Nanhe Saathi

2021 | Chennai

‘Nanhe Saathi’ is a self-initiated group project in collaboration with the Godhuli foundation. Godhuli is a Delhi-based charitable society functioning for the past 25 years for the education and welfare of street/slum children. Godhuli presently runs three schools for approximately 300 slum children in the age group of 4-10 years (classes KG- 3rd). The school provides free education, complete study materials and uniforms with special emphasis to extra-curricular activities to transform children into confident individuals.

Covid-19 has been tough on people all over the world, including the education sector that has shifted to different means of teaching and learning. However, the students of many slum dwellers in India have found it difficult to manage their right to education while the country moves forward through digital means. Along with a lack of technology and resources, the students find themselves in demotivated circumstances with negativity all around them. Therefore, our motivation was to propose interventions in certain recognized areas of the current teaching system of Godhuli schools to aid hindered teaching and learning while reinforcing the will to learn and participate.

The outcome of this project is interactive educational game mats for the students of Godhuli school to aid hindered teaching and learning due to COVID-19. The mat will help in improving motor skills, shape recognition, color recognition, skills of correlation while helping children revise topics from their curriculum like counting, numbers, writing, and reading through indirect means of learning. The tactile three-dimensional quality of the mat would further build curiosity and encourage hands-on intuitive explorations by using the mat in numerous ways- playing over, under, around it. Acknowledging the short attention span of the user group, the biggest advantage of this mat will be that it will be entirely self-sufficient.

Ideation