The Torchbearer: The Green Thumb Lady

Education

September 22, 2021

The Torchbearer: The Green Thumb Lady

When the lockdown of 2020 was relaxed and support staff returned to the AMK campus, they found it in complete disarray. The 2.8 acre campus and sprawling gardens were a mess – a far cry from the clean, manicured gardens AMK usually sports.

Gurmeet Kaur, one of AMK’s Assistant Trained Teachers, looked around and had an idea. With no children on campus and with little to do, she decided to start tidying up as the AMK gardener had a comorbidity of diabetes and wouldn’t be returning for some time. Her aim? To return AMK to its former glory.

Prior to the pandemic, Gurmeet had never gardened in her life! With so much time on her hands during lockdown, she put it to good use – learning as much as she could from YouTube and planting her very own kitchen garden, which thrived under her newfound green thumb.

And so Gurmeet took charge of the campus clean-up, taking on one garden bed at a time – clearing broken branches, dead plants, dried leaves, and propagating new plants to replace them in pots, which she happily painted.

Buoyed by the slow transformation she was seeing, she mobilised other support staff to help her, and soon the old AMK they once knew, began to emerge. Inspired by the hard work and progress of the support staff, soon teachers got involved and the exercise was not only productive for the environment, but a wonderful camaraderie also emerged.

This driven ‘leader’ is a far cry from the meek housewife Gurmeet once was over 19 years ago. At that time she lost her husband, and as a widow, Ambuja Foundation gave her an opportunity at AMK.

19 years on, today Gurmeet is the pride of AMK and epitomises the spirit of Ambuja Foundation – passion, hard work, drive and commitment. We applaud Gurmeet for being such a wonderful grassroots leader during the most difficult time.

Impact

2.8 acres of campus garden transformed
100-120 new plants grown
20-25 pots painted and beautified
All 21 staff members mobilized

Tags: Education

September 22, 2021

The Torchbearers: Digital Dyanmo

September 22, 2021

When COVID-19 closed the doors of his classroom in 2020, Giridhar Panghate hadto think outside the box to reach, and teach, his students. What started as a WhatsApp group of 3-4 students, swelled to 6000 students on Zoom, when Giridhar tried his hand at making educational videos and lvie streaming in classes.
Poor Language Skills Contributing to Poor Reading

October 27, 2021

Many of us assume that higher classes and board examinations are the only critical parts of a child’s education journey. However, this assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. It is the early school years, between the ages 3-8 years, which are the most important, as this is where core foundational skills such as ‘reading’ are developed – and without them firmly in place, children flounder as they progress through school.
'Unstoppable' - Ambuja Foundation launches Coffee Table Book

February 25, 2022

The inspiring stories of Ambuja Foundation’s beneficiaries have been captured in a stunning coffee table book format – highlighting their perseverance and ‘unstoppable’ drive in pursuing their livelihoods and passions.
Tackling Teacher Absenteeism with ‘Balmitra’s’

May 27, 2022

Walk into rural government schools, and you will often find a number of the teachers ‘absent’ from the classroom. In fact, according to Pratham’s ASER study, before the pandemic, approximately 30%, or roughly one in three teachers, were found to be absent on any given day in rural areas. The cost of this? Teacher absence in India in 2019-20 cost the country approximately Rs. 333.97 billion (USD 4.6 billion)*. However, the cost to children is much higher - the loss of their education and future potential.
The 18 Year Old who was Born to Serve

September 15, 2022

At just 18 years of age, Beant is no stranger to social work. She got her first taste of it at the age of 11 as an Adolescent Peer Educator, and was hooked! As the primary driver of Ambuja Foundation’s Women Empowerment Programme in her community, Beant is a busy teen – juggling social work duties, studies in Tally, household chores and of course – all important time with friends!