NGOs (non-governmental organizations) play a significant role in child education in Kashmir by providing educational resources and support to children and families in need. This can include funding for school supplies and uniforms, building and maintaining schools and classrooms, providing teacher training and support, and running educational programs and extracurricular activities. NGOs may also work to raise awareness about the importance of education and advocate for policies and initiatives that promote access to education for all children in the region. These organizations work to improve the quality of education and provide educational resources and support to children in need. This can include building schools and providing educational materials, as well as offering programs and services that help children overcome barriers to education, such as poverty, lack of access to transportation, or cultural or linguistic barriers. NGOs also work to promote awareness and advocacy for the right to education in the region, and can collaborate with government agencies and other organizations to improve the education system in Kashmir. These organizations often work to build and support schools in underprivileged areas, provide educational resources and materials, and offer programs and services to help children succeed in their studies. They may also work to advocate for better education policies and practices, and to raise awareness about the importance of education for children. Additionally, NGOs may also help to provide children with access to healthcare, nutrition and other basic needs that are necessary for children to thrive in their education.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to the closure of institutions and schools subsequently leading to massive gaps in the education of children. In Kashmir alone, it has affected the hundreds of school going children living in rural and urban areas. To aid development from the grassroots it makes the role of NGOs in childhood education all the more important. According to an annual survey conducted by ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) many young children have not joined school. There is a sharp jump in the percentage of out-of-school children in the age- group of 6-10. This has gone up from 1.8% (in 2018) to 5.3% (in 2020) and among all children up to 16 years from 4% to 5.5%.
The role of NGO for education in a child's growing years under such grim conditions has become very crucial. There are numerous NGOs which have taken up the onus of education of kids. These NGOs also develop innovations that will improve the quality of primary education. The operations of an NGO in the grassroots level not only includes children attending school. It also helps by involving the community as a whole. There are villages and slums in India where many children are first-generation learners. They belong to underprivileged families of migrant laborers, daily-wage workers and their families seldom understand the importance of education. In such cases the role of an NGO for childhood education becomes important. They help sensitize families, involve the community and encourage the out of school children to go back to school.
Donations are a symbol of a kind society that believes in 'providing for all'. Many people from all over the world make offline or online donations to charities, institutions, political parties, and so on. However, the question here is, what even drives them to donate! These are a few reasons that can make one want to donate:
Religious purpose: Most of the religious groups existing in the world believe in charity and donation. In Hinduism and Buddhism, people do 'Dana' without expecting anything in return. Every year, around 650 crore rupees is donated to temples by their devotees. Even in Islam, Zakat is a mandatory form of charity. Donation to political party: Donation to a political party from an individual or organisation is done to help a party in their campaigning and other election related processes. The benefit of these donations is that the donor can claim deduction of 100% on the donation amount under section 80G of Income tax Act. Personal connection with the issue or cause: It is often seen that donors usually have their own personal reasons behind why they want to donate to a particular cause or section of people. For instance, an individual who donates on a regular basis to help poor people might have come up from a similar background.
Donation also means helping someone by contributing, but not necessarily to the needy. It is made to institutions as well such as a political party, a hospital, a school, an NGO, and so on. It can be done online via online donations platforms or offline by personally contacting them. However, unlike charity, it does not refer to an organisation specifically.