Essar Foundation in partnership with AGC Networks has embarked upon a noble initiative of supporting education of 67 differently abled children at Amar Jyoti School in Delhi and Gwalior. Amar Jyoti School is part of Delhi-based Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust.
The initiative is in line with Essar’s commitment towards providing holistic and inclusive education to students from all walks of life. The goal being to enable and empower the students of Amar Jyoti School with special aids and tools to ensure they get quality education despite the challenges, including the ones posed by the ongoing global pandemic of C-19.
Amar Jyoti School, a subsidiary of Amar Jyoti Education Trust was founded in early 1980s by Padmashree Dr. Uma Tuli. It was the first school providing an inclusionary education for disabled children. With the motto of insuring that people of all abilities are cohesively integrated into the society, the school puts disabled and able bodied students in same classrooms to ensure that they understand each other’s needs and become sensitive, inclusive citizens upon graduation.
Essar Foundation team visited the Delhi campus on 19th of March 2021 to see the impact created from Essar’s joint efforts and sponsored by AGC Networks. The team was greeted by the management, staff, teachers and enthusiastic students of Amar Jyoti School. After the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by Essar Foundation team and Dr. Tuli, the students regaled the guests with an enthralling dance performance.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Dominic Dsouza, COO, Essar Foundation, re-affirmed Essar’s continued support to the cause of an inclusive education. Dr. Tuli reiterated the moral force of the institute’s motto, “Disability is not inability.”
A campus tour was organized where the team was introduced to the initiatives of Amar Jyoti beyond classroom education. Besides, the institute runs a jewelry making unit, a weaving unit, and a beauty culture unit so as to enable its students to develop economically viable skills, to sustain themselves. Additionally, the institute houses a medical center comprising of an eye-care centre and a workshop for making prosthetic limbs for students.
Similarly, the team visited the Amar Jyoti School’s campus in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, which is situated amidst farms on outskirts of the city. The school is a magnificent edifice representing ideals of inclusivity and community building for the local populace. Spread across thre acres of land, the building houses a high school, a teachers training centre, a medical clinic, and dedicated workshops for pottery, weaving, printing, beauty culture and tailoring.
The school is home to more than 400 students from all over Gwalior. It is a sanctuary for these kids who might not have access to education had it not been for Amar Jyoti’s inclusive pedagogical approach.
Aware of the limited opportunities available for differently abled students, the school runs multiple skill development centres which teach students specific skills like tailoring, pottery, painting etc. This is done to ensure that students are able to find meaningful employment and are socially and financially secure.
The visits reiterated Essar Foundation’s commitment for rehabilitation of differently abled children and to ease their inclusion into society at-large.
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