Beyond the Chalkboard (Short-term programme)

We provide and conduct workshops for students by partnering with other NGOs. Our team conducts workshops in creative ways such as theatre, art and public speaking to make education much more expressive and fun. These are primarily short workshops that take place for 2-3 weeks.
We try to get our students immersed in our classes to teach communication through other expressive forms of learning. By making our courses a lot more experiential, we ensure that our lessons are understood and can be implemented, living up to the name "Beyond the Chalkboard."
The goal is to enable better communication through other expressive forms of learning and leave behind the standard blackboard method engagement for something a bit more fun!

Communicative English programme (Long-term programme)

Our goal in all our courses is to give our students the opportunity lets them control their own pace of improvement. We, as teachers, are here to support their growth every step of the way! This is how we do it:

• We conduct classes in a hybrid manner. We run both online and offline/in-person classes for our batches of students, across a period of 6 months. We are currently operational across Tamil Nadu and Kerala, India.
• Our courses are primarily centered around English communication & grammar. Maintaining a maximum of 10:1 student-to-teacher ratio, we conduct online and offline classes that help students that primarily focus on daily communication and communicational grammar that can potentially help our students in their careers or professional lives.
• We conduct various ages, with our youngest student in 9th standard (14 years old). The most senior student we mentor is 45 years old. Most of our students have been in government or low-income private schools where they have had limited or no English exposure.
• These classes aim to bring about some familiarity with the English language and help them learn it primarily to increase communicational capabilities that our students can implement in real life.
• As a practice before the next class, we provide the students with activities, articles and assignments to do during the week, something that ensures that lessons are carried forward beyond just our class hours
• Putting all the programs and structures, we have created our organisation to be a pillar of support, reminding them of their courage, uniqueness and capabilities. We help them achieve their personal goals and reach new heights in every way possible.

Online Classes

We conduct our classes with a small number of students, usually a maximum of 10 in each batch, to ensure our students get the individual attention they deserve. We carry out lessons weekly to ensure that our students' lives are not taxed by the very classes that aim to help them. Classes are conducted via Zoom and/or Google meet.

We act as mentors to constantly support the students, forming meaningful personal connections to truly help them reach their goals. We regularly follow up with students to discuss their priorities, understand their goals, and fine-tune our teaching methods accordingly.

Currently, we are running our online program with students and volunteers across Kerala. We will soon be rolling out online programs in Tamil Nadu, with our partner NGOs.

Offline/On-Site Classes

Starting June 2022, we have expanded our portfolio to include offline/in-person classes to add that personal touch that everyone requires.

Partnering with the staff of Vaayusastra Aerospace, Tagros Chemicals India Ltd, The Ashoka Tree, Venu Gopal Vidyalaya school, Shishu Shakthi, Dharmapuram Corporation School and Kandee factory, Chennai, we conduct our classes with a batch of a maximum of 15 in each batch.

We carry out lessons once a week for 2 hours or twice a week for 1 hour each. The classes are conducted on their premise.

Similar to our online classes, we provide the students with activities, articles and assignments to do during the week. Our goal for the next six months is to establish several more sukha classes across multiple locations, in Chennai.

The Book Club Project

When we started entering local government schools and community centers (where we had already set up our six month English communication program) we noticed a large section of students who were eager to further their reading and comprehension. However, they were unable to access the right books that enhance their skills; as they couldn’t gauge their current reading level or type of books that interest them. This led to Sukha’s intervention in building Community Libraries for students.

The Book Club Project is a collaborative effort between us and government schools / community centers in the Chennai district. The goal is to set up a small local lending library in the community. Sukha currently handles the entire management and upkeep of the library. When trying to get involved with the holistic development of the kids, our team found that one way is through stories. Through storytelling we find it easier to stress certain morals through things such as good behavior, being kind and sharing. We source books corresponding to the reading level of the students which we have assessed from our experience teaching them. Periodically we conduct reading sessions or puppet shows, and possibly have a theatrical read of books, in an effort to create change and foster the reading habit amongst the kids. This we strongly believe will help to improve the literacy and communication skills of the kids we directly work with. We currently have two libraries opening up.

An initiative like this is so important to help aid the foundational literacy and education of children living in difficult areas. Sukha aims to boost creativity and imagination through the world of books and stories!