Naushad Khan, Director of ShineShine Foundation, working towards development of urban slums in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi, started in 2006 in the slums of Jagdamba camp, Panchsheel Vihar. Initiated with the aim to support marginalized children through educational opportunities, today Shine has expanded to Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and Lakkarpur (Faridabad, Haryana) with a comprehensive and integrated community development program serving the needs of not only the children but also the youth and women. From being an educational support organization we now have ventured in to skill development, livelihood, healthcare, women empowerment, child rights etc. with an aim to contribute towards the breaking the shackles of poverty existing in the urban slum of India.

Naushad Khan

Naushad Khan

In our quest to support the marginalized several people gradually got associated with us either as a full time employee or as volunteers.  At the beginning of the program we heard phrases like “one more group of Volunteers to entertain” and “not again!” from our centres. To which we could only reply “just wait and watch”.

The journey with the Suas Volunteers started in June 2013, when a group of ten Irish Volunteers with their objective to learn about and support the education system in India, entered the premises of Shine.

They not only portrayed sincerity but also eagerness to learn more. Their attitude of sharing the knowledge succored teachers and student to experience a new way of learning altogether. Various fun frolic activities with children, English classes with teachers established a strong bond between Suas Volunteers and Shine members. In no time the Volunteers transitioned from “they” to “us” for Shine.  Today when we visit our centres, not only we see chart papers or TLM’s (teaching learning material) displaying various concepts in syllabus but also overhear our children and teachers making efforts to converse in English, in an effort to minimize the language barrier in anticipation for another group.

Ten weeks of rigorous work of the Volunteers, teachers and students has given a new shape to our centres that beautifies our educational efforts and encourage us to initiate more such programs with Suas Volunteers in future.

By the end of the program we sensed the impact left behind by the volunteers on Shine. The tears of our teachers, children and the Volunteers stood testimony of the success of the program.

– Naushad Khan, Director of Shine Foundation.

Find out more about how you can work overseas as a teaching assistant with an organisation like Shine.

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