Author Archives: MediaTeam

Vidyasthali holds convocation for students of 2020 and 2021

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Vidyasthali Kanar Inter College, a unit of Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) held its Convocation Ceremony for the graduating batches of 2020 and 2021. IB Singh, Senior Advocate, Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench was the chief guest on the occasion. The principal of the school Anusha Sharma welcomed the audience and congratulated the students on their success. She also added, “Over the years, Vidyasthali has become a community transformation hub. Our students have once again made us proud and today we celebrate their success.”

The ceremony started with the academic procession of teachers and students. The school choir sang Rangeel Bharat along with the students performing poems. The students of batches 2020 and 2021 were awarded by the chief guest, I B Singh, Dr Urvashi Sahni, founder and CEO of SHEF and Shibani Sahni.

Mr I B Singh said, “I started my education in a rural school, and Vidyasthali has set an example for other schools to follow. These children are so confident and smart. They can easily give competition to children from any urban private school. I want to congratulate the principal, the teachers and the students for all the hard work they put in.”

Dr Urvashi Sahni, founder and CEO of SHEF said, “Firstly I want to thank and congratulate all the parents present here. It is heartening to see the trust you have in our school and our teachers. It is with your support that our students have yet again given such remarkable performances. I urge our students, especially girls, to work hard and follow their dreams.”

Priyanshi, an alum of Vidyasthali said, “My school is a universe of care. We are welcomed here with our lives and our problems. After completing my class 12, my family faced a financial crunch and I was unable to continue my higher education. My principal and my teachers supported me and I got a job as a GyanSetu teacher. I am now pursuing my Bachelors in Computer Application from Study Hall College.” Priyanshi also runs digital literacy classes at her GyanSetu center in Nabipanah.

The ceremony also facilitated 38 children who completed their Digital Literacy course at GyanSetu centers. There are 23 GyanSetu centers in and around Malihabad. GyanSetu (a unit of SHEF) centers are small, intimate learning support centers in rural and urban pockets where poverty, gender and caste intersect to prevent children from going to school. Children (predominantly girls) who are out of school and at high-risk of harm go through an accelerated learning program that enables them to enroll in formal schools.

The event ended with the National Anthem and a vote of thanks.

Rendered out of school by pandemic, two children win quiz contest

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Lucknow: In a one of a kind Quiz Competition – out of school children from six districts of Uttar Pradesh participated and in the end two children – Satyam and Muskan from Peernagar Village of Sitapur emerged as winners. 

GyanSetu centers are hubs of community transformation, spread across six districts of Uttar Pradesh – Lucknow, Sitapur, Unnao, Barabanki, Ayodhya and Pratapgarh. Currently 104 such centers educate over 3000 out-of-school children by pacing their learning with an aim to transition them to formal schooling. GyanSetu centers also include community members to create a sustainable and caring support system for first generation learners. This is done with the help of local grassroot leaders and NGOs.

This Quiz Competition was organised by the GyanSetu Program of Study Hall Educational Foundation. The chief guest of the occasion was Sunita Rai, Child Development Project Officer of Lucknow. “It is very heartening to see children performing so well in such a tough quiz competition. This is a great way for them to learn and grow.”

“The aim of this quiz was to give the children an opportunity to showcase their talent and also visit the city and see how a good school functions. We want to build aspiration in our GyanSetu children”, said Anand Chitravanshi, the Chief Operating Officer of Study Hall Educational Foundation.

“I am very glad to see that the parents of our GyanSetu children have turned up in such good numbers. It is very important that we learn to perceive ourselves as equals – man or woman, poor or rich, educated or uneducated – all of us have one vote in our democracy and all of us are equal”, said Dr Urvashi Sahni, President and CEO of Study Hall Educational Foundation. “Our teachers worked really hard with us and we are so happy to make them proud. We have been preparing for the contest since October. My parents and my community will be happy to see us with our winning medals,” said Muskan, student at GyanSetu Peernagar center who won the contest along with Satyam.

DOSTI school organizes selection camp for Special Olympic Bharat

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DOSTI, a unit of Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) is all set to organise a one day selection camp of handball, roller skating and basketball for Special Olympic Bharat Uttar Pradesh on Saturday 30.10.21 at Study Hall campus. With a participation of over 50 special children from various schools in Lucknow and Kanpur. The children who will be selected in handball in this camp will be going to Agra in December for the Handball Championship and the children selected for skating will be representing in the National Championship of Skating held in Odissa and Telangana in January.
Surbhi Kapoor, principal DOSTI says, “We are really excited to host this secession process and hope children do well. Children have been practicing and preparing all this time and we would love to see them represent at the state and national level championship.” In the past many students from DOSTI have represented Uttar Pradesh at state level championships for various sports events. For the last 15 years, DOSTI has been providing a safe, inclusive and supportive environment to children with special needs to grow, along with services like Early intervention, Psychological and Education assessment, Occupational Therapy, Behaviour Therapy, Counselling/parental counselling, Programme planning for special children/parents.  DOSTI was founded in 2005, is among UP’s first and very few schools to integrate children with physical, mental and learning disabilities in the age group of 2-21 years into mainstream education. 

https://epaper.hindustantimes.com/Home/ShareArticle?OrgId=3010fed52fe2&imageview=0

Dr Urvashi Sahni latest TEDxYouth – Rethinking Democracy and Citizenship

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Watch Dr Urvashi Sahni’s latest TEDxYouth talk on Rethinking Democracy and Citizenship, where she answers pressing questions such as what does it mean to be democratic? What’s the difference between being a citizen in a democracy and a subject in an empire? and more.

Starting off with a powerful reading of the constitution to remind us the principles of equality, justice and fraternity – values that she aspires to imbue in others through her schools and organisations. She explained the importance of reconstructing strong feudal patriarchal mindsets and reconstructing democratic mindsets instead in order to have a robust and thriving democracy. She also highlights the role of educational institutions to direct the change in mindsets. As places where children spend a majority of their time, it is integral for there to be a paradigm shift from schools being an environment where gender inequality is normalized to one that facilitates critical dialogue between children on the subject of democracy. 

httpvh://youtube.com/watch?v=MAXtpkbEe0o

‘Personal relationships key to giving and receiving with dignity’

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Lucknow: Study Hall Educational Foundation in the 37th edition of its Join the Discussion series invited Anshu Gupta and Meenakshi Gupta, founder of Goonj – an NGO which undertakes disaster relief, humanitarian aid and community development. The topic of discussion for the day was – giving and receiving with dignity.

Anshu Gupta, popularly known as the Clothing Man, while introducing the work that they do talked about how our clothes form such an important part of our dignity and also play a key role in our survival – protecting us from vagaries of weather. “We aim to recognize and value the potential of local resources and traditional wisdom of people.Our focus is concentrated on the receiver’s dignity instead of the donor’s pride.” Anshu said.

He added, “Publicizing your work on social media should not motivate the masses to be a giver. One has to make personal connections so that the person receiving it doesn’t feel burdened. That’s the effort you make and that is what giving and receiving with dignity is all about.”

“This pandemic has left a lot of people in despair. We should learn to talk to people and understand what their needs are and act accordingly. Relationships are the key here”, Anshu added.

Talking about her journey with Goonj, Meenakshi said, “I come from a middle class family in Delhi.I did not have an education that showed me the stark realities of the world. My learnings are all from when I stepped into a village and how we moulded our projects to fit the needs of those people.”

President and CEO of Study Hall Educational Foundation, Dr Urvashi Sahni was the moderator of the discussion. Dr Sahni while sharing her experience about giving and receiving with dignity said, “Once I gave a few chocolates to one of my Prerna girls and the next day she came back and gave two of them to me. I asked her why are you giving them back. Angered by what I had said, she replied – these are my chocolates now and I choose to share them with you. Is that a problem? ”

Join the Discussion is a series of bimonthly panel discussions on relevant topics organised by Study Hall Educational Foundation. The 37th edition of the Join the Discussion series was attended by over 250 people via Zoom.  

Prerna girl wins scholarship, in New York for studies

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Meet Simran, a student of class 10 at Prerna Girls school, a unit of Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) has been selected for the U.S. State Department’s Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program. She lost her father three years ago, her mother works as domestic help to barely make ends meet but defying all odds Simran is now in New York to continue her high school at West Seneca East High School in West Seneca, New York for this academic year. 

Simran (second from right) biding goodbye to sister Jiya (left), her mother (second from left) and her best friend (extreme right)

Back in 2018, seeing her mother struggle financially, Simran decided to get a job. Despite all the challenges, Simran spared no effort to get good grades in school and eentually got selected for the scholarship.

Simran (left) with Dr Urvashi Sahni (center), founder & CEO of SHEF and principal of Prerna Girls School, Ms Rakhee Panjwani (right) posing for the lens man before she left for New York

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I have really worked hard for the selection and I am grateful for the support that I got from my school. I am really excited about my journey. I want to learn about different cultures, social issues there and share what my school has taught me,” says an elated 16-year-old Simran. 

Simran along with her host family in New York

Simran aspires to be a doctor and is determined to achieve her dreams. She strongly believes that all girls should have dreams and they should pursue their dreams. In the past, ten children have been selected for international scholarships from SHEF. 

httpvh://youtu.be/xPqcrjYG8ic

Empower girls like Simran and help them get access to life changing education.
Visit www.shef.ngo for more information. 

Study Hall Educational Foundation feted by World Economic Forum for COVID relief efforts

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Lucknow: Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) was named among the Top 50 COVID-19 Last Mile Responders in India by the World Economic Forum’s (WEF). This is an effort to honour organisations who played an exceptional role in tackling the COVID crisis in India.

Since the start of the pandemic, SHEF provided 1,27,296 meals to migrant labour communities in Lucknow, distributed 29,000 reusable face masks, provided 1150 dry ration bags serving over 7345 community members, connected 4150 people to meal programs and distributed 1000 reusable menstrual pads. The organisation also connected 18,966 underserved children to online classes and resources, and trained 2203 teachers to use online teaching resources to continue educating children.

During the second wave of COVID19 in 2021, SHEF helped 2350 people get vaccinated, counselled 5500 for vaccination hesitancy and distributed 100 COVID19 combat kits consisting of Pulse Oximeter, Thermometer, Masks, Sanitizer and a steam vaporizer in villages and urban locations in and around Lucknow serving around 105,00 community members.

“This recognition by WEF as one of India’s top 50 last mile responders during Covid is such a shot in the arm to our SHEF team. The 350 strong team has worked round the clock to make a holistic response on the ground for the last 16 months – online classes to the poorest, but going beyond that and providing humanitarian relief to families medical aid, digital devices, food, grief counselling, information about Covid, vaccinations – awareness and assistance. We serve villages and schools and non-formal education centers in and around Lucknow. During the pandemic we have directly impacted over 1,78,000 community members. Thank you for appreciating our efforts,” says Dr Urvashi Sahni, Founder and CEO of SHEF.

Others on the list include Breakthrough, Goonj, Barefoot College International, Mann Deshi Foundation, Doctors For You and many other acclaimed organisations. Each of the organisations on the list addresses at least one of four priority areas of on-the-ground need: Prevention and Protection; COVID-19 Treatment and Relief, Inclusive Vaccine Access, and Securing Livelihoods.

To learn more about the Top 50 COVID-19 Last Mile Responders,
visit: https://india-top-50-responders.vercel.app/study-hall-educational-foundation-shef/

Film featuring Study Hall Educational Foundation wins Emmy

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A film featuring Study Hall Educational Foundation has won the prestigious Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Non-Fiction Special. The film features Prerna Girls School, a unit of SHEF and highlights the organization’s work to empower adolescent girls through education. The YouTube Originals “Creators For Change” also features Michelle Obama and YouTuber Prajakta Koli (MostlySane) with the aim to create a dynamic content moment to spark a conversation around the global state of girls’ education. 

Dr Urvashi Sahni, Founder and CEO SHEF says, “All of us at Shef, students and teachers are delighted at this global recognition of our efforts! We hope it leads to an increasing impact of our pedagogy and belief that education is the place to create egalitarian mindsets in everyone! Thank you Girls Opportunity Alliance, Michelle Obama and our own Prajakta Kohli for helping us to amplify our voice and work!”

The Emmy is considered one of the four major entertainment awards in the United States, the others being the Grammy (for music), the Oscar (Academy Award) (for film), and the Tony (for theatre) and is also considered equivalent to Oscars in Television.

Prajakta Koli along with Liza Koshy, an American comedian and YouTuber and ThembeMahlaba (Pap Culture) highlight the work being done globally to help further girls’ education in India, Vietnam, and Namibia. 

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzOPah2JzJE

SHEF’s Director of Programs featured in Loksatta

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Our Director of Programs, Mr Anand Chitravanshi featured in an article by Chief Functionary of Men Against Violence & Abuse, Mr Harish Sadani in ‘Loksatta’, Marathi newspaper as a part of his fortnightly column, featuring Men of Substance from across India. The article talks about how Mr Anand Chitravanshi has been instrumental in building gender sensitivity with a critical feminist lens among adolescent boys, enabling them to be a ‘part of the solution’ to the gender problems in Northern India.

Article Link: https://www.loksatta.com/chaturang-news/jotibanche-lekh-social-activist-anand-chitravanshi-work-for-girls-education-zws-70-2510282/