In a country like India, education is the key to a better future. However, for many marginalised children, access to quality education remains a distant dream. Poverty, social inequality, and lack of resources often prevent these children from receiving a proper education, which hinders their growth and development. Recognising this need, Prafulla Shashikant and his team founded the Vowels of People Association (VOPA), a non-profit organization that works towards promoting social justice and improving the education of underprivileged children. Through their various initiatives, VOPA aims to provide these children with the tools and resources they need to succeed and create a better future for themselves and their communities.
Vowels of the People Association is a group of young social activists with backgrounds in engineering and management. They work under the direction of Padmashree Dr Abhay Bang and Dr Girish Kulkarni intending to advance social justice and thereby aid the impoverished. They established the “Vowels of the People Association” 2018 to help the underprivileged.
With the help of VOPA, impoverished school children receive an education that fosters equality of opportunity and self-worth. It offers facilitation, advice, and training services to grassroots organisations, schools, social movements, and youngsters. Prafulla S, Rutuja J, Ninad K, Pankaj S, Rahul B, Dr Pratima K, Sudhir J, Mehar S, Rahul W, Shahid M, and Amol K are the minds behind VOPA.
They engage mainly in three types of interventions like V-School, Teacher Empowerment and School Transformation.
V-School
V-School is a free online tool and mobile application for assisting impoverished children with their issues. It provides access to free online educational resources for students who are learning in their native tongue. This method is adaptable to any district, state, or curriculum.
School Transformation
They collaborate with particular schools to enhance children’s educational opportunities by enhancing teacher capabilities and fostering sustainable cultures and procedures.
Teacher Empowerment
The most essential factor in improving the learning environment for pupils is increasing teacher capacity. To address the difficulties in growing teacher capacity, VOPA has created a special lesson preparation module. Through this, teachers can improve their topic knowledge and teaching abilities.
Prafulla Shashikant, the Founder and Director at VOPA, came from a lower middle-class family from Beed, Maharastra, who had faced many challenges resulting in the founding of VOPA in 2018. Through this organisation as a medium, he works to ensure the right to quality education for children of low-income families in the state.
Janeev
After finishing school, he began to focus on social issues. To pursue mechanical engineering, he relocated to Aurangabad. Along with two of his friends, he founded Janeev, a group for young social activists.
Changing life goals
Following graduation, he decided to work in the civil service to help the nation. He advanced to the main exams. However, he had to interrupt his studies midway because his mother had been diagnosed with cancer at the time.
Nirman
Prafulla Shashikant joined Nirman, an initiative to mobilise youth for social change led by Padma Shri Dr Abhay Bang because he wanted to make a significant contribution to society.
Kumar Nirman
Inspired by Kumar Nirman’s efforts and philosophy, Prafulla took charge of a group that aimed to raise awareness about social issues and the importance of education for children. Realising that the project was geared towards the most talented young minds, he decided to partner with children from underprivileged backgrounds. Within six months, Prafulla and his friends established the Vowels of People Association.
Power of technology in bringing social change
For him, education is the most effective way to solve social issues. It affects future generations. Now, VOPA collaborates closely with the government, educators, school administrators, parents, and students to help the children of marginalised communities access their constitutional right to education. The VOPA team developed V-school to respond to the student’s inability to pay for online education as the disease spread. The V-School website was converted into the V-School app in June 2021 to make the curriculum more approachable, inexpensive, and user-friendly.
Prafulla and her team reach out to help society with technology and VOPA interventions, and they provide all children with access to high-quality, free, and accessible online learning options. Vschool helped more than 30 lakh children during the time of the pandemic. VOPA has now trained 2,000 instructors, reduced the number of female dropouts, and collaborated closely with the government, teachers, school administrators, parents, and students. Prafulla and his team’s establishment of VOPA and its initiatives significantly contribute to creating a positive impact on society.