
Provision of Water Supply for some centres
Rebuilding of the ceiling for a centre
Reroofing of a centre to support the Solar unit being installed

Transforming Anganwadi Centres into conducive learning environments:

3rd May 2024

The Anganwadi Centres lack the basic amenities of water and sanitation in addition to this they are in such a dilapidated condition that parents are hesitant to send their children to the centres. In the 33 Anganwadi Centres UWM has worked on completely transforming the centres by making them more attractive with wall murals that double as teaching learning materials. This has resulted in an increase the attendance of children by 12% . These children have now been regularly coming to the centre.

Planting for Progress: IMC Team and Children Bring Life to Bhoirwadi and Nevali Anganwadi Centre in Karjat

16th April 2024

On 10th February 16 employees of IMC + 5 of their children joined us in setting up the Kitchen garden at 2 of our centres, Bhoirwadi and Nevali Anganwadi Centre in Karjat. Alongside, we also planted a total of 13 saplings and 7 varieties of seeds.

Ankur: COVID-19 Impact

18th March 2021

Here's how we were able to serve our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown with the support from our corporate and implementing partners.

Women's Day 2021 Commemoration

8th March 2021

On the occasion of Women's Day, a session on Breast and Cervical cancer awareness was conducted by Dr. Rupali Gadkari under Project Ankur supported by Future Generali. 25 parents and AWWs from Panvel and Karjat, and 10 education facilitators attended the session. Participants were sensitized on what cancer is, it's causes, signs and symptoms, risk factors associated and the role of a healthy lifestyle in preventing cancer.

Hygiene Kit Distribution

7th March 2021

A 'Hygiene Kit' was put together for children under the Born Learning Campaign. Each kit consisted of a toothbrush, toothpaste, nail cutter, shampoo and more. A total of 495 kits were distributed across 10 AWCs in Panvel.

Teaching-Learning Material Distribution

22nd February 2021

Under Born Learning Campaign, the team distributed 495 'Learn From Home' kits in 10 Anganwadis in Panvel. The kit consisted of learning blocks, craft material and slates to help children keep up with their skill development while staying on track to achieve their age appropriate milestones.

Teaching-Learning Material Distribution

21st January 2021

78 children from Navin Sheva Anganwadi in Uran received teaching learning material under project Ankur supported by Saint Gobain. The kits contained educational toys, a colouring book and stationery to help children achieve their developmental milestones.

Essential Kits Distribution

19th January 2021

As part of project Ankur supported by Future Generali , the team distributed ration kits to 303 beneficiaries across 6 Anganwadi Centres in Panvel. These kits consisted of essentials such as rice, pulses, oils, salt, sanitary napkins, soap etc.

Essential Kits Distribution

18th August 2020

As part of project Ankur supported by Saint Gobain, the team distributed ration kits to 54 beneficiaries from Navin Sheva Anganwadi Center, Uran. These kits consisted of essentials such as rice, pulses, oils, salt, sanitary napkins, soap etc.

International Women's Day, BLC

30th March 2020

To commemorate International Women's Day 2020, Born Learning Campaign organized an activity in Partnership with ICDS Panvel Block II to celebrate the efforts made by Anganwadi Sevikas, Helpers, ICDS staff and mother from the community towards ensuring quality preschool education for children at the Anganwadi centre. The workshop addressed topics such as positive parenting and ECCE. Parents and Sevikas also recited poems on motherhood and women empowerment to mark the day. A total of 56 women were present for the occasion along with 6 ICDS supervisors.

Women's Day 2020 Commemoration

8th March 2020

To commemorate International Women's Day 2020, Born Learning Campaign organized an activity in Partnership with ICDS Panvel Block II to celebrate the efforts made by Anganwadi Sevikas, Helpers, ICDS staff and mother from the community towards ensuring quality preschool education for children at the Anganwadi center. The workshop addressed topics such as positive parenting and ECCE. Parents and Sevikas also recited poems on motherhood and women's empowerment to mark the day.

Field Visit to Local Park

27th February 2020

Creating teachable moments outside the Anganwadi Centre is important to help children broaden their minds while introducing them to new environments. Children from Nevali and Tembhode Anganwadi Centres went to a local park where they took part in physical activities and sang songs. It was a new and first time experience for many of the children.

Palak Shala Focusing on Maternal Health

12th February 2020

Palak Shalas on Maternal Health with a focus on Safe Pregnancy were conducted at 15 Anganwadi centers and 2 Balwadi centres. It has been observed that maternal health often takes a back seat while all the focus is shifted to the baby. In some cases mothers do not always have the necessary information to ensure their health before and after birth.

100+ mothers were part of this session while the team also saw participation from a few fathers during these activities. The education facilitators along with the Anganwadi workers and Balwadi teachers used informative flipcharts created in-house by the UWM team to help the participants understand better. The session also covered healthy diet practices that would benefit the mother and the child in the long run.

Celebration of Republic Day

26th January 2020

Children across adopted centers under projects Ankur and BLC celebrated Republic Day along with Makar Sankranti through creative activities such as paper flag making and collage work. It is important to use skill development activities to teach children about new topics such as festivals, special days etc., as it builds memory function as well. Activities such as these can be used to teach colours, shapes, sizes etc. These creatives are displayed in each center on the walls for parents to view while the AWW talks about the child's developmental milestones.

Training of Education Facilitators

25th January 2020

Education Facilitators, 7 Anganwadi workers and 7 Anganwadi helpers underwent the next part of the training cycle which focused on meal time, free conversation and guided conversation, as part of language development. Following these trainings, facilitators and Anganwadi Staff are required to practice the newly learnt material to ensure that all points are covered when working with the children. All trainings conducted for the team are activity based to give the participants a more realistic idea of the outcome when conducting the same with their children at the AWC.

It is important to note that while the ICDS staff are well trained in ECCE, such workshops give them a new perspective and provide them with multiple tools to conduct their day to day learning activities.

Celebrating National Day of the Girl Child

24th January 2020

January 24th is celebrated as National Day of the Girl Child in India. The purpose of the day is to spread awareness among the people about the inequalities girls face in India. This was also celebrated across the adopted centers under BLC-Ankur which focused on the theme "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao". Parents were engaged in capacity building sessions that focused on the importance of educating the girl child not just as a primary level but also with regards to higher education. This is imperative as the project works towards equipping children with the age appropriate skills for formal schooling and ensuring that girl children don't drop out of school.

Training of Education Facilitators

16th January 2020

Education Facilitators underwent a training on meal time and language development in the month of January. Additionally, 6 AWWs underwent their first training on ECCE which focused on creating an ideal learning space, welcoming children to the AWC, free play, prayers and songs. These trainings were held using video and in person demonstrations with the group. The AWWs took on the role of children during the activities to understand the impact such activities had on their children attending the AWC. The implementation of this will continue to be monitored by the facilitators and project coordinator.

Health Camp - Pisarve Village, Panvel

27th December 2019

On 27th December, 2019 Project Ankur supported by Future Generali had its first health camp with women and children residing in Pisarve Village, Panvel Block II. The camp was focused on maternal and pediatric health. A pediatrician and gynaecologist were brought on after detailed due diligence to ensure the safety of all beneficiaries. A total of 35 children underwent a general health checkup while 41 women attended the maternal health camp. No serious ailments were discovered during the camp. All those with minor infections such as a cough and cold were referred to the Public Health Center. The camp was also attended by the village Sarpanch and the Multi-Purpose Worker (MPW) from the PHC. The field team has also followed up for treatment compliance with those who were referred.

Project Ankur: Children's Day

4th December 2019

Under projects, Ankur (Supported by Lloyds India, Future Generali, Actis, Saint Gobain) and BLC (Supported by 3M) a Childrenâ€™s Day activity was conducted at Anganwadi and Balwadi Centres. As with all activities, the United Way Mumbai team works towards developing the children's skill sets. Celebrations such as this help enhance social skills and creative development. All the children took part in a creative activity involving hand printing, colouring and making collages from torn paper. 600+ children took part in these activities across various locations. Each child was also gifted a stationery kit that consisted of a tiffin box or crayons and pencils to encourage their skill development.

Project Ankur: Diwali Celebrations

27th October 2019

Under the aegis of Project Ankur, United Way Mumbai organised Diwali celebrations across 18 Anganwadi Centres. Children enrolled at these centres participated in an art and craft activity where they accompanied their parents in decorating oil lamps and lanterns. The activities were aimed at enabling children to work on creative skill development.

Project Ankur: National Nutrition Month

1st September 2019

The team celebrated National Nutrition Month across 18 Anganwadi Centres with the parents of the children enrolled at the centres. Celebrations included awareness sessions on malnutrition and recipe competitions where parents were tasked with creating healthy lunch ideas. 317 parents participated in the activities. As it was also the month of Ganesh Chaturthi, parents also tried to recreate healthy versions of festival favourites such as Modaks.

Project Ankur: World Breastfeeding Week

1st August 2019

The United Way Mumbai team celebrated World Breastfeeding Week at Nevali and Tembhode Anganwadi centres, as part of Project Ankur. A total of 75 women took part in the activities. The group also included 12 pregnant women and 13 lactating mothers. The focus of these sessions was on ante-natal and post-natal care, the importance of breastfeeding and complementary feeding. The session was carried out by educational facilitators and covered important topics such as maternal healthcare during the babyâ€™s first 1000 days and how to avoid malnutrition.

Project Ankur: World Health Day Activities

7th April 2019

As part of World Health Day 2019, UWM conducted a session with mothers at Anganwadi centres in Panvel. The activity addressed the importance of having a plate of well-balanced nutrients in every meal. The project team also oriented the group on the benefits of each food group and how it contributed to their childâ€™s overall development. Women who attended this session included pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, many of whom had elder children enrolled at the centre. The UWM team oriented the group on the variety of foods they could include under each group i.e. carbohydrates, proteins, fats, dairy, etc. In the event that a family was vegetarian or had food intolerances, the project team provided alternative options that possessed the same nutritional value. Each individual was given a diagram of a plate, divided as per a balanced diet. The task was to fill in what they fed their children and themselves under each food group. In the event that someone was unable to read/write, the project team assisted with the same.

Project Ankur: Anganwadi Worker Training

19th March 2019

Under Project Ankur, United Way Mumbai's Born Learning Campaign, facilitators conducted their first training with 7 Anganwadi Workerâ€™s (AWW) from adopted centres. As AWWâ€™s work directly with the children on a day to day basis, it was important for them to understand the process and impact of each activity on the centres' children. Round 1 of the training covered welcoming children to the centre, free play, songs, prayers and time table curation. Each sevika was given the opportunity to take part in each activity as a child to enable her to understand how children would approach these activities. Detailed discussions to address challenges and positive outcomes was included after each activity. The facilitators are now monitoring the implementation process that the sevikas have adopted. In the coming months, the facilitators will train the Sevikas on further activities such as physical and creative skill development.

Project Ankur: Capacity Building of Facilitators

18th March 2019

Under UWM's Project Ankur, Round 2 of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) training for facilitators was conducted with 6 facilitators. The training included sessions on physical activities, creative activities, time table curation and points on how to ensure effective monitoring of the activity. The group took part in the activities to gain a deeper understanding of how to conduct these sessions with children and how it contributes to overall skill development. The process and benefits behind each activity were also discussed in great detail. Following the methodology adopted in Round 1, the facilitators were given the opportunity to practice the newly learnt material with children attending the AWC on the next day. Practise is the key before the team works with the Anganwadi workers to conduct the same training.

Project Ankur: Republic Day Celebrations

26th February 2019

On January 26th, Republic Day was celebrated across all Anganwadi and Balwadi centres. On this day, the schools/ICDS hosted a flag hoisting ceremony for the entire school/village, where children participated in singing the national anthem and other patriotic songs. The education facilitators also took this time to use the wall murals to teach children the importance and meaning behind national symbols. As with all other festivals and public holidays, UWM chose to use the occasion as a means to work on skill development (social and creative skill sets). This year, children created the Indian flag using the collage technique and hand printing. As the first activity took place on Republic day 2018, it gave the team a chance to evaluate the progress made by the children over the span of one year. As children were required to share material such as paper and art material, social skills were being developed in the process while they learned how to work in teams.

Project Ankur: Capacity Building of Facilitators

12th February 2019

The first round of facilitator training was conducted on 11th and 12th February for 4 education facilitators from Mumbai and 2 facilitators from Pune, under UWM's Project Ankur. The agenda for the training included welcoming the children into the Anganwadi Centre, songs, prayers and free play. While Day 1 was theoretical, Day 2 took place in the lab Anganwadi set up by the cluster manager. Each facilitator was assigned a specific activity for the day, following which, a debrief and feedback session was conducted. The team was also joined by Ms Sandhya from CLR, who evaluated the training on both days before providing the team with valuable feedback.

Project Ankur: National Deworming Day

10th February 2019

For National Deworming Day, Parents of children enrolled at the Haji Ismail Balwadi centre attended a session on the importance of deworming their children. The project team oriented them on important aspects such as modes of transmissions, symptoms and health and hygiene practices to minimise the risk of contamination by worms. It also addressed issues of safe cooking practices and gave parents information on government services available for the same.

Project Ankur: Makar Sankranti Celebration

14th January 2019

On 14th January 2019, children at our centres took part in a kite-making activity to celebrate Makar Sankranti. As it is usually the older children who fly kites with their friends and families, preschool children had the opportunity to be part of this festival in their own way. At UWM the team works towards minimum cost activities to encourage the practices of recycling and reducing waste. In honour of this, old newspapers were used to make the kites. Parents were encouraged to send old magazines and decorations that they had at home. Apart from this, the children were provided with crayons. Each child decorated his or her own kite which was displayed in the centre for the parents to view thereafter. Free creative time lets the students use their imagination to create something without instruction as this is also an integral part of the learning process.

Capacity Building of Cluster Managers and Educational Facilitators

10th January 2019

The Centre for Learning Resources conducted a Master Training workshop, under United Way Mumbai's Project Ankur from January 7th to January 10th in Bengaluru. The activity saw participation from two Born Learning Campaign (BLC) cluster managers, one programme manager and one educational facilitator. The training focused on ideal learning spaces, material inventory for each centre, how to welcome children, prayers and songs, free play, physical skill development and creative skill development along with time table curation. Over the course of 4 days, the team received training through theoretical sessions as well as took part in hands-on demonstrations of each activity. In addition, there was the opportunity to practice their teaching skills in an Anganwadi centre in Bengaluru and put the training to the test. As part of the workshop, the cluster managers have set up their own laboratories in Anganwadi centres where all components from the training have been replicated. By doing this, the laboratory becomes the training space for future capacity building sessions. This was to check the feasibility and practicality of the recommendations made by CLR and United Way Bengaluru (UWBe).

Capacity Building of Anganwadi Sevikas

12th December 2018

A five-day training workshop was organized at Kalamboli-Panvel to train 43 Anganwadi teachers on the â€˜Aakarâ€™ curriculum for early childhood education, in collaboration with ICDS Panvel block II. Aakar syllabus has been designed by Maharashtra state council of Education, research and training, Pune and it encompasses areas like language, environment, craft, physical education and basic counting for kids in the age group of 3-6 years.

The training modules were participatory in nature and designed to maximize the involvement of Anganwadi Sevikas. They were trained in a variety of easily replicable games and activities. One of the main aims of this session was to dispel the notion that learning could only take place through costly books, toys, etc. All activities focused on what was readily available at the center as well as in the home. Each day focused on a different skill set. More importantly, the sevikas learnt on how to maximize learning at their center.

Ankur Sangrah

27th November 2018

Under Project Ankur and the Born LearningCampaign, UWM has developed 15 flipcharts covering topics such as numbers, shapes, animals, fruits, vegetables, etc. These flipcharts are used as discussion cards to help children develop language skills and enhance their memory retention. The educational facilitator provides training to the Balwadi teacher to ensure that she is capable of using this material on her own. A time table has also been created by the team to aid in using the Ankur Sanghrah.

Born Learning - Mumbai Inauguration

26th November 2018

On completion of one year, Born Learning Campaign (BLC) hosted an inauguration ceremony in 3 Anganwadi centers in Panvel Block II. A total of 83 parents and 85 children were in attendance, along with 3 ICDS Supervisors and 6 employee volunteers from our Corporate Partner. The Anganwadis also hosted a palak shala with activities such as seed plantation, stick puppet making and creation of teaching aids.

Born Learning - Pune Inauguration

26th November 2018

The Born Learning Campaign (BLC) hosted an inauguration in 6 Anganwadi centres of Shirur block in Pune. 160 children and 150 parents were in attendance along with 3 ICDS Supervisors and 25 employee volunteers from our Corporate Partner. The Anganwadis all organised palak shalas with activities like creating kitchen gardens, planting saplings and seeds, poetry recitation, etc.

Global Handwashing Day

5th October 2017

On the occasion of Global Handwashing Day, UWM conducted a session on health and hygiene with the children. Health kits containing a toothbrush, comb and soap were distributed to all children. In addition, each child was also given a "SoaPen" â€“ a roll on dispenser containing colourful liquid soap. The use of the SoaPen makes handwashing a fun activity, while teaching the child good hygiene habits.