About Us
Orenda Initiatives is a charitable Trust (No. 340/2013-14) registered and based out of Bangalore. We are also registered under the Section 80G and Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961
'Orenda' means the invocation of the power of human will to change the world around us.
Vision:
Happy and inspired children, confident and responsible youth, dynamic and compassionate society
Mission:
- To democratize learning process and encourage independent and critical thinking
- To help every child discover his/her innate abilities and help realize his/her potential
- To encourage entrepreneurship and create employment opportunities for youth
- To create a platform to mentor and get mentored
- To create spaces for exploring passions and for creative expression
- To engage and sensitize society through volunteering efforts
Aims, Objectives and Values:
“The root of the word education is e-ducere, literally, to lead forth, or to bring out something which is potentially present.”
Orenda Initiatives was started primarily to expand the opportunity of education to children and of employment to youth and to improve the quality of education in general.
Our Beliefs:
We believe that –
Every person is endowed with certain potentialities and abilities, the realization of which is central to leading a productive and happy life.
The purpose of education is to help a person realize his/her potential and to help discover and hone these abilities.
Our Values:
Equality: Every person is equal in the sense that every life is of equal value irrespective of the person’s background.
Empathy: The ability to relate to fellow human beings, to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes.
Tolerance: The ability to entertain a contrary point of view, to disagree without comprising the dignity of the relationship and to be open to unpleasant feedback.
Integrity: To do what one says and to say what one thinks.
Respect: Respect to all is non-negotiable and is unconditional. Dignity of a person needs to be always upheld – no discrimination, cruelty and ridicule.
Love: The foundation of all life. Love is responsible for our ability to transcend our self and care for our fellow human being.
Blog
Progress
Posted on Friday November 05, 2021
A disclaimer to begin with – we do not announce or make public marks of any student in any way. When we give them results, we discuss what they learnt and what they need to learn more or improve. However, we are putting up the results here devoid of names to illustrate a point. 6 […]
The Turnaround
Posted on Friday November 05, 2021
This 2nd grade kid was known in the village for stealing eggs, fruits etc. He used to lie with confidence. When we started school few months back, he would often escape into forest and if we got him back, he cried. Unable to read or write basi9c three letter words, he was admonished frequently by […]
Sir, do you love me?
Posted on Saturday October 23, 2021
When she came to village and joined school, she always looked lost and disinterested. Morose and forlon, she tried to avoid all the morning assembly fun activities. She constantly complained that she didn’t want to attend school or do maths. Every morning she would come to our home to check whether school would be closed […]
Kamjong High School, Manipur
Posted on Sunday January 26, 2020
This is easily one of the most difficult assignments I had taken up! After dealing with students from difficult backgrounds in widely varied contexts across the country, I now feel reasonably confident in my ability to engage with students and build relationships. But this proved to be a challenge – the 10th class of Kamjong […]
Year 2015-16 Review: Shivani On Her Volunteering Experience
Posted on Thursday May 19, 2016
How has the teaching experience helped you evolve/grow as a person in the last year? The first and very important lesson that I have learnt is to be patient. Out of 20 students in a class, few can comprehend the subject quickly, while other requires explanation to be repeated a number of times. And to […]
Year 2015-2016 Review: Volunteer Suresh Speaks
Posted on Sunday May 15, 2016
On how the teaching experience helped him grow as a person – The teaching experience here has helped me in a lot of ways. It has helped me become a better communicator. I believe if you are able to explain something to a kid, you can very well do it to anyone and this helps. Every Saturday […]
Volunteer Speak – Mayur Deshpande
Posted on Thursday September 17, 2015
WHY THIS WORK? Since my childhood, I have always wanted to do something for the society. I tried a few ways but could not walk on them for long. But after coming here, I am motivated to keep walking and not give up, as this is something which has become a very important part of […]
Volunteer Speak – Anubhav Mishra
Posted on Tuesday June 30, 2015
ANUBHAV: “When I first entered a classroom, I never imagined that I would be able to connect with the kids the way I can today. The whole Orenda experience has brought out a part of my personality that I never thought existed. Emotions and expressions were something alien to me, as I was never very expressive and […]
True Education – Eklavya School
Posted on Sunday November 30, 2014
“Imagine a boy who is not at all good at Maths, Physics and other subjects but is patient, hardworking, responsible, diligent and punctual. Now imagine another boy who is very good at academics but doesn’t have any of the above qualities. If you have a child, which of these two kinds would you want? Don’t you […]
In the villages of Kerala
Posted on Wednesday November 05, 2014
All through the trip we were singing and having fun. When it was time to leave and we boarded the bus to return to Bangalore, for few minutes every one was silent, staring out of the windows. It was a telling moment and I knew what was on their minds. We visited Kerala for two days […]