Social progress, it is believed comes when collective action is taken by the people. Many of us in a way want to do something to give back to the nation, to contribute in modest ways. But more often than not, we do not know what to do or where to begin. In such a scenario, what if someone told you that you can now do a lot just by taking a phone call and only for 10 minutes a week.

Nihar Shanti Amla in its nationally launched ‘Phone Uthao India Ko Padhao’ program aims to connect the educated urban adults to the underprivileged children through just a phone call- to teach them basic spoken English. The #PhoneUthaoIndiaKoPadhao or ‘Take a call’ campaign gives the under-resourced and underprivileged children the opportunity to talk to urban volunteers who speak fluent English in their day to day lives. 

“Phone Uthao India Ko Padhao” was born under the ‘Paathshala Funwala’ umbrella, a parent project of the brand when they realised that while the kids could learn English through their free of cost, IVR based modules, they couldn’t imbibe it comprehensively because they lacked an ecosystem where they could actually practise the language. But the question always remains, ‘Why English?’

Nihar Shanti Amla believes that English is widely considered to be a marker of progress and in most places, it also enhances employability. However knowing English and speaking the language are two very different things. They also believe that education is the core foundation of growth. In order to impart quality learning through a medium that connects well with children, they have been running multiple programmes under the ‘Paathshala Funwala’ that started five years ago and taught spoken English to kids in a fun manner free of cost. Over the past few years, ‘Paathshala Funwala’ has led massive rural outreach programmes that have positively impacted more than 7500 villages with call volumes nearing 8.5 lakh from 3 lakh unique children in these villages in the past 1 year.

Besides, Nihar Shanti Amla, as a progressive brand also works with Educate Girls (EG), an NGO which provides quality education for all underserved and marginalized girls by mobilizing public, private and community resources thus improving access to education, school quality and achieving behavioural, social and economic transformation for all girls in India’s gender gap districts thereby creating an India where all children have equal opportunities to access quality education. In the past year, the program has impacted over two lakh beneficiaries in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh and in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

The Logical Indian believes that the #PhoneUthaoIndiaKoPadhao initiative has given the power to every single individual to simply pick up a phone and change the face of education in India from their place of comfort. It is a simple, thoughtful and yet a very powerful endeavour carried out by the brand.

This International Literacy Day, all it takes is 10 minutes to make a difference to a child’s life. You can register as a volunteer and be a part of this movement.