Parikrma Humanity Foundation
Parikrma Humanity Foundation is a non-profit organization located in Bangalore, India.[3] Parikrma addresses the growing gap in urban India between those benefitting from economic liberalization and those who are not, in which consequently only a minority of children in India can afford access to private schools where the content of education is of high quality and in the English medium. Children from the slums and rural communities attend schools in the free government-run mass schooling system, where they only teach in the state language, which often proves insufficient in attaining job opportunities in a rapidly globalizing world.[4]
 | |
| Founded | 2003[1] |
|---|---|
| Founder | Shukla Bose [2] |
| Type | Humanitarian Foundation |
| Location | |
Area served | Bangalore |
The name Parikrma comes from a combination of two Sanskrit words, "pari" meaning circle, and "krma" meaning to complete. Parikrma strives to complete "The Circle of Life" by supporting children from kindergarten until they procure a job, thus ensuring that their students break out of the cycle of poverty.
Parikrma runs 4 Centres for Learning and a Junior College for 2000 children from 99 slum communities and 4 orphanages in Bangalore. Parikrma is a nondenominational nonprofit that does not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed, or religion.
History
Parikrma was founded in 2003 by Shukla Bose, who left at the peak of her career as a CEO in the hospitality industry with 26 years of experience.
In order to establish Parikrma, she and her team personally visited numerous slum communities to understand the need and context of poverty in Bangalore, as well as to identify children who would potentially never have the opportunity to attend school, and convincing their parents that education could bring about positive change in their children's lives.
The first Parikrma school began 2 June 2003 on a space rented on the rooftop of a Tamil-medium school with 165 students and 11 staff members.
Parikrma Humanity Foundation provides English medium education to the poorest from the slums of Bangalore, India. Built around the CBSE 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.
The Parikrma Model allows for a child to be mentored right from Kindergarten till the child gets a job. Parikrma manages K-12 education, through 4 Centers for Learning and a Junior College for 1802 children coming from 99 slum communities and 4 orphanages. College scholarships are given to each child to complete professional education / training.
Educational Philosophy
Parikrma's educational philosophy rests on "The Four Pillars":[5]
- Empowering children by imparting superior knowledge, mental and physical skills, and good values
- Providing real-life experience and enhancing useful life-skills
- Self-expression through art, music, dance, and other creative forms
- Exposure to a wide range of knowledge, viewpoints, activities, etc.
Academic Focus and Programs
Parikrma has adopted the CBSE English curriculum, built around the concept of understanding and making learning fun and experiential.
Parikrma operates on a 360-degree development model, supporting various aspects of a child's life. They provide three meals a day, comprehensive healthcare including regular health check-ups, immunizations, and counseling, and community support for parents, including de-addiction programs, women's empowerment, wellness workshops, vocational skills, etc.[6]
Parikrma also believes in an end-to-end (e2e) model in which they look after a child from kindergarten until they are placed in a job, ensuring that they break out of a cycle of poverty, which they call completing "the Circle of Life." Their Final Leap program aids a student in choosing the right professional course which matches their strengths and interests, or provides scholarships to pursue college or vocational training.[7] Their Last Mile program provides a professional mentor while students acclimate to their first year in the workplace.
Impact
Alumni: The first batch of Parikrma students are now pursuing higher education and beginning to enter the workforce. Alumni from Parikrma are studying at various universities in Bangalore, such as the MR Ambedkar Dental College, National Law School of India University, KLE Law College, and M. S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology. They have also pursued jobs such as a dialysis therapist at Manipal Teaching Hospital, a software engineer at Cisco Systems, and as an assistant chef at the Hilton Hotel in Bangalore. Today, there are more than 300 students pursuing higher studies sponsored by Parikrma. These students are studying law, engineering, gaming, animation, design coding, paramedical courses, fashion technology and Parikrma has opened up doors for more creative and new age career choices. Parikrma students represent the country in Global Youth Leadership Summit in San Diego, and others do book reviews with schools from Seattle, London, and Norway.
Parikrma FC: This club was born in 2013. PThey are currently Bangalore A Division team.
Parikrma Girls FC: In 2018, Parikrma formed an all-girls football club in Bangalore.
Expansion and Scale
Community Development: The Community Development Services team is manned by social workers.
Education Transformation Centre (ETC): Through ETC, launched in July 2014, Parikrma creates and offers teacher training modules to teachers, other NGO workers, school administrators and social entrepreneurs. The ETC began its operations in July, 2014. Teachers from 200 government schools are being trained and mentored to bring about change in the state education system, and Parikrma's goal is to influence 60,000 children through its Centres as well as the ETC.
Adopted 5 Government Schools: Parikrma has adopted a school in 2017 - the Maruthinagar Government School. Parikrma has signed a MoU with the Government of Karnataka to bring about a change in academics, and overall development of children and performance at government schools. Over 500 children at the school are set to benefit from this new initiative. There has been a 60% increment in enrollment and 80% attendance in the Parent Teachers Meeting since inception.
References
- "Their Akka teaches them to dream big". The Hindu. 8 February 2012.
- "Speakers Shukla Bose: Education activist". TED.
- "Destiny's child". Deccan Herald.
- "Parikrma humanity foundation at AMD". India Infoline News. 12 December 2008.
- "Education Philosophy". Parikrma Humanity Foundation.
- "360 Dev Program". Parikrma Humanity Foundation.
- "AT&T INC : AT&T Supports Parikrma Humanity Foundation to Improve Quality of Education for Under-Served Children in India". Bloomberg. 11 December 2009.