Anju: Impactful learning growth of a Delhi mother
A Mother, tutor and a community leader; she wears many hats
Anju Shankar lives with her husband and three children in Delhi. Her eldest daughter is in Grade 6, her second daughter is in Grade 2, and her youngest child is a son who is 3+ years old and has recently started going to school.
Anju’s eldest daughter used to go to the Anganwadi center in 2014-15, but she was unhappy with the way the activities were conducted and it did not enhance her daughter’s learning growth. Her daughter had trouble speaking in Hindi since Tamil was the language spoken at home. Anju was forced to take her out of the Anganwadi and send her to a play school.
Anju's middle daughter started to go to the Anganwadi in 2019, and that is when Anju became associated with Pratham. The activities conducted with Pratham's staff engaged her daughter, and she learned a lot. Her spoken language and diction improved, and she learned counting, identifying colors, and more. Later, her son also attended the same Anganwadi center.
Anju is also the leader of the mothers' group. She says she's reliving her childhood through her association with the group. The mothers' group is a support system for her, where she is learning new methods to teach and engage with her child. In fact, she's applied those methods to teach older students who come to her for tuition.