by Communications Intern Tanay Kagal
On 20th January 2023, we distributed certificates to students of the 2nd batch of Digital Lab students. There were also some students from the 1st batch who couldn’t complete the course earlier (due to extra-curricular achool activities or playing sports in the evenings) and have now completed with the help of catch-up classes. In total, 75 students from both batches received their certificates.
It was wonderful to have members of Straive, which supports the Digital Lab and Language Lab as well as the Seeds of Change program, present. It was our pleasure to receive Mr. Arindam Das, Senior VP, Operations; Mr. Ezhil Arasan, VP, Finance; and Ms. Shazeedaa Mohameid, Manager. Sharana’s Program Managers also spoke a few words for this event. After three months of after-school learning, we thought it would be nice to organise a graduation-like event, complete with handmade graduation caps and a physical certificate with their names, to celebrate the students and give the next batch of children something to look forward to.
The 3rd batch of students began classes on the 5th of January.
Computer Basics is a 3-month course available for underprivileged children and youth at a Sharana’s Digital Lab. Each batch has 60 children (2 batches of 30). The Digital Lab program was launched in July 2022 to bridge the digital divide. During the pandemic when all education was online, this divide became the cause of many children missing out on their schooling for almost two years, since a student needed at least a smartphone, if not a computer, and an Internet connection to attend the classes.
The course will also aid the students in finding future employment, since computer literacy is a useful skill and a gateway to acquiring many highly marketable skills that employers may value.
We are grateful to Straive for their support of Sharana’s programs.
