Construction workers’ kids have to often shift from one site to another. Previously, a student of Door Step School would only attend classes and then go back home. Then we thought that the child should take home something from Door Step. So, the solution was My Book.

Sponsored by the Tech Mahindra Foundation, the book helps in a variety of ways. It is a proof that the child has attended a school. The book also has an age certificate and a very informative progress report. Once the child shifts location, any literate person can help locate a school for the child and admit it there. The teacher will know the age and progress from My Book.

My Book is extremely colorful and happy looking. Once putting an eye on it you will want to open it and find out what’s inside! The first page has space to fill in personal details about the child. Height and weight are noted next to a cute giraffe and an elephant respectively. And furthermore, this ‘about me’ page will contain the child’s name, the name and location of the site they are from, age, and the type of class (NFE or Balwadi) that the child attends. The second page has the Door Step school prayer.
The following pages are full of pictures and creative activities. They allow the child to develop skills in recognition and writing through coloring and other activities. There is also a blank page where the children can draw anything they like and color it. The last couple of pages of this book contain important contact information, i.e. phone numbers of those responsible – as per the Mahatma Phule Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – for admission of the children in government schools in different locations. Here is also found the progress report, so that if the child moves away from the site, his/her level of education will be known. An age certificate is stuck on the last page, which will again help for admission into a mainstream school.

The children love My Book. They show it off with pride and are very enthusiastic about completing the activities in it. Well, so Door Step is happy too, for them!!