Lights of hope – school of principitos

Het TAPAS project in India bestaat uit een schooltje waar vele kindjes zitten. Het gaat hier om kindjes die in minder goede sociale omstandigheden leven en hierdoor een sociale ontwikkelingsachterstand hebben. De begeleiding op het schooltje bestaat vooral uit lokale vrijwilligers.

Wij gaan als studenten ergotherapie stage doen in het schooltje en zo proberen om de school op ergotherapeutisch vlak te verbeteren.

 

The Little Prince School is a small school located in Santagrachi, one of the largest slums of the Howrah area. It is located in a neighborhood called The City of Joy. This is the only school in the neighborhood and does not receive any state aid. Its economic situation and lack of financial support prevented the proper operation of the school. So much so, that there was no choice but to close its doors for good. We discovered this wonderful place thanks to Mr Alam and the local organization Seed. From the very beginning we knew we had to be a part of this special community, so stopping the school from closing and revitalizing it became our mission.

To do this, we improved conditions at the school so that it became a real place for leisure and literacy. We gave the children school materials, backpacks and uniforms to motivate them and so that it felt like a real school for both the kids and their teachers. We also gave the school sufficient materials and a curriculum adapted to the children’s circumstances all the while keeping in mind that education should be fun.

For Lights of Hope, it is very important to establish a critical methodology based the principles of Paolo Freire and popular education (literacy education for the poor and politically disempowered people). Education is directed towards everyone, particularly those sectors of society who may not have received much formal schooling (workers, farmers, migrants, women, etc.). Popular education can be promoted by the groups of people themselves and is characterized by being a place for dialogue, encounters with others and reflection. Through overcoming the educator contradiction – educating, no one educates anyone else, but everyone educates themselves in order to generate a collective knowledge.

Technically, receiving instruction doesn’t just educate the boys and girls (and adults), but also instills the values of respect, solidarity and equality. It is a space created to promote and facilitate the teaching-learning process where the members of the school community go to learn freely while living up to their potential and getting their needs met.

http://www.lights-of-hope.org/home.html

Nog enkele filmpjes die een beeld geven van de school: