Katha

New Delhi, Delhi, 110017 India

Mission Statement

Founded by Smt Geeta Dharmarajan (Padm Shri) in 1989, Katha is a non-profit organization that for the last 32 years has been empowering children to become agents of change through quality education, teacher training, world-class book publishing and entrepreneurship training. Katha works in the slums of New Delhi to ensure that children from underprivileged backgrounds are able to receive the quality of education needed to build a better future for themselves and their families. We have an innovative, proven education model that makes learning a fun, creative experience for children and teachers alike. Katha’s programs have reached over 9.8 million underserved children through its various programs across many states. Katha has embarked on a major scale up plan to spread the joy of reading through its innovative model to reach children across India and abroad under the ‘300 Million Challenge’ (for more info- https://katha.org/300m/ ) Katha, a non-profit organization, has been, for the last 32 years, empowering underserved and marginalized communities through Quality Education, Vocational Skilling & Entrepreneurship Training, Women Empowerment, WASH, World-Class Book Publishing and Teacher Training. Katha has several programs in place to help check various types of poverties amongst the population at the Bottom of Pyramid’ (BoP). Katha’s initiatives, across many states, have reached over 11.8 million beneficiaries (children, youth and women) from impoverished and underserved communities. Katha’s work spans the literacy to literature continuum by seamlessly connecting grassroots work in education & training and community resurgence. Katha works in the underserved and impoverished communities to ensure these children are able to receive the quality of education and skill based training, needed to build a better future for themselves and their families. We have an innovative, proven education model that makes learning a fun, creative experience for children, youth, women and teachers alike.

About This Cause

KATHA’S PROGRAMMES Katha Books: Katha is a globally recognized publishing house. Katha’s beautifully illustrated, internationally acclaimed storybooks for children bring greater engagement in reading. Handpicked from Katha’s collection of 190+ children’s titles, sourced from India’s many regional languages, they help teachers tackle some of the most pressing issues of India. 124 Katha books have been recommended by CBSE and NCERT, two eminent national education bodies. Katha Lab School, a community school established in 1990 in New Delhi, is Katha’s center for innovations in education. It offers high-quality education to approximately 1,500 children starting from 3-month to 17 year olds. Katha Lab School provides crèche, pre-school, primary, secondary and special needs education. The school achieves a 94% attendance rate, despite the fact that some children have to drop out because their families migrate. Moreover, over 96% of Katha’s Class 10th and 12th students pass their board exams, compared to a national average of below 40%. An external assessment by Ambedkar University shows that the Katha Lab School students perform at par with students from some private schools. The school focuses on the holistic development of the children though Katha Relevant Education for All Round Development-KREAD with excellent amalgamation of academic, vocational and life skills imparted to all children. Highlights: • Katha Lab School is the test-bed for Katha’s innovations in education and Story Pedagogy© is the finest product replicated in more than 1000 government schools and over 1100 slums in Delhi. • Katha Lab School is also the hub for Katha’s Teacher Training program has trained over 17000 teachers. Katha School Quality Enhancement Program (KSQEP), is a school adoption program run through Government-Partnership School model, Katha aims to transform government schools and revitalize the quality of primary government schools with the objective of ensuring each child, especially the most disadvantaged, an excellent education comparable to the best private or public schools. South Ex-II, Hari Nagar Ashram, and Kilokri Tank; three of the five adopted schools have recently been awarded the ‘Best School’ in South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Central Zone. I Love Reading (ILR): The Delhi Government signed an MOU with Katha to take Katha’s I Love Reading Campaign to 600 municipal schools and 800 slum communities and has impacted over 12,00,000 children and over 4,000 teachers. This innovative reading and school transformation program aims to increase the effectiveness of elementary education. ILR is based on Katha’s proven education and teacher training methods that we have developed, tested and refined over the last 32 years. Katha uses its internationally acclaimed storybooks to engage children in reading and to help teachers tackle some of the most pressing issues in India such as poverty and inequality, and to enable sustainable change. Teacher Training: Under Teacher Training program, Katha also works with all school teachers and principals, for Creative Teaching and work on solutions collectively to overcome the challenges faced within the institution of education. Teachers of the government schools are training StoryPedagogy to enhance the classroom teaching. Slum Resurgence Initiative: Katha runs various other community programmes and workshops, involving life-skills, financial, literacy and livelihood skills and (SHE)2 workshops for women, youth and young girls. Katha also organizes the Mothers‟ Associations (Ma Mandala), whereby women are empowered to take on advocacy roles for their respective communities. KATHA’S REACH FROM 1989 to 2021: • Through its various initiatives, Katha has benefitted over 11.8 Million beneficiaries (children, women and youth) across India. • Working in 2000+ government schools, brought a systematic change in the quality of education through direct intervention with children and teacher training (trained over 21,000 teachers). Many government schools adopted and transformed them into the ‘Best Schools’ as recognized by the government itself. • Covered 2500+ communities (urban slums, rural and tribal) and trained more than 5, 00,000 community women on their social, political, educational, personal and legal rights. • Trained more than 36,000 youth and women resulting in over 88% percent of them either in jobs or in gainful employment with consequent visible and sustained changes in the family wellbeing. With the increased family income, due to employment and training, expenditure on health, nutrition and education increased. • Published +400 titles and disseminated over 20, 00,000 books in Hindi & English and other major Indian languages, spreading the joy of reading. Katha has set up beautiful libraries in schools and communities powered by technology to enhance the joy of reading and bring children and communities out of ‘reading deficiencies’. • 124 of our books are recommended by CBSE and NCERT and 13 titles procured by Director of Education, Delhi. Many have won awards. AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS Katha’s efforts have been universally recognized!  Winner of GuideStar Platinum certificate 'Champion Level' for Transparency and Accountability 2021  Business Standard Award 2018  Winner of the mBillionth South Asia Award 2018, for "leveraging innovation in storytelling and creating India's first mobile reading application."  India's only nomination, for the United Nations World Summit Award 2018, in Learning and Education category, as "Best and most innovative digital program in India"  Winner of 20th Polestar Award for Social Impact in Education 2018  Winner of Promising Practices Award 2015 for Katha’s innovative Story Pedagogy for all grade levels.  Winner of the Millennium Alliance Award in 2013 (USAID and Government of India) for its innovative “I Love Reading” Campaign.  Winner of ICICI India Inclusive Award 2012 in the Elementary Education Impact Category.  North India Winner of the 2009 India NGO Award by the Rockefeller Foundation and Resource Alliance for transparency, accountability and quality work.  Katha has been nominated 5 times for the world’s most coveted award in children’s literature – the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.  NASDAQ Stock Market Education Award 2002.  Digital Partners’ Social Enterprise Award. 2002, for the most promising project utilizing the digital economy to empower the poor.  The Stockholm Challenge Award 2002 Finalist.

Katha
A3 – Sarvodaya Enclave, Sri Aurobindo Marg
New Delhi, Delhi 110017
India
Phone 01141416600
Twitter @kathaIndia
Unique Identifier AAATK2702M