EDUCATION :
AAA Foundation – Chaired by Mrs. Saman Gafoor, a qualified educationist, who has taught English at the Cathedral & John Connon High School and at Fort Convent, Mumbai, for several years.
Mission:
We wish to enrol/attract well-placed persons as also retired persons who would be interested in doing honorary work for an NGO, once or twice a week, in their spare time. Our field of activities are:
Conversational English Classes –
We conduct English conversational classes mainly for primary students. This is done via an audio programme, backed by a class teacher. The Education Development Centre Inc. of the U.S. Government has given the Audio programme to us for Educational Activities. They have developed the audio teaching module and have sold it to the Governments of U.P. and Bihar. When we approached them, they were good enough to give us this programme free of cost. At a recent Conference organised by them at Bhopal, where US Government officials also participated, our NGO was adjudged the best in India
Various interesting teaching aids are used to make learning more interesting, competitions are held and prizes given to students who fare the best.
Apart from academics, cleanliness and hygiene is also imparted to the students through visual CDs. The children are taking very keen interest in this. The teachers ensure that the children come to school in clean clothes, have their hair neatly done and their nails cut. As an incentive to be neat and clean, a competition is to be held every month, when the 5 best turned-out students will be given small prizes.
At present, we are conducting this programme in 8 schools for pre-primary and primary classes. Some of these schools have extra divisions of every class. The total number of students covered is approximately 8,000.
Computer Classes –
These classes are conducted in the downtrodden areas of Mumbai for the underprivileged. We provide the computers and teaching staff. We teach MS Office, DTP, Tally and web designing. The course spans 10 weeks. A deposit of Rs. 250/- per student is taken, but is refunded on the successful completion of the course, subject to the students not remaining absent for more than 3 days. Each batch comprises approximately 120 students so that from all our computer classes, we generate about 500 trained computer operators in a year.
BPO Classes –
These classes impart communication skills (in both British and American accents). On successful completion of the 3-month course, we get our students placed. These classes are also conducted totally free on refundable deposit basis.
General –
We are associated with Girls’ schools and colleges run in Bhiwandi, and are in the process of setting up an IIT Institute in its precincts. A plot of 14 acres has already been acquired and the price has appreciated 5 to 10 times.
HEALTH CARE Clinics –
We run about 8 to 9 clinics in the under-privileged areas and slums to cater to common ailments. Only qualified MBBS doctors are employed to examine and prescribe medicines to the patients who are then handed out the medication (including antibiotics and nutritional drugs) by an experienced compounder, at a nominal charge of Rs. 5/- per day. There are almost 14,000 to 15,000 people per month, availing of the benefits of these clinics.
We also intend to start a Nutrition Programme for children where these clinics are located.
Cancer Ailments –
We have an arrangement with the Prince Aly Khan Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients from the stage of investigation, operation, chemotherapy and also post-operative care. We also have arrangements, on a limited basis, with Nanavati Hospital for other serious ailments.
We require honorary workers to help us in the schools/computer classes/and BPO classes by making occasional visits, to monitor the teachers, whether they are speaking correct English with correct pronunciations, using he correct methods of teaching, maintaining discipline in the class and devising/suggesting methods of improving the teaching/learning process, or not.
In the computer classes, volunteers could help out when the teachers are absent, as also with the BPO classes.
As regards, Health Care, volunteers will have to make occasional visits to the various clinics to monitor the doctors and compounders and see that cleanliness is maintained, proper stocks of medicines and records are maintained. They would also be required to assist in the Nutrition Programme for Children, which will commence shortly.
Their services can e used in many other ways such as:
(a) Assessment of new places offered for clinics
(b) Preventive medicines
(c) Organising camps
(d) Assessing other medical needs