As part of The Walls of Learning Project, a community outreach programme, 40 students of Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science, Margao, recently painted the walls of an anganwadi
RAMANDEEP KAUR | NT KURIOCITY
A typical classroom wall usually includes a few informative posters such as on alphabets or vegetables or an inspirational quote. However, while these are great at conveying the theme, they do not help in facilitating learning, believes head of the Department of Sociology of Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science Autonomous-Margao Sachin Savio Moraes.
As part of the Community Outreach Project, a group of students from the sociology department, under the guidance of Moraes and assistant professors Siana D’Mello and Valeska Gracias, undertook the painting of the walls of an anganwadi in Velipwadda-Balli.
Moraes says the project is one of a kind by undergraduate students and is based on the concept that the walls of a classroom could also be used for learning. “The project is based on visual learning. A lot of times, school children tend to keep looking. If you have walls that can teach, it is much easier for a teacher to teach the syllabus too. Plus, the child feels excited to be in school.”
Moraes adds that the idea had been on his mind for some time but could not be executed because of the pandemic. Once the situation normalised, he shared the idea with D’Mello and Gracias. “We then started looking out for a place in terms of a school or anganwadi, where we could implement the idea. Our students were very excited and happy that they would be able to contribute to the greater good of society and especially towards children. They felt a sense of attachment to this because many of them could recollect their kindergarden days as well as balwadis, where some had been to.”
For the project, the students were divided into six groups and each group was assigned a wall on which they had to make a design based on the curriculum that was presented to them by the anganwadi teacher. The walls were creatively designed with English and Hindi alphabets, days of the week, months of the year, magic words, colours, shapes, and rainbow colours. The group stayed in the panchayat hall for the period of this project and had to walk 2km every day to get to the anganwadi. The project was aided by funds generated by ex-students, students, and teachers.
The project aims to inspire other youth and teachers across Goa to replicate this project. Moraes states that he will be happy to share his knowledge and inputs and wants to go back to the anganwadi in a couple of months to see the impact the walls have had on learning. “We want to do something more in this respect too but we will have to check need-based analysis of the school as well as the people around and accordingly plan for the future.”
Students share their experiences
Being a part of the project gave us insights on how children travel long distances just to get an education. Painting the walls and beautifying the school gave me a unique satisfaction. The painted walls will not only be helpful in visual learning but will also create beautiful memories for the children and our students who helped make the Walls of Learning Project successful.” – Saee Gore
As a student of sociology, it was a great opportunity to be a volunteer in this project. Working and living in an environment completely different from my daily life gave me an insight into life away from cities and how people thrive in conditions vastly different from ours. Seeing the people and children there made me understand that one can lead a peaceful and happy life even if you don’t have modern technology. Plus, it offers a chance to be closer to nature. Our main focus while drawing on the walls was to give hope to the students and their parents. Seeing the happiness on the faces of the children made me realise how a small act of kindness can change someone’s life for good.” – Namitha Harish
The children were so happy to see the beautiful walls. Their parents, too, were impressed with our work. Though it was a small thing, we, as students, felt good to do something small for those children.” – Medora Freny Fernandes
Being a part of the Walls of Learning Project was an amazing experience. This project served as a community outreach programme as part of the organisation’s yearly course-based field and experiential learning. After seeing the anganwadi’s makeover, children’s faces were filled with happiness.” – Khushi Sawant
This was a wonderful opportunity for us to do something for society and for the small children whose future lies in our hands. It was a beautiful experience for all of us. Since we are sociology students, society is our concern and by taking this step, we are proud of ourselves as we have practically helped society. Seeing the little ones smiling motivated us to develop our society in a better way.” – Steffi Souza
