e-quality in learning

Till date, there is clear disparity between the wealthier population and poorer population in terms of availability of resources, opportunities available, accessibility to various kinds of aids etc. Poorer youth aren't exposed to equal learning opportunities, and instead as often seen, made to work at their tender age instead of getting educated. This is the birth of child labour in India. Moreover, even those who seek education aren't given opportunities in par with the middle class youth of the nation due to reasons such as lack of educators, inaccessibility due to distant geographic location, lack of initiatives and opportunities for their assistance etc.

EdLodge Foundation is trying to impart Education particularly to children of rural India, in a lodge-like setting- an environment where the student can converse casually with their urban counterparts. As EdLodge Foundation's volunteers, we are widely approachable teens ourselves, and try to make the learning experience interesting as well as fun for the student. We are keen on assisting children in need with their academic difficulties as we ardently believe that they deserve resources that will let them thrive. 

In the process, these rural/needy children are directly exposed to modern resources and are made familiar with the same. They gain knowledge directly from an urban counterpart (their personal tutor, who is a volunteer at EdLodge Foundation), who teaches and approaches problems in a more "21st century" manner. 

Tutoring normally happens online, hence involves technology such as usage of basic gadgets (eg phones), and an internet connection. Otherwise, the tutors also tutor on a Normal phone call if a student owns a key-pad phone! As most of the parents of such kids work through the daytime, the students get access to the phones usually in the evening. To add to the flexibility and approachability for the needy kids, our volunteers conduct sessions at any mutually convenient time of the day and week, teach any topic that the student asks for, and takes as frequently, just as per the requirement of the student concerned. Therefore, EdLodge Foundation aims to make learning as accessible, enjoyable and straightforward as possible.

Our solution of free, accessible education is directly helpful to rural, underprivileged and needy youth of India. It tends to help parents in a way that their burden of unaffordable and inaccessible education is eliminated. As a result, these children can perform better academically, and break their poverty-stricken barriers. The modest ideology of the urban tutor is a valuable asset for a rural child, as a stepping stone for development.

These children will potentially go a long way in their technological knowledge, as now they would be well acquainted with a smartphone (in most cases). They will even be exposed to e-documents and e-worksheets thanks to our team of assignment managers, who design personalized worksheets for the kids.

Remote and online education, eliminates the burden of transportation and expenditures, which are otherwise a by-product of a conventional tuition system. As our teaching is basically one youth educating another, it becomes handy for two night owls to work even at night, due to the flexibility of time. Education is being made possible just one tap away.

As of 31st March 2022, EdLodge Foundation has 1000+ volunteers from 30+ different countries, contributing in their own way towards the common cause. Our principle volunteers, the tutors, are interviewed by a team, prior to being allotted a student to tutor. This is done simply to validate genuine interest and commitment. Tutors are instructed to analyze the requirements of the child, and develop a mutually convenient system to impart the education. We have volunteers from different states of India, hence appropriate for the linguistic diversity of our nation, i.e, we allot a tutor who shares a common language with the child.

Our team of volunteers also includes a team of "Regional Coordinators", who are in the lookout for needy children from their respective states. They attend to any local requirements, and guide the children to enroll for our services. We also have "Communication Handlers" who get directly in touch with the students and tutors via call, to keep a check on their activity, progress and take note of any issue being faced in the process of tutoring. Other departments of volunteers include Website Managers, Registration Administrators, Interview Board among many others, for the smooth sail of the administration.

To sum this up, our tutors adapt to the limited technological access of the students, and then take tutoring lessons , flexible with time and subject.

To enhance the effect we have on these young lives, especially as a non-profit organization, we depend on the generosity of interested donors. Our sole purpose of applying for this opportunity is to gain financial assistance. With the collected amounts, we plan to donate textbooks and mobile phones to keep the students equipped. Moreover, as we are all students who are dependent on our parents, most operational costs are at their expense. Necessary finance is required to improve and solidify the organizations foundation. Outreaches that we plan to have also involves expenses in various ways.

Secondly, we strive to open the wings of education to an audience as wide as we can. We hope for the required publicity, so that more children, headmasters and parents are aware of our services, and more interested individuals may volunteer for our cause. In this way, we may help out a lot more needy children. 

Our solution runs fully online and by high-school students. From Administration and Finances to Interview boards and tutors- all our work is handled by high-school students. We also have selective positions that carry out specific tasks. Our Heads of Departments carry out their responsibilities effectively for smooth-functioning. Even our website is designed by students. Registrations, allotments of volunteers & students along with queries are coordinated via automated spreadsheets by administrators which creates an organised process. We lay emphasis on inter - departmental coordination. There is fully remote coordination between students and tutors. This is first of its kind approach to empowering education. Our solution is more feasible than offline tutoring as it is widely spread and more accessible. We use basic technology and our tutors teach concepts in an enjoyable way. At the same time, we also partner with other organizations having a similar visions as us. This allows us to implement our solution to help their children and allows them to continue using our solution to educate their children.

• For next year, we want to expand and help a minimum of 3000+ students around the country. We would also like to engage and provide a platform to 4000+ volunteers, distribute 300+ mobile phones, 1000+ textbooks to children who don’t have access to them.  We are aiming to conduct 20 outreach programs which are contributing to making the goal possible.  We would also prefer to expand our networking and partner with external organizations to reach  and educate maximum number of students. 

• For the next 5 years, we would like to make the organisation large-scale and grow internationally. Our target number would then be 15000+ students around the world with the enrolment of  20000+ volunteers. Distribution of resources would increase accordingly to 1500+mobile phones and 5000+ textbooks. We would also partner with international organizations to increase diversity of students helped.

We have a systematic record of our students and volunteers, through which me keep track of the statistics. Accordingly, we analyze our growth and progress in course of time. 

We also have a team of Communication Handlers, who get in touch with students and volunteers, to keep a check on our progress and productivity. The Heads of various departments ensure smooth sail within the organization.

The whole organisation is completely driven by technology and works 100% remotely. We use the application SLACK as our mode of communication as it is a convenient way of organising tasks and groups. It assists in the coordination of volunteers and departments as well as conducting volunteer-related activities. We make use of Google forms for enrollments, interviews, and recruitment. Our system also constitutes  automated and formulated google sheets for registrations, volunteer & student allotments and financial records. We have a sustainable financial use by using formulated sheets instead of database portals that charge a fee. Microsoft to-do is our go-to for collaborating with teammates and allocation of departmental tasks. Canva is the central base for graphic designing, WiX for website designing and SEO marketing, and Zoom & Google Meet for departmental meetings, interviews. Tutors use SMS, WhatsApp, and video conferencing softwares (if student has access) to teach. Assignment Managers use google docs for creating worksheets. All in all, we work in a cost effective and fast approach to all tasks in our organisation. 

We recruit volunteers from all around the world and expose them to Indian culture. We have assigned 1000+ volunteers from 30 different countries so far. We tutor students from different states of India, each of which are unique to their own culture, language and identity. Tutors allotted to students are not  from the same state, helping each other learn about their communities, backgrounds and culture. The administrative board consists of high-school students - 2 from North-east India and 1 from Southern India, working together from opposite sides of the country virtually. We are expanding internationally to include volunteers and students of different ethnicities, races, and cultural backgrounds. Our aim is to create an inclusive and open environment by providing equal opportunities and education to both genders and we are working towards it with all our curriculum. 

EdLodge Foundation is registered by the government of India under Section 8 of The Company's Act. We also have 80G and 12A in place, hence we receive donations , with tax exemption. As we operate online, our overall expenditure is minimal. Operational costs are eventually taken care of by the donations we receive. 

Proper budgeting and minimal expenditures are key to financial sustainability.