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The primary mission of the Agastya Foundation is to expose India’s rural school children to science, sparking curiosity and creativity. Well, we just fell in love with that idea!
In 2010, the MurthyNAYAK Foundation’s Sight2Site team began making a promotional, 20-minute video, free of charge, for Agastya to show to prospective donors. In the years since then, we have made them a new website, an iPad guide of their Kuppam campus, and a coffee table book, Wisdom of Agastya. We have funded the MediaArts Lab, outfitting it with cameras, computers, scanners, and a director to teach rural children about media, how it influences the society, how to use it for good, and how to create quality productions.
Taking that idea on the road, Agastya developed iCommunity and iMobile – two unique programs the MurthyNAYAK Foundation is proud to fund. The iCommunity project falls under the direction of the MediaArts Lab, teaching digital literacy to village students who otherwise have no access to computers or the internet. They learn enough to at least understand what these tools are and the basics of how to use them, should they one day further their studies or get work where they are used.
The iMobile program was begun to expose India’s rural students to digital technology in action. Even in communities whose electricity and clean water may experience frequent interruption, students are shown how basic computer skills and tools can help improve their science learning. The iMobile lab is outfitted with computers, cameras, audio recording devices, a battery-operated internet hub, and a projector. Use of basic computers and internet skills is blended with Agastya’s mainstay – hands-on science experiments – to create a rich learning environment. There is a carefully planned rotation of ten-to-twelve lessons and visits to surrounding schools over a period of one year, elevating the educational experience of many children.
The MurthyNAYAK Foundation first crossed paths with the Agastya Foundation at a Science Fair in Hubli-Dharwad’s Glass House. That was 2008, and we have been working with the organization and funding pet projects ever since.
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20 November
