ACT supporters and sponsors share
Arpita Datta - Volunteer and Sponsor
I started volunteering at ACT as a part of my company’s CSR activity. What brought me here is my love for Math and getting the fear of math out of the children. I liked the freedom we got to try out – there was no rigidity in how and what to teach.
ACT instils a lot of value – it’s not just academic teaching. These values are not taught in a class, but more by example and engagement with the trustees, employees and volunteers. You can make out the difference between an ACT child and others. For example, I’ve put my maid’s children through college but there’s big difference between just graduating and the getting an exposure to not just education, but to other activities and skills such as music, dance, karate, cricket, photography and much more, which ACT gives the children. ACT provides a holistic experience.
Ditipriya - Volunteer and Sponsor
ACT. The word in its everyday usage means ‘to do’. And like everyone else the word holds the same meaning for me. But is that all? Not at all :) ... ACT means something else to me too. Something that holds a much deeper, stronger connect to my heart.
I have known ACT- Ashwini Charitable Trust, since it was born. A little being full of wonder, curious and determined, - wanting to know, learn and make a beautiful difference to everything around. From ‘the first step’ of funding education for the first child Ashwini, then a handful and then till today's 300, ACT has blossomed into an amazing mature organization that has gone way beyond what it had started off with. The incredible work that goes on to making education and well-being a way of life among those who are not as privileged as many of us, to help inculcate a sense of civic and social responsibility among all the ACT families, to groom every child into beautifully rounded human being, ready to take on every challenge in life… is something I have had the privilege of being witness to for the last 20 years! And it fills my heart in a way that I can’t explain in words.
But I have had another privilege… of being more than a mere witness to this miracle. I have had the good fortune of being part of this ACT journey by teaching singing to some amazingly gifted children here. The classes are great fun all full of giggles, twinkling eyes and a lot of learning and music! It is nothing but sheer delight to see them master songs of any genre, any language, any mood… And when they enthral audiences with their sweet, soulful singing, I listen in wonder!
… and gratitude… that I could be part of this marvel in some way.
Thank you ACT for giving me a chance to be part you, and ‘to do’ my little bit.
Hema Hattangadi - Mentor and Sponsor
My first exposure to ACT was when I attended an ACT annual day celebration. I and my husband Ashok saw the general chaos and just went behind the counter and started helping with serving the food. I didn’t remember this story, but Sujata reminded me about it, and it all came back to my mind. Sujata showed me the ACT logo when it first got created. So, for me, there is a huge personal and emotional connect with ACT.
Until a few years ago, Mrs. Mani was the sole employee of ACT, handling over 150+ children. The intensity of involvement of the volunteers is something that has always amazed me. In fact it is to the extent where volunteers had started employing the graduate ACT children in their organizations. So instead of adding fixed cost, the volunteers not only had a cost impact but they were also a breath of fresh air.
ACT is a very process oriented organization.
The trustees have learnt that here is only so much you can do for these families, and are very clear on where to draw the line. ACT learnt, the hard way, that you can’t get under their skin forever. So, the children and families are beneficiaries for specific activities, but ACT and its team don’t get involved in their lives. If you look at the admission form of ACT, every line there is a mirror of a lesson learnt by them. For example, they make parents a party to that form as the as children are minors.
Meher - Ex-manager of the U&I Center
ACT and U&I have had a longstanding relationship.
ACT provides a 360° education experience for the children. By involving the parents, you take away the suspicion that low-income parents have for westernized education systems, including sending girls to schools. Engaging the entire community helps various stakeholders, and also makes the parents realise that children invest in various facets of education, which is not just academics. The community engagement is very nicely woven into the ACT model, which is very useful.
Financial education sessions conducted to parents are very important conversations to have, as these are very relevant points in low income communities where they are not aware of their financial rights. ACT has played a role in breaking the vicious cycle of halting education to enter the labour force. Addressing domestic abuse; engaging with parents on a more holistic level; educating children on sexual wellness, have all been important initiatives taken by ACT. ACT addressed needs, instead of preparing the children for an ambiguous future. It’s important that children mitigate their fears and address real time problems.
We can make out when a child has been with ACT vis-a-vis a new entrant. The difference is very stark. The involvement at an early stage is very critical and healthy. There’s no hesitation in the children about the values they hold because ACT doesn’t treat their ideas or feelings as inconsequential.
Our approach was to make weekday learning constructive. Not just an extension of rote learning at school. So we put in a rhythm for learning we made individual learning profiles for each child. We wanted to keep this as a reference point for new volunteers. The biggest failure in the schooling system was that you were not helping the child overcome their learning disability. They were just being given one sided information. So we customized it such that each child was paired up to a volunteer who specialised in teaching with that particular skills. For eg, one volunteer brought about different kinds of material when teaching children about textiles – different threads, needles, cloth, etc…
Nadia Haton - ACT Advisory Board and Sponsor
Impressions of the work done by ACT:
The incredible commitment of Sujata able to embark so many dedicated volunteers in this journey and also the senior students becoming themselves volunteers to support the junior students.
The perfect integrity demonstrated in all the decisions made and actions taken-
The close relationship entertained with the families and deep knowledge of their individual situation putting ACT in a position to understand them and react quickly to any challenge faced by the families. The actions undertaken by ACT during the pandemic is a great demonstration.
Road ahead:
Keeping doing and behaving the same
Remain small in order to remain close to the children and the families
Sakthi - Former Volunteer
Initially, I had a lot of misconceptions about working with an NGO. I had just passed out of college when I started volunteering with ACT at the age of 21. I came with the perception that the children here would have low IQ and no academic skills, and I would get very stressed teaching them as they were unable to pick up the basic skills. But, when I saw their economic conditions, it sunk in that when you don’t have assured 3 meals a day, learning would take a backseat and is the last thing on your mind.
At ACT, the emphasis is not just on making the kids get good marks in an exam. It’s about changing the whole generation that would change the course of the entire family. There’s a 360° change in the family destiny. Saumya is one such example. She works for HP, is married and well settled. When I saw her after 10 years at an annual day, I saw for a fact that she has changed the direction of her life. When one person can exhibit this, the siblings would also follow. So ACT is not just a school, its far beyond that. And it is not just the child that ACT impacts, but the entire family.
I think they ACT experience has helped me become a better mother I don’t get hassled if my son is not on par with other kids. I have learnt that everyone follows their own growing curve. Everything is not a race.
Sarah Patel - Volunteer and ACT Advisory Board
I remember meeting Sujata and going back with an impression of a very encouraging, positive person. I volunteered for a year when we started introducing the Hippocampus curriculum, in 2014. That’s when I started realizing that my professional experience could be useful for ACT. I have no experience in teaching and I was enjoying teaching and working with students but my professional experience and background is in corporate planning, strategy, operations, etc and I thought I have these other skills which might be useful for ACT.
So, I approached Sujata and said I could do some fundraising for you? I haven’t done fund raising before but maybe I can help with it. I started getting involved in various initiatives and digital platforms, and introduced some level of computer literacy and internet exposure to the children. I created customised learning programmes for children, which were tailored to each child’s needs.
Another thing I enjoyed working with Sujata was on the expansion. To actually have salaried trust for the first time. On hiring staff and making these decisions for the first time. Tis was a dilemma point for the trustees. With all the new programs and initiatives and growth for the trust, the trust realised that there was a need for a few people to come in daily and think of staff beyond volunteers. This was a very interesting initiative and also very rewarding because it was very helpful to the students, the volunteers and also to the trustees. The trustees took on a lot but the hiring helped. It also helped bring in a sense of continuity to the programs. ACT enables people to use their skills to add value to the trust.
Mrs. Mani was like a grandmother who ran the show. She knows everyone, she’s so loving and embracing. She really welcomes you. At the same time running things efficiently.
The Mothers program, Hippocampus, and the U&I program which ensures that volunteers that come in during the weekday; the graduations and the placement of children have all been very impressive.
When I asked my husband’s company to conduct mock -interviews to prep the kids, he was very impressed with their confidence and I felt like a proud mother when I heard that.
Sunita & Ashutosh Vaidya - Volunteers and Sponsors
Kudos to Sujata and the dedicated colleagues at Ashwini for doing a stupendous job of enriching the lives of underprivileged children, especially girls. We have watched the journey – from the seed thought to an organization in full bloom. The care, the passion, and the energy has never ceased to amaze us. All the best!!
Karpagavalli - Sponsor
Ashwini means Tamer of horses. An apt name for ACT - Founder Sujata, her trustees, coordinators with their strong team of staff and volunteers. Their students are like ponies or foals, the young ones of horses, full of energy never weary. ACT, by providing them all round development, groom them to be agile, alert with endurance to grow into gallant horses. They are taught to lead, shoulder responsibilities with no fear, in many fields of education, according to their strengths and weaknesses. What is special about ACT students is that their senior students become mentors and give back their love to the institution. ACT does not stop here. They see to that, the horses are empowered, made ready to pace for race in the employment arena.
Ashwini also means Light. They remove darkness from the minds of the students filling their hearts with compassion. Infusing integrity into them at an early age and giving equal opportunities to the students to believe in themselves are part of ACT's values too. ACT does not stop with students empowerment. They brighten the lives of mothers with life-skills training. Ration distribution during lockdown was a radiant and timely effort.
Twenty years of addressing the needs of underprivileged students in education, life-skills, recreation, health and nutrition, fitness through sports, safety and skills of concentration through karate, ACT has been creating a deep and positive impact on the community. Happy to have been associated them in 2006 with 90+ students that have grown to 350+ now. Wishing ACT many more decades of success and prosperity.
Vijetha Naik - Volounteer and Sponsor
ACT is the first NGO I worked in. I started there when I was a teenager. ACT has grown so much over the last 20 years and I commend Sujatha and her team for the wonderful selfless work they put in everyday to help underprivileged children. Keep it up!!