The Ashoka Tree Blog

How lucky were you to attend preschool - how lucky are our children that we can choose from numerous preschools in the neighborhood? The UNICEF report out on Tuesday says "In India, out of the 74 million children between 3-6 years, about 20 million were not attending any preschool education in 2014, and it is the children from the poorest families and marginalised communities who are often left behind."  THINK. If your child had been one of the 20 million, what would you h ave done? What could you have done? What CAN you do about it now? There are preschools across the country, but not all of them have toys, not all of them have blackboards, and not all of them have books. Help make a change.   Get in touch - help change those statistics! Spread More Smiles! http://data.unicef.org/ecd/early-childhood-education.html

There are times when a table means so much more than just a place where you pile books and papers up.  When a chair is so much more than just another seat. Thank you Sridhar & Shanthi Sreenivasan, for giving us furniture that has so much emotional value, for giving us things that mean so much to you personally - for a greater cause. The children and teachers at these three anganwadis are so much happier today for this.  Thank You!

It's the beginning of the school year for most children here in India, and every child has the lovely anticipation that comes with the onset of a new year - new books, new bags, new shoes, new everything! Anganwadis, however, tell a different story.  There is no concept of a new school year - anganwadis run throughout the year, with no breaks except for weekends and public holidays.  Anganwadi children don't have the opportunity of beginning a term with new notebooks and new crayons, forget about new coloring books. A big huge shout out to the dentists at the Indian Dental Association, Kochi, who got together and collected not just notebooks and coloring books, but crayons, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and even CFL bulbs! The 30 teachers who have gotten classroom supplies this month are overjoyed, and their smiles speak more than a thousand words.  Thank You! You have helped spread more smiles!