Ajmer Adult Education Association (AAEA), a registered voluntary organization, has been working in Ajmer district since 1971. Our goal all along has been to bring positive change in the lives of the poor, excluded, marginalized, and minority sections and enthusing them to educate themselves. We believe that education is an indispensable tool to bring about social transformation. AAEA has a committed team of workers who are working hard towards the concretization of this goal and empowerment of women and men, children and adolescents. AAEA has its Head Office at Ajmer and a Field Office in Sarwar.
We envision a society in which every woman, child and man is entitled to a life of dignity and where everyone is free to participate in taking decisions affecting social, cultural, economic and political aspects of her / his life. AAEA has a vision of an equitable society marked by fraternity and social justice.
AAEA Mission
First and foremost, to work for the poor, deprived and marginalized sections of society, which are generally village people, so that they claim their due share in the benefits of development. To ensure and nurture gender justice by empowering women and adolescent girls. Special care is taken to address women in all the activities of AAEA. To engage in critical partnership with the government and forge alliances with other actors of civil society, such as people’s movements and networks, women’s groups, academics and researchers to strengthen and consolidate people’s empowerment processes already in motion.
AAEA Interventions so far
During the last thirty eight years of its existence, AAEA has successfully undertaken various projects like Non Formal Education (NFE), One Thousand House Hold Industries (HHI), National Adult Education Programme (NAEP), Women’s Health and Domestic Violence, Lok Jumbish Project (LJP), and Doosara Dashak to name a few. During its infancy, AAEA worked to educate jail inmates and child labour. AAEA also made a breakthrough in educating Muslim women and girls living in the ‘walled’ Ajmer city. These women and girls were also empowered economically by relevant vocational trainings. These experiences gave AAEA confidence and resolve to economically empower poor womenfolk in general. State Industry Department sponsored One Thousand House Hold Industries (HHI) project to realize the dream of economic empowerment. Similar efforts were made through Training for Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM) and Schedule Caste Youth Training for Self Employment (SCYTE).
AAEA strongly believes that education is the most powerful medium of change. In 1971 AAEA adopted a village Bisudani and was successful in making the village totally literate within a short span of two years. Bisudani was the first village to achieve total literacy in Ajmer district long before the concept of total literacy was even heard of. Bisudani experience enthused AAEA to work more ambitiously in Central Government sponsored National Adult Programme. Intensive and sustained efforts were made in Arain and Pisangan blocks through NAEP, NFE and Post Literacy and Continuing Education programmes. An independent IIM(A) evaluation rated AAEA efforts very highly. It was observed that many poor and deprived boys and girls in villages and towns left or dropped out of the mainstream of formal education. AAEA found it imperative to address their needs through NFE projects. Later these efforts continued under Lok Jumbish Project and Doosara Dashak. These projects aimed at universalization of adolescents’ and children’s education by enhanced community participation and qualitative improvement in government-run schools. IRANGAN Reading Clubs were added to some schools to make learning a more joyful experience for children.
Currently, AAEA is running a project called ‘Education and Development of Adolescents in Arain Block’ in fifty villages. This project is oriented towards providing a value-based and integrated education and to ensure the participation of the beneficiaries in the process of social change. As a part of this project, we work with villages from all age groups, particularly adolescents and youth. This involves school children, school dropouts and illiterates who are not only provided education but are also given the opportunity to acquire different life skills for their all round development.
AAEA Capacity Building efforts
Various trainings have been conducted from time to time to orient, re-orient and enable the functionaries of AAEA to be more effective in their efforts. AAEA has a number of capable, experienced trainers and resource persons who team up to train different groups. In initial years of the organization AAEA effectively trained two groups of national volunteers under National Social Volunteer Scheme. Many of these volunteers later joined the AAEA team. Under Women’s Development Programme (WDP) of the state government, AAEA initiated a state-level resource centre for WDP functionaries, IDARA (Information Development and Resource Agency) and effectively-trained grassroot women functionaries. Many groups were empowered through IDARA’s trainings. Sathing Ro Kagad, a bulletin for semi-literate Saathins (grassroot women functionaries of WDP) and village women, was effective in keeping them abreast of concepts and developments. AAEA, while working for WDP, felt a strong need to address adolescent girls. A training of trainers (TOT) was organized on reproductive health for grassroot social activists. Dairying being an important and crucial means of livelihood in countryside Ajmer, trainings were also conducted for barefoot veterinary doctors.
Shikshakarmis, LJ functionaries, DD workers and instructors, supervisors of NAEP & NFE were effectively trained from time to time. Role of women panchs and sarpanchs is crucial in good governance, hence district-level trainings were organized to empower and orient these women leaders.
AAEA Resources
Appreciating AAEA’s pro-poor, pro-Dalit and gender-sensitive stance, central and state governments have financially helped AAEA since its inception. We have also received financial aid and assistance from UNICEF, British Council, NABARD, ACCORD, Delhi, and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Mumbai. We also accept donations from individuals. Such donations by Indian
citizens are exempt from Income tax under 80-G. Owing to participatory methods and transparency in its entire work, AAEA is identified by its integrity.
Future vision
After working for society for almost four decades AAEA now plans to funnel down its focus to the rights of the poor, excluded and marginalized sections in Rajasthan. AAEA team would endeavour to take up rights based work so that deprived women, children and men are enabled to claim their full rights as Indian citizen.
Contact:
Ajmer Adult Education Association
Kanta Marwah Bhawan,
Vidyut Marg, Shastri Nagar Extention, AJMER 305006
Tel. +1452424592,
Email : ajadultedu@gmail.com
Good work . Keep it up !
ReplyDeleteTaposh