You have desire, dedication but not the means to follow your dreams? TAP it

With the aim to let all children have the opportunity to learn at least one thing they are passionate about that will help them acquire other life skills, the foundation for the core philosophy of TAP

Ashish Kothari (name changed), was constantly bullied and called out by his classmates for having an affinity for music, dance and art, over sports. He was teased for most of his school life for being “feminine”. As a result, he became quiet and aloof; until his teachers helped him by talking and eventually teaching him art and dance. It took a while, but the little boy made an effort and enhanced his skills that made him more confident and in that process, made his peers realise how good he was at art and dance.

Another teenage girl lost her father when she was in Class V. The loud, cheerful and bubbly girl became a recluse. She remained silent and unresponsive even after enrolling herself in a public speaking course. After two months into that course, while being part of a debate on alcohol and its effects, she asked the students to be quiet and proceeded to give a monologue. It was about how alcohol took her father’s life and consequently changed the family's life forever. By the end of the monologue, everyone was in tears. That girl had finally found her safe space where she could heal and grow.

Imagine having the passion, dedication and desire but not the means to follow your dreams. Imagine not being able to say what you feel for fear of being judged or worse, hating yourself for it. These are just the stories of the two children out of hundreds who have found an avenue to come and express themselves and their passion. That avenue being “The Apprentice Project” (TAP).

Formed in 2016, TAP is the brainchild of Anand Gopakumar, Prashant Kumar, and Monica Pesswani. The organisation started with a vision to empower children in low-income schools and to make them realise who they are and what they can achieve. Currently, it works with around 1,600 students across 16 schools in Pune with over 110 facilitators. Almost 75 per cent of their students are applying what they learn and 88 per cent of the students are showing an increase in confidence in their daily lives.

“It (TAP) started when Anand and I were full-time teaching fellows for Teach For India. We observed that no one asks the children what they want to learn and this is more common for the students in government schools. And with the background they are coming from, they don’t have a lot of options” says Kumar.

With the aim to let all children have the opportunity to learn at least one thing they are passionate about that will help them acquire other life skills, like communication, team work, critical thinking etc, the foundation for the core philosophy of TAP was laid. The facilitators, from different walks of life volunteer to teach these kids every Saturday, for two hours for a minimum of one year. These volunteers intervene across the verticals of performing arts, visual arts, sports, and technical arts to mentor students using TAP’s life-skills based curriculum.

When asked if there was any resistance from parents or schools, Gopakumar says, “None of the parents or the schools we’ve approached were hesitant towards the idea of adding co-curricular activities. The challenge for them however, was lack of opportunities for kids. After our first year at Teach For India, we realised that children don't want to come to school. They are just coming because everyone tells them to at least pass Class X. They didn't have any motivation.” “Once we introduced some activities, we realised that the children were actually interested and involved,” he adds.

While funding remains a challenge for TAP,  the founders feel stable and plan to expand to Mumbai by March.

According to National Employability Report and India Skills report 2017, 32 per cent kids drop out of school because they think that education is unnecessary and enrolment of 77 per cent in Class X drops down to 52 per cent in Class XII. TAP attempts to change this. Apart from expanding geographically, they plan to enhance the opportunities and exposure to these kids via external workshops and competitions. They also plan on arranging for internships at all the schools they are currently present.

“The idea was to bring a change in this world, make a difference. Little did I know that this entire experience will change me as a person. Through TAP, I’ve received a family. A family that will ensure that lives of millions of families across the country change and we do create an equal tomorrow for everybody” says Pesswani who also calls every day at TAP "a great learning experience".

These young, energetic and hopeful youngsters don’t have much of a choice to begin with. Life and opportunities are not served to them on a platter. It isn’t a fairy tale. But should that be their story for the rest of their lives? TAP and the hundreds of facilitators are helping them to change their narrative and break away from the shackles of economic burden.