Barefoot Edu Foundation: an education NGO in Mumbai transforming lives

TO create an excellent school learning environment, is it worthwhile to invest in improving school leaders and staff members, such as principals and teachers, so that each individual is equipped with the sharpest tools and resources to create an effective and long lasting impact in the lives of their students. It is often said that a school student’s academic learning and experience is only as good as his or her teacher. For this reason, an education NGO in Mumbai called Barefoot Edu Foundation started working in schools to improve education and serve the largest youth population in the world. 

 

Barefoot Edu Foundation was founded by a former Young India Fellow, Teach for India Fellow and Harvard graduate who believed in the power and potential of transforming classrooms into stimulating environments in underserved communities. The education NGO in Mumbai, which is also active in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, believes in the grassroots effort to transform education and focuses on capacity-building and skill-building as a means to equip and empower educators to teach students to the best of their abilities and ensure sustainable and transformative learning. 

 

Barefoot Edu Foundation’s programs

The education NGO in Mumbai has two flagship programs that address two crucial areas of education: school leadership and student leadership. These two programs address the two key stakeholders – educators and students – that Barefoot Edu Foundation considers important when it comes to transforming education in a sustainable and effective manner. In upskilling educators and students, Barefoot Edu Foundation aims to make education more meaningful in a manner that changes futures for students and open doors for them to be able to earn better livelihoods and take care of their families into the future.

School Leadership program

In research conducted by Barefoot Edu Foundation, it was found that there is a dearth of training opportunities for school principals. In fact, the ratio is one leadership training institute for every 1.5 million school principals. Furthermore, it was also found that the skills of educators in India are lower than their counterparts in 7 other countries. Because of this lack of access to professional development, school management suffers and the education imparted is not as effective as it can be. This is especially important in a country like India which has a growing youth population in need of good quality education and preparation for the future. 

 

The School Leadership program is called Rehnuma and the education NGO in Mumbai focuses on coaching school principals to become effective leaders in their learning environments. The training focuses on enabling principals to use the limited resources in their school establishments in an effective manner that works toward building their schools into a robust learning environment that serves as an ideal space to train its students in the educational skills needed within the classroom and outside its walls. The program offers fortnightly coaching sessions, webinars each month and peer learning circles every 6 months to build its school leaders.

 

Barefoot Edu Foundation has Rehnuma Coaches that constantly guide the school principals as they undertake their periodic coaching sessions. The guidance offered by the coaches helps the school leaders apply their learning to their schools based on the information and skills they learned in the program. In addition to the coaching, Rehnuma has expanded to RehnumaX and Rehnuma4Gov. RehnumaX is a certification that allows educators to become coaches for other school principals. Rehnuma4Gov partners with District, State and Central Governments departments to further the development of school leaders across the country. 

 

Student Leadership program

The education NGO in Mumbai also has a student leadership program that aims to build and nurture students’ educational and 21st century skills to prepare them to step out into the world once they complete their education. The program, called Junoon, has worked with more than 4,000 students across 10 states by offering students opportunities to develop their creative skills and explore a multitude of future career options. When students are given the chance to discover their potential and express themselves in a creative manner, their futures become brighter since they are now equipped with future academic and employment skills.

Barefoot Edu Foundation also has a sports coaching program called The Right Pitch which uses sports to unlock potential and possibilities in children and young people and teach them valuable lessons in individual strength and team work, which textbook learning alone cannot do. Sports is a powerful tool that educators use to help students build strong relationships with themselves and with others and The Right Pitch does this effectively. The program motivates the students and delights them with activities such as the 130 girls who had the chance to watch a Women’s Premier League Match in Mumbai’s International Stadium.

 

Support Barefoot Edu Foundation

When you support Barefoot Edu Foundation, you enable this innovative and enterprising education NGO in Mumbai to build the capacities of educators and students across India. In making school environments more vibrant and conducive to learning and future employment, Barefoot Edu Foundation is focusing on the large youth population of the country and ensuring that they are given access to the skills and opportunities they need and deserve to have a bright and prosperous future in which they are able to earn a decent living and have careers that allow them to support their families. To support Barefoot Edu Foundation:

 

Support Barefoot Edu Foundation

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