This month, Plus Education officially turns 10! To commemorate the milestone and the start of our registered organisational status ten years ago in India, our CEO Swetha Prakash has penned a few words reflecting on our journey and achievements over the years.
It all began in a small village in India. A year before Plus was formally registered as an organisation, we had already begun our work with rural communities in India, paving the way for our work to follow. We set up our first community-based after-school learning centres “Pods” in the villages of Marenahalli and Kannur, hiring women from the local community to run and facilitate program learning. Very soon after, we opened six more pods, enrolling a total of 300 children from the villages.
The model was simple—children would attend classes five days a week, for an hour after school. What initially began as both Math & English learning was modified over the years to support English only, filling an identifiable need in the communities. Here, they would learn to read, write and speak English through a combination of lessons, activities and games. The pod facilitators were usually women for whom this was an opportunity to contribute to the family income and develop their own skills.
In early 2013, we officially registered ourselves as an organisation in India. This was the first step in an exciting journey that took us to places we never imagined we would go, teaching us lessons that helped us get stronger and more determined every day! Today, ten years later, as I look back at this journey, I cannot help but feel a sense of pride in seeing how far we have come, all the things we have managed to accomplish and most importantly, all the lives we have impacted along the way.
What began in a small rural village in India, has now extended further to Cambodia and Indonesia, impacting and empowering more than 20,000 learners and 300 teachers along the way. In this time, we have transitioned from the Pod to a classroom-based model; forged meaningful partnerships with governments, government-aided institutions, for-purpose organisations and corporates; persevered through two years of COVID-related school closures and through it all, remained focused on our mission of making quality learning resources accessible to learners on the margins of the developing world.
To all those who have supported us over the years—thank you for your belief, kindness and efforts towards helping us to tackle the digital divide and continue providing access to quality learning opportunities. You are very much part of our story and we could not have come this far without you.
My hope moving forward is that we can continue our journey with the same strength and resilience as always, so that, in another ten years from now, we can look back with pride and joy at the impact we have had on the world and the children, teachers and communities we work with.
If you’ve been involved with Plus Education (formerly 40K) over the past ten years and have a story that you’d like to share with us, we’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with our Communications Manager, Lizzie: elisabeth@pluseducation.org
