Support Sunanda Didi Keep Village Children’s Dreams Alive

In a remote agro-forest dependent village, Children master life skills. But Without Support, They May Never Learn to Thrive.

We know how to fish, how to cook for our siblings, how to grow food in our fields. But when I open my Hindi textbook, I feel lost,”

says Riddhi, a 12-year-old from Dakkotola who supports her mother in the fields every morning before going to school & is part of the after-school program at the Surta Se Srajan Learning Center.

Tucked deep in the forest area on the border of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, children in Dakkotola speak their mother tongue & native languages fluently. They’re rich in life skills but when it comes to formal schooling they struggle. 

With average annual earnings limited to ₹45,000 to ₹1,00,000, most families depend on agriculture, forest resources, and daily-wage labor. Where survival is a daily struggle, education becomes secondary. By Class 8, many drop out, not by lack of intelligence, but by the language barrier & economic hardships.

In such realities the idea of nurturing towards education feels like a distant dream. Yet their intelligence is unmatchable-rooted in lived experience, waiting to be recognised & explored. 

But something beautiful is unfolding in the heart of this region

When schools shut down during the pandemic, Sunanda Didi, a quiet yet determined local woman, opened her home and heart to the children.

“Children’s & Volunteers active participation made this happen. We started in one of our rooms as a tuition space in 2020. Later, with support from Pipilitara in 2021, we gradually built it into a full-fledged community learning center,”

says Sunanda Didi, the community resource person of Surta Se Srajan.

A Safe Space to Learn, Express and Dream

Currently the center welcomes over 60 children between the ages of 2 and 14 every week. Here, learning is not confined to textbooks. Children confidently express themselves through storytelling, song, games, art, and theatre which is also helping them to engage better in academics. They also practice farming and care for the community fields. The center honors their roots while building bridges to the future.

While working closely with nearby government schools, through activity-based and multilingual learning methods more children are getting benefited—even beyond our center

This Work Can’t Continue Without You

“We don’t have much. But what little we had, the community & pipilitara brought together—room, mats, fan & cooler, projector, various learning resources & facilitators from across the country. We are in the process of strengthening this space consistently for our children and community for the past 4 years,” says Sunanda Didi.

But now, we are reaching out to you as the center needs following support 

• Learning kit: ₹3,000 X 60 children
• Bookshelves : ₹25,000
• Literature & learning amenities: ₹20,000
• Four desktop: 80,000
• Publishing books curated by children: ₹5,000
• Renovating bathroom facilities: ₹15,000
• Facilitator’s Monthly Cost: ₹22,000 

The center is an effort to make a vibrant community-based learning model for larger communities—rich in local & global context & deeply rooted in community life. Where, children don't lose out on opportunities that can nurture their potential & enable them to contribute meaningfully in the mainstream. 

“Our children don’t need sympathy,” says Sunanda. “They need a fair chance.”

Donate Now to Help the Children of Surta Se Srajan.