Partnerships
Abhyudaya partners with 60 schools in the K-West Ward of Mumbai, from where the Sitaras are selected. Several institutions of the Bhavan’s Trust such as the Sardar Patel Institute of Technology (SPIT), A.H. Wadia High School, Bhavan’s College Andheri, Bhavan’s Yoga Bharti, and Bhavan’s Nature and Adventure Centre offer Sitaras benefits of their teaching facilities, staff and student volunteers.
Abhyudaya has also built long-term relationships with NGOs, Corporates, SPJIMR Alumni, Donors, and Educational & Cultural institutions. Our partners provide financial support, laptops for Sitaras, medical camps, personal safety courses, counselling programs, life skills programs, scholarship assistance, etc.
Several international schools and colleges visit Abhyudaya to learn from our model. These include Think Global School, New York, USA; Rijnland Lyceum, The Netherlands; HEC Montreal, Canada; IT Bandung, Indonesia; St Thomas University, Minnesota, USA; and HWZ, Switzerland. Abhyudaya also partners with international teachers and researchers on workshops and research projects that address urban issues.
Snapshots
Abhyudaya Centre
Mentoring visit (Sitara home)
Hastantaran
Tug of War (mentor-mentee bonding activity)
Community meeting (Sitara parents)
Educators’ meeting/workshop
Summer camp (creative activity)
Computer class
Robotics
Sitaras
Rijnland Lyceum, Netherlands Visit
International schools visit SPJIMR to understand the benefits of Abhyudaya’s experiential learning interventions.
HEC Montreal, Canada Visit
Mentor-Mentee Meet
Think Global school visit
St Thomas University Minnesota
Syracuse University visit
Initiatives
Experiential learning programme
As part of the Abhyudaya course, participants make 12 visits to their Sitara homes for one-on-one mentoring sessions. They write reflection diaries, and under the guidance of a faculty facilitator, they discuss their learnings. Apart from mentoring, PGDM participants also learn about business sustainability. Based on their first-hand experience of the slums, they design sustainable business projects to solve social issues, which are evaluated by an industry panel. Thus, they not only develop their mentoring skills but also work towards becoming socially sensitive business leaders.
Holistic education for Sitaras
The Sitaras are able to realise and fulfil their potential through a holistic education that addresses all aspects of their personality. The year-long programme of holistic development interventions like the Sunday classes, and winter and summer camps offer Sitaras relevant inputs, including academics, sports, chess, origami, life skills, crafts, art, dance, music and much more. There is a multi-year computer course to teach digital literacy, programming and the basics of robotics. Abhyudaya also conducts aptitude tests and career counselling, assists with college admissions, and eventually helps in job placements.
Sitara community outreach programmes
As part of community outreach, Abhyudaya organises quarterly events, informative meetings and discussions with the parents of Sitaras. These sessions are conducted by experts invited from various walks of life. The Sitara parents can upskill themselves and become more aware of multiple issues related to health, gender, etc. During Covid, several additional programmes were conducted to address the economic vulnerability and mass migrations. Solutions like additional financial grants and grocery distribution were implemented to contain the dropout rate and retain our Sitaras. In addition, Abhyudaya offered medical assistance, alternative employment opportunities like producing cloth masks for livelihood, and donated mobiles and laptops to Sitaras to supplement the lack of inputs from their regular schools.
Outreach programmes for partner schools
The larger community of school teachers and principals of the 60 partner schools have opportunities to learn educational techniques and listen to inspiring speakers through the regular outreach events curated and conducted specially for them.