Two Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) alumni are making a difference by educating hundreds of children in Pakistan.
Their startup, Orenda, uses cartoons and digital streaming technology to bring school curriculums to four- and five-year-old children living in some of the country’s most at-risk areas.
The initiative comes in the face of classroom demolitions, natural disasters and low school retention rates, according to a press statement.
Using relatable cartoon characters living in an imaginary place called Taleemabad (Urdu for Education City) and complementary work books, co-founders Haroon Yasin (SFS ’15) and Ahwaz Akhtar (SFS ’16) are working to make learning fun and engaging for children who are at risk of dropping out of school.
Using data monitoring technology, the Orenda team is able to observe the performance of its students in real time and gauge their impact on dropout rates. Recently, they launched their programme in eight low-performing schools in three districts across Pakistan and found that all the districts showed improved test scores.
One district’s results even increased by 58% thanks to their engagement with the programme, the statement noted. After classrooms were destroyed as part of a slum demolition and relocation project over a year ago, the entrepreneurs switched to a digital curriculum. Thanks to the proliferation of mobile Internet and smart devices such as cellphones, students can now follow along at home to avoid falling behind on lessons.
“Right now, we are teaching English, Urdu, mathematics and general knowledge,” he said. “Since these subjects are taught through cartoons, we also use storytelling to impart lessons of empathy, kindness and emotional well-being.”
Thanks to a crowdfunding campaign last year, Orenda was able to expand to reach more than 540 students in the country and surpassed their goal of 500 students.
They also grew their team from five to 13 members, and produced and distributed around 3,000 Taleemabad text books.
A new campaign seeks to help the project reach students who have no access to formal education. These students either dropped out of school early or never enrolled, and many have been displaced due to floods, earthquakes and unrest.
More information about the expansion campaign and details of the programme are available on Orenda’s Facebook page and website (http://www.orendaproject.org/)
The Orenda team includes two Georgetown University in Qatar alumni as co-founders.
