Building as a Learning Aid

My first shot at "Building as a Learning Aid" (or BALA) project in the Fellowship after a year and a half of refusing to get out of bed on Sundays.


At the hugeeeeee municipal school in Mumbra where one building houses 13 schools, 6500 kids, but does not having any drinking water facility.

Pioneered by one of our program leaders - Husein - in Mumbai's municipal schools when he was a Fellow, BALA helps to make schools colourful and vibrant so that kids don't feel like they are not privileged enough to get the 'private school feel' like others who can afford it. The idea struck Husein when one of the children in these schools told him how his school was not as pretty as other private ones, and that demotivated him from coming to school.


What happened next went on to make Husein a true 'Human of Bombay' - here is his story - and it felt great to be a small part of this journey.

BALA is not just used for aesthetic purposes, but also to help children learn through pictures like science diagrams, multiplication tables, clocks and alphabets drawn on the walls, such that they get repeated exposure to these on a daily basis.

First picture with the school kids

Almost been a year, and finally my first picture WITH the kids. This was after I was dragged into the class for pre-Gudi Padwa celebrations and force-fed bhel that they made and a pretty expensive cookie that they just had to share with me.

This lot helped me realize how much I love to teach kids. Sohail - the one on whose head my hand is - was one of my favourites who knew Honey Singh's Blue Eyes by heart but went Moo for the goat in Old MacDonald's farm.