Entrepreneur facilitates online mentoring for Kullu village kids
Turns cottage for tourists into learning centre amid pandemic
BOX
Empty space put to noble use
-As Ankit Sood’s cottage for tourists was lying vacant amid the pandemic, he started the Sunshine Learning Centre there.
-Students come to the centre to attend online sessions on various subjects like communication skills, photography, career guidance etc.
-These sessions are taken by volunteer mentors from across the country.
———–
Abhinav Vashisht
Kullu, September 8
Ankit Sood, an entrepreneur in the Tirthan valley of Banjar subdivision, has come up with a noble concept of providing online mentoring to students of villages in the ecozone area of the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) through volunteers across the country.
As his cottage, meant for tourists, was lying vacant due to the Covid-19 crisis, he started the ‘Sunshine Learning Centre’ there. He said he was providing free Internet connectivity for students who came to the centre to attend online classes.
Ankit said volunteers were teaching different skills to students online and some of them had even visited Banjar to take motivational sessions of students. He said this was a volunteer tourism concept, wherein people travelled for a noble cause. He said these volunteers cherished the beauty of the valley and at the same time, shared their expertise with the local community.
He said online seminars were also held by reputed persons to guide students about career options. He said children interacted with an Army colonel, a scientist from the ISRO and a computer engineer from DELL. Giving examples, he said volunteer Tarun gave insight to students in photography. Abhijeet Kothale from Mumbai donated a camera for the children. Lessons are being provided to students in English speaking and communication skills as well, he said.
He said they had also started a library at the centre. He said he wanted to set up more libraries with the help of volunteers in the remote areas of the ecozone so that interest in reading books could be created among children of rural areas. He appealed to the masses to donate books in English and Hindi languages.
Monika, a student, said she came to the Sunshine Learning Centre daily and was thankful to her mentor Nalini of Pune for teaching her English. Bhuvneshwari said through the centre, she was able to get geography classes from her mentor Nisha of Mumbai. Piyush thanked his mentor Sarita and said the centre was providing the facility free of cost, which was an appreciable step. He said motivational sessions by mentors opened up new avenues and encouraged them to opt for various professions.
——————
Caption: Students attend a motivational session at Sunshine Learning Centre in Tirthan village of Kullu on Tuesday.
