Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley, has seen explosive growth. The world’s best IT organizations are based here with cutting edge research facilities. More than a million people work in this industry but sadly less than 10% of this workforce comes from the Government mass schooling system. 90% come from the privileged, private schooling system. Yet, more than 85% of this country’s children have access only to the outdated and moribund government system. 70% of children drop out well before they complete school and less than 9% of our children go to college. The poor and the other marginalized are being left out of India’s economic growth engine. Parikrma was created with a simple question – can any child, even the poorest from the slums of urban India, access the best opportunities and live a full and happy life?
Parikrma Humanity Foundation is a non-profit organization providing the best possible English language education to the poorest children from the slums of Bangalore, so that they can access the best opportunities anywhere in the world. Built around the ICSE curriculum, education at Parikrma includes sport, art, music, theatre, dance and wide exposure to the world. Parikrma also provides each child 3 meals a day, comprehensive healthcare and family care. Parikrma manages delivery of K-12 education, through 4 Centres for Learning and a Junior College for 1375 children coming from 69 slum communities and 4 orphanages. Less than 1% has dropped with 96% attendance since Parikrma began operations in 2003.
Now in its 10th year of operations, two batches of Parikrma children are already in college, pursuing Engineering, Medicine, Law, Commerce, Art and other courses. This is part of a program call Final Leap, which sees children through college until they are placed in jobs and have finally broken out of the circle of poverty. Children from Parikrma have integrated well into college and are excelling in their fields of study.
Global exposure is key to education at Parikrma, as the children get little or no exposure of any form at home. At Parikrma, a Science beyond the classroom program with Space, Nature and Electronics Clubs ensure that they are exposed to the wonders of the world of Science. Children excel at sport and represent their school, state and even in country in various fields of sport. Six Parikrma children have attended the Global Youth Leadership Summit in San Diego. Over 40 children over the last few years have been part of the Duke Talent Identification Program that brings together some of the brightest young minds in the country.
Thus, education at Parikrma is far more than academic learning in the classroom. It is about learning to live in the new age world and to live a life on equal terms.
