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there is an inherent fear
of learning
among children from
marginalized communities due to their social
conditioning. But if these same children
are given opportunity, access and exposure
to education, they have been seen to fight
against the odds and emerge transformed and
empowered. Makkala Jagriti’s child-centric
work in Karnataka is based on this belief, and
on its excellent motto: ‘Where you are born
should not limit how far you go.’
‘Within the first six years of inception,
Makkala Jagriti partnered with the Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan towards institutionalising its
holistic development model with government
schools. Following this, we partnered with the
Department of Women and Child Development
in 2007-08 and started our interventions in
government Child Care Institutions, at a time
when there were hardly any NGOs working in
that space,’ says Sunayana Chatrapathy, CEO,
Makkala Jagriti.
is engagement with public education
institutions like government schools and
anganwadis has had tremendous impact. e
story of Maralukunte anganwadi illustrates this
perfectly: a space that was transformed by the
NGO’s interventions, including materials and
activities for the children, as well as training
Makkala Jagriti
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Developing fine motor skills and brighter futures
Following pages (176–177):
Story time at the anganwadi,
opening minds and widening horizons
Founded by Joy Srinivasan in 2003
Makkala Jagriti aims to create a value-
based social movement to empower
children and their communities
towards a brighter future through
holistic development models. It works
with early childhood education,
primary education and youth in
multiple districts across Karnataka,
having cumulatively reached over
80,000 children and 500+ institutions.
Its programmes creating safe, non-
threatening spaces where children
and youth can learn and develop,
and access quality learning learn to
grow into confident and self-assured
individuals, who are aware of their
talents and potential.