Implementation partner: Society for the Integrated Development of the Himalayas (SIDH)
Country: India
Dates: 1999 - ongoing
Current Donors: The British and Foreign Schools Society, the Isle of Man.Past Donors: The Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust, Walter Guinness Charitable Trust, Charles Hayward Foundation, Elizabeth and Joseph Novarro, and anonymous donors.

The Society for the Integrated Development of the Himalayas (SIDH) has been working since 1989 to explore alternative ways of living and thinking - emphasising relevant and quality education, vocational training and good citizenship. They strive towards a 50:50 enrolment ratio of girls to boys, and use a child-friendly pedagogy that has been recognised as Best Practice by UNESCO, Save the Children and DfID.

LfL has been working with SIDH since 1999 to provide quality education to excluded, remote tribal communities in the Himalayas. In these areas it is not uncommon to see even very young children fetch water from a source far below their homes, collect firewood, cook food, look after younger siblings, and - as a matter of course - be given responsibilities which would be considered far beyond their years in Western society.

LfL works with SIDH, supporting a range of programmes:

1. Balwadis is a unique pre-primary programme offering an appropriate learning environment for young children, with two very important benefits. Firstly, research has shown that, the earlier children enter education, the more likely they are to complete their studies. Secondly, the programme frees older children, especially girls, from their childcare duties, enabling them to attend school. Every year, over 100 young children benefit directly from Balwadis' pre-primary education and care - while their older siblings benefit indirectly from the freedom to attend to their own studies.
2. The Student and Teacher Enrichment Programme (STEP), provides training both to SIDH schools - and to state schools known for the poor quality of their education. Through a residential programme, STEP exposes government and private school students and teachers to SIDH's successful teaching practices, and works with primary and middle schools to improve the relevance, gender sensitivity and overall quality of teaching and learning in subjects such as Maths, History, Communication, Science and Environmental Conservation. The teacher network connects over 300 teachers and SIDH host a well-attended annual conference.
3. To assist SIDH in moving towards sustainability, LfL assisted in the construction of the Learning Resource Centre (LRC), complete with lecture halls, a library and dormitories. The Centre has increased SIDH's physical capacity, enabling them to fulfil the enormous national demand for their Best Practice teaching methodology. Hundreds of students and teachers have benefited since the beginning of the partnership between LfL and SIDH, and the LRC continues to reach ever larger numbers of students, teachers, employers and community members.

Beneficiaries

Balwadis    Children educated - 500
STEPChildren trained - 578
Teachers trained - 100
LRC    Students trained - 2,200
Teachers trained - 650
Community members attending education conferences - 205
Total - 4,233

Testimonials

Teachers: Sureshi Chauhan, Young teacher in Riyatgoan, Balwadi.

In 1990 Sureshi was a student of KG in SIDH Hamari Pathshala in Bhediyan village. Today she is a teacher in our balwadi. "I got interested in education only after attending the SIDH School. I worked at home and also studied in the school. My father supported me when I expressed the desire to study beyond class V and that is how I completed my class XII... After joining SIDH I now feel very positive, motivated and feel as if I have come 'home'. During the past eight months of working here I feel I have made progress in my own inner growth and have learnt a lot about little children and how they learn"

"I have learnt a lot from the training programmes... I want to understand children AND how they learn".

When asked what she would have done had she not joined SIDH she said: "perhaps gotten married".

Baldev Singh Panwar, a young teacher in Nautha, working for the last 18 months; "My idea of teaching, before I joined SIDH was merely to teach the textbooks, this is what I understood by the term 'education'. But only after going through the teachers training programme here I realised how wrong I was. My vision has broadened after coming here. I have realized that education has a relationship with each and every aspect of life. I have started giving more respect to teachers after coming here... I would like to remain a teacher for all times to come and establish Nautha School as a model school".

StudentsBabita, Class V, SIDH Hamari Pathshala, Village: Matela. "In SIDH schools the teachers are from our community, so they pay more attention. They take us on study tours to surrounding areas. During these tours we learn a lot about our environment, our animals, birds, farming techniques and the relationships between them. Here besides studies attention is also paid to games... I have learnt about hygiene and cleanliness, now I stay clean, I have also learnt to attend school regularly. My Hindi, English and Maths have improved... Now I am confident, I do not feel shy while talking".

Kiran, Class 7: "Earlier I was scared of being in front of people, but after coming here and especially after the meditation camp, my fear is gone and I feel much more confident.

I started participating in extra-curricular activities and am able to concentrate in a better manner in my studies. It is because of this that I was able to pass in the first division in my class."

Sangeeta, 14 years, Class 8, Government Junior High School, Kaplani: "I enjoyed taking part in the rally against plastic bags in Kempty. I saw a lot of dirt and garbage there. I enjoyed review and diary writing. I will teach the songs I learnt here to my friends."