In conversation with Joy Srinivasan, co-founder of Makkala Jagriti

Growing Up with Inequality

My parents migrated from Andhra Pradesh, and I was born in Bangalore. We settled in Double Road near Lalbagh. My childhood was beautiful. As a young child, I grew up among families from different castes and classes. I witnessed upper-class people discouraging poorer children from attending school, saying, "Why are you going to school? Come and work in my house instead."

These experiences haunted me. Though I didn't question it outwardly, I was deeply agitated. Why shouldn't a poor child study? Only children who could afford it studied in English-medium schools, while others were limited to local schools. These lived experiences created a resolve within me—I knew I needed to do something about it.

My Own Struggle

First, I decided not to stop studying, no matter what. Although my parents were once well-to-do, my father's business suddenly collapsed. We went from being financially robust to near poverty, and I might have had to drop out of school. But I told my father I would continue my education. To pay my school fees, I helped people with their market shopping, buying vegetables, and other tasks.

I had studied in Tamil medium until 5th standard before switching to English medium so many people ridiculed me, saying, "You can't get into this college because you didn't study in an English-medium school’. I did not confront them, but I decided to prove them wrong. I finished my schooling and completed my degree from Mysore University. Through this process, I realized how important education is for everybody.

Helping Others Informally

After graduating, I began helping children from poor backgrounds who were on the verge of dropping out. I picked up many children, put them back in school, and talked to people about supporting them with fees. Many children felt motivated and pursued their education through 10th standard, high school, and even degrees.

One example has stayed with me through the years. A woman who worked as a domestic helper in 13 houses was told by her employers, "We can't afford our own grandchildren's education because it's very expensive. Why don't you limit your son's education to the10th standard?" I realized this was a social force oppressing people's thoughts. Someone was essentially saying that if a poor child gets educated, there would be no domestic help for future generations. Not only that, they had no role models to look up to.

Taking the Leap

These early experiences compelled me to do something more formally. I had been in corporate life for almost 14 years. Then I decided to quit my job at Digital Equipment India Limited in 1999, even though I didn't have enough savings. I was in a good position and was even offered a promotion to stay, but I said no—I was not inspired to be part of a corporate job anymore.

Instead of continuing informally, I decided to formally start a trust with my friend and Shaheen Mistri, who specialized in working with children with special needs. That's when Makkala Jagriti was born. After starting, I had clarity about the vision: Every poor child should be treated equally. Every poor child should be educated. No child should be left behind in education.

Understanding the Root Problem

When I looked at what was really missing, I found that children from slums don't have role models in their own homes. There are no role models they can refer to—no uncle who is an engineer or aunt who is a doctor. All the references are "My father is a vegetable vendor" or "My mother is a housemaid." There's no motivation. The whole life revolves around perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty. Their entire life was focused on just managing everyday crises.

The second part was that socially, they have been so oppressed for generations that they started believing they're not good at education, even though we know that every child born on this planet has equal potential.

The Holistic Development Learning Center

To motivate children to pursue education, I looked at how we could help children learn beyond the rote methods being taught in school. That's when we came up with the idea of a Holistic Development Learning Center.

We established a learning space near a slum where children could learn without any bias, stereotypes, or prejudices—without fear and without being judged. Schools only focused on academics, but these children struggled because they were first-generation learners. so they were dropping out of school. We realized that by giving them different forms of developmental platforms, we would automatically make them confident to learn academic concepts. So we started a library, and teaching art and craft, life skills, computer skills, music, and theatre.

We started with a handful of about 20 children when we inaugurated the center near Anekal in 2005, and it grew to 200+ children within a week. That kind of response gave me a lot of confidence. It wasn't that children from poorer backgrounds weren't interested in learning—they needed the right platform to learn.

Engaging Parents

From there, I realized we needed to make parents aware of why education is important. We started doing parental workshops. This became another flagship program for us.

Parents started feeling valued that somebody was caring enough to engage with them about education. We took parents on two-day retreats to help them look at their role as parents, discuss their values, and understand different stages of child development.

Scaling Within Government Schools

We started these centers in slums and near slums, encouraging children to come—those who went to government school and those who had dropped out. It became like a bridge learning space for many children.

Then we negotiated with government schools to start learning centers within them so we could reach many more children from similar backgrounds. One of the ways we did this was not by telling the government school we were there to do something, but by taking them along through what we called "shared visioning" with the principals and teachers.

By then, some government school teachers were learning about Makkala Jagriti from children and asking, "What is this Makkala Jagriti? Don't go there." But children were so happy to miss school to go to the learning center! Then the teachers felt curious and came to see what we were doing.

We started with five schools in and around Anekal, and today we have established centers in most of the government schools we work with. For us, scaling any program should be done within the government system. The learning center got institutionalized as part of the school curriculum and became part of the daily timetable. That was the key.

Transforming Teachers

As part of our work with government schools, we also started working with teachers, helping them understand why a teacher's role is important beyond the academics they provide. They could see the difference between being a teacher and being a facilitator. We worked on breaking down the authority barriers between teachers and children.

One of the values we brought in is helping children learn without fear. The child might be struggling to learn or might be dressed shabbily, but that's not important. We brought in this whole aspect of a child-centric approach and slowly transformed the mindset of teachers to look at children with compassion.

I remember conducting a teacher's workshop where I asked them to reflect on their thoughts when they see a child who has not gone to school. One principal said, "They are below animals." Other teachers stood up and said, "No, you can't say that." This helped them examine the kind of mental models we hold about poorer children or children who are not educated. Then the teachers could shift their perception, the aim being that every child who came to our center be treated with dignity.

Makkala Jagriti has gone beyond its’ original remit. We have helped the entire ecosystem of parents and schools to understand how to value children and how to help those from poorer backgrounds recognize that they are not lesser beings—they are all equal.

In conversation with Sunaina, co-founder of Makkala Jagriti

Our Driving Vision

I'm Sunaina, and I lead Makkala Jagriti, a non-profit organization based in Malleshwaram, Bangalore. One motto drives us every day: where you are born should not limit how far you go.

Every child, irrespective of their background, community, or family circumstances, has immense potential. We help each child unravel that potential through programs focused on children and youth from disadvantaged communities.

The SPICE Model: How Children Really Learn

People often ask, "They don't even know how to read and write, why do you want to do creative activities or teach sports?" But that's not how a child learns. A child learns as a whole, and complete development is important at all age groups.

We created the SPICE model—Socio-emotional, Physical, Intellectual, Creative, and Ethical development. Whether it's circle time, group activities, or morning assembly, we ensure our programs cater to one or more of these aspects so the child discovers their true potential.

Community Learning Centers

We set up learning centers in slums and urban communities across Bangalore—places like Vardhaman Nagar near Manyata Tech Park, around Hebbal, and near Mekhri Circle. These centers are safe, joyful learning spaces that children otherwise don't have. They live in tiny homes without space to do homework. Our centers become places where they experiment, explore, and discover the joy of learning.

We adopt entire communities to see if education can transform them. For children, we focus on joyful, activity-based learning. For youth aged 17 to 24, we focus on making them "life-ready." In these communities, they often don't have role models, and their education is poor. What's missing are basic decision-making, communication, and digital skills—essential for today. We provide this foundation and connect them to jobs, training, and higher education opportunities.

Working Within Government Systems

After working in communities for many years, we realized that most marginalized children access government schools—70% of children from disadvantaged communities in India. Large-scale change is only possible through government systems, which is why we collaborate with them.

Anganwadis: Building the Foundation

We partner with Anganwadis, where children from underprivileged backgrounds receive pre-school education. While they get food, healthcare, and nap time, the learning component is missing. This is when maximum brain development occurs—children are eager to learn, but teachers aren't equipped to deliver quality pre-school learning.

We train teachers to understand why early learning matters and how to deliver it daily. The focus isn't on ABCs, but on cognitive, language, social, and emotional growth. We provide creative materials and technology like projectors, transforming the everyday classroom.

Schools: Bringing Joy to Learning

We've adopted schools in Malleshwaram—like 13th Cross Malleshwaram school and Santhagiri school in Yeshwanthpur—and in North Bangalore. These schools have dedicated time for our learning center classes. Our facilitators deliver activity-based learning in a joyful environment—rare in government schools. Our goal is simple: every child from the most marginalized community deserves good quality teaching.

Engaging Parents

We engage with parents because the home environment matters just as much. If a child is treated differently at school and home, learning suffers. We help parents understand how to support their child better and create a positive environment at home.

Supporting Vulnerable Children

We partner with government childcare institutions for children in need of care and protection—those who have run away, been abandoned, lost, abused, or trafficked. Due to their emotional trauma, they need support to feel secure. We provide facilitators who work with these children and staff to ensure caring, effective engagement.

We also work with children in conflict with the law in observation homes. This is challenging work. Our main goal is to help each child see beyond what they went through. Often, these incidents become their identity, and we work to separate the two. We focus on life skills, emotional development, art, and sports to help them regain the positivity they've lost.

From 3 to 24: A Complete Journey

Our strategy is to adopt the Anganwadi in every community and set up centers for children and youth. This way, we work with all age groups—from 3-year-olds to 24-year-olds—leaving no gap. Each child is held and nurtured throughout, growing up to become role models and change agents.

Today, our children have become bankers, choreographers, teachers, IT professionals, and engineers. Many are pursuing medicine and paramedical courses. One is even a world Taekwondo champion who represented India. They are real role models in these communities. More children now have people they can look up to and say, "Hey, I want to be like that anna or akka!"

Join Us

Our children love exposure to new people—that's when they learn the most. We invite people from Malleshwaram to volunteer with us and spend time with our children in schools and Anganwadis.