Page 56 - Tehelka Issue 15 August 2018

q&A

GeetA DhArmArAjAn
author
Educating through stories

Writer, social entrepreneur and street and slums alone! loka samastha sukino bavanthu — may
educationist, Geeta Dharmarajan is Our I Love Reading (ILR) campaign all life forms be in peace.
the Executive Director of the nonprofit won the Millennium Alliance Award for Our well-written and illustrated
organisation, Katha. An award-winning frugal innovation; I was named ‘Innova- books take the Katha philosophy for-
writer for children and adults, her deep tor’. ILR is now mainstreamed; it is going ward, focusing on girls, earth, equality
interest in how children and communities national. and kindness; global warming and sus-
learn led to her starting Katha in 1988. Katha’s work matters because every tainable ecology.
With Katha having completed 30 years child reading well matters. Because Our schools proactively build the
this year, she spoke to neha kirpal about every child counts! Katha hones the leg- capacity and skills of our children to help
the incredible journey so far and Katha’s acy of multiple literatures, the wealth of their communities get out of poverty,
various unique initiatives — StoryPedagogy, people, goodwill to build our capabil- sustainably. Our strategy is to transform
community-owned & operated libraries, ity. But it pains me to still see children every child into a community leader
Katha Khazana, the THINKBOOKS series and dying of treatable diseases like diarrhoea and every child willingly contributes
the 300m Challenge campaign and dehydration, something that had to the community through sustainable
moved me 30 years back to create urbanization and consumption they
edited excerpts from an interview • Katha. It is this urgency that vitalizes learn through the curriculum.
the continuous crusade to develop I came back to India in 1985 with an
together, serve together. IBM computer and its 8 MHZ of power. I
Katha, a pioneer among publishing thanked it each day when I began Katha
houses in India, completed 30 years Katha was recently asked to extend and was designing our magazine, Tama-
this year. Tell us how the journey so the Katha Lab School Model — sha! Today, Katha has more than a hun-
far has been. StoryPedagogy — into Municipal dred computers. And everything, from
Children and stories make Katha’s Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools. our administrative, accounting, design,
universe. Enhancing the joy of reading is Tell our readers about how the teacher education and networking hap-
our mission. Since 1988, Katha’s vision is KathaInside model is transforming pen through computers, contributing
the singular idea that children can bring these schools with robotics. Also, tell enormously to my growth.
themselves out of poverty. We endow us about the Pipal Ped Vatikas (PPVs). My insistence on technology from
children with quality schools, rich story- Katha’s success with reading has brought the late 1980s has led to our setting up
books. Result? Reader-leaders! Our more the partnership with the Government of computer labs, Robotics and Modern Ap-
than 100,000 “graduates” prove this! Delhi to replicate our children reading plications for Children (MACH Hubs) in
I took India’s 2,000-year-old story- proficiencies in government schools. Katha schools for our women’s economic
telling/theatre/dance tradition to hone a A MoU has been signed that will al- growth and our Shopkeepers Guild.
powerful communication tool for teach- low Katha to help government schools We earned the Tech Museum Laure-
ers to reach joyful learning to diverse to ramp up Katha’s reading campaign. ate award at the Stockholm Challenge in
students. It inspires our storybooks. Over This took the reading campaign to 500 2001! We haven’t looked back since.
the last 20 years, my StoryPedagogy(TM) government schools. Our externally Katha has transcended physical
is used in the Katha Lab School, 500+ gov- evaluated work was so good that the boundaries with DigitalKatha. Our first-
ernment schools and many nonprofits. government has given Katha five schools of-its-kind website for government
Story makes Katha’s classes come alive, to run in 2016! school teachers (padhopyarse.net) serves
makes learning relevant and creative. A philosophy-driven organization, as an online resource. We have trained
Since 1990, we’ve revitalized margin- Katha’s MeWe Ideology that I put in place 100 cloud gurus. Each is now in charge
alized communities, attracting mass col- in 2001, fosters the idea that each student of tech-driven learning for clusters of
laboration and involvement of women becomes a responsive, responsible citi- government school teachers. In 2016,
and girls — over 250,000 from Delhi’s zen. Our students and teachers believe in we launched our ambitious 300 Million

Tehelka / 15 august 2018 56 www.Tehelka.com