Potali
0 to 3 years is the most important period in a Child’s life. Neuroscience research conclusively shows that a Child’s potential to learn develops most rapidly in the first three years of life. The child learns best when he is in a familiar environment with familiar care given. The most ideal learning environment is thus the home- and the most ideal teachers are the parent or care givers. In the Project ‘Taking Education to Homes’ we empower the care-givers with the skills, knowledge and resources for helping the development of their children.
Six Potali Sakhis work in Potali project at present. Three of them belong to the same locality where we work and so know the area and people well. They have received the first six day training by our partner, Kishor Mitr Trust based in Pune.
Each Potali Sakhi has a potali bag with different toys. The toys include soft toys, dolls, blocks, cars, soft balls etc. Only a few relevant toys are carried to the houses for each visit, keeping in mind the age of children they are visiting.
A parent meeting is conducted fortnightly, in which different aspects of child rearing practices are discussed. Fathers are encouraged to attend these meetings.