Children and Youth Resource Centres (also called CYRCs) focuses on the dual role of our teacher leaders within both schools and communities. Here’s why this approach is crucial:
- Overcoming School Constraints: Our leaders face limitations within the school system, making it challenging to conduct remedial classes alongside regular ones.
- Balancing Syllabus Completion and Innovation: Schools prioritise syllabus completion, often neglecting innovative approaches and compassionate support for children.
- Bridging Gaps between Parents and Schools: There’s a significant gap between parents and schools, with little effort to bridge it, even with existing structures like School Management Committees.
- Addressing Challenges of Migratory Children: LIFI’s expansion to brick kiln sites in Sonipat, Haryana, highlights the need to support migratory children who face barriers to education due to their transient lifestyles.
- Extending Support Beyond Grade 5 & ensure retention: We aim to support children beyond Grade 5, ensuring they receive holistic support to make informed decisions about their future education and career paths.
Through our innovative approach, we aim to empower teacher leaders to navigate these challenges effectively, bridging the gap between schools and communities to ensure every child receives the support they need to thrive.
In 2023-24, LIFI embarked on an innovative journey by establishing a Children and Youth Resource Centre (CYRC) in Purkhas Rathi, Sonipat, Haryana, in collaboration with the local community. The CYRC aims to:
1: Offers innovative programs to the children above Grade 5 in the community beyond school curriculum, access to computer labs, a library, remedial support classes and an information cell. This initiative particularly supports migratory children by facilitating connections with nonprofit organizations when transitioning between contexts.
2: Mobilising more youth from the community to build their capacity and leadership and help them come on a better life track. These empowered youth then become advocates for quality education, fostering positive change within their communities.
Currently CYRC with a library and a computer lab have yielded notable outcomes. Children who have never accessed computers in their life are now learning coding through Scratch, while engaging them in discussions about various community issues and access to a library. Importantly stakeholders including parents donating funds for furniture and volunteering their time at CYRC. This marks a significant transformation from a community oblivious to school closures in 2020 to active participants in education initiatives.
Our aspiration with CYRCs and what it will offer to the community
In India, nearly half of the 63 million migrant children are out of school, often considered ‘out of the system.’ While government initiatives aim to support their education, awareness of these efforts remains low. Many nonprofits hesitate to address migrant children’s educational needs due to mobility uncertainties, leaving these children unable to attend school due to family obligations. Last year, 6% of LIFI’s children migrated, prompting us to extend support to migrant communities through Children and Youth Resource Centres (CYRCs) equipped with migration support. Our vision is for CYRCs to serve as recognized ‘Educational Awareness and In hubs’ in communities, forming a nationwide network ensuring continued education for migrant children, even outside formal schooling. These CYRCs will provide:
- LIFI has extensively developed a technology solution in collaboration with Tunica Tech (https://www.tunica.tech/) to ensure seamless mapping of migrant children across different contexts. This innovative initiative, provided pro bono by Tunica Tech, holds the potential to revolutionise education in India, where half of the migrant children struggle to continue their schooling. LIFI aims to enhance its internal capacity to implement this technology effectively and plans to extend partnerships with other nonprofits and government agencies to reach marginalised children nationwide.
- STEM Labs – Partnering with other organizations to establish hands-on STEM learning labs.
- Digital Education – Access to computer labs for digital literacy and educational resources through an existing partnership.
- Library – Extensive library programs facilitated through partnerships with leading organizations.
- Remedial Classes Intervention – Leveraging the LIF’s existing curricula to support children’s remedial education.
Read more about our CYRCs here –
https://sites.google.com/learninginitiativesforindia.org/project-pratidhaaran-lifi/home