BI MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Instilling life skills in under privileged children throughactivity based learning programs across India

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We are delighted to share our thoughts for this very first newsletter of Fly Higher - FHI. It

has been an incredible journey so far and we are excited for the future, with newer

developments and a deeper emphasis on instilling life skills.

We feel encouraged by so many schools and shelter homes across the country finding

value in the programs we are running.

Thousands of most amazing volunteers are working in teams in 30 cities and are reaching

out to over 6000 children from 80 schools/ homes.

We take this opportunity to thank all our 65 coordinators, 1400 volunteers, sponsors,

advisors & followers for their support. Special mention to Mr. Vivek Yadav for designing

our logo, thank you. International organisations like Canva & Salesforce recognised our

work and honoured us with special  benefits  as a non profit, we truly appreciate your

support.

We are ready to spread our wings further and reach out to more. Lets together continue

to make learning fun.

EXCITING TIMESWritten by Vishal Mimani & Preetham Murva

Message from FoundersList of articles

1.2. July event – Bangalore

3. August event – Vadodara4. Volunteer experience 

5. Feedback – Volunteer and Management

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OUT OF THE BOX THINKINGBANGALORE - JULY 2019Text by Nupur Shah, FHI Mumbai

Another activity conducted was Make the

Best Out of the Waste. Here, the kids were

provided with empty plastic bottles and the

aim as the name goes was to suggest the

best way to make a resourceful item of it.

Under the supervision of our enthusiastic

volunteers, the bottles were converted into

colourful pen stands, storage containers

and even flowering pots. This activity also

proved to be the most liked one as they all

took their products with them after the

event to continue and use them.

Another entertaining activity was Spin a

Tale where students had to complete a

story by adding sentences to the initial

sentence given by the volunteers. This

activity helped stimulate their ingenuity,

presence of mind and creative thinking.

Many more of such value-adding activities

were conducted throughout the event and

the whole room was filled with laughter

and learning the entire afternoon. The

session was a remarkable one, by the end of

which the children gleefully shared their

learning takeaways with the volunteers and

the management. The enthusiasm and

excitement expressed by the kids of

Parikrma Humanity Foundation is

undoubtedly praise worthy.

On the 6th of July, 2019 FHI’s Bangalore

Team conducted an educative and fun-

filled event at Parikrma Humanity

Foundation on the theme ‘Out of the Box

Thinking’. This theme focuses on

nurturing innovative thinking and creative

problem solving abilities in children. This

was executed by introducing the children

to the concept of multi-directional

thinking and encouraging them to

approach problems in unique ways. The

event coordinators and volunteers planned,

designed and carefully selected activities

which would be apt for the children’s age

and interest. One of the most value-adding

activities was the Paper Plate Model &

Branding – here the students were divided

into small groups and were given paper

plates and few other basic materials like

colours, glue, etc., to work with. The task

was to use their imagination and convert

the given paper plates into something

innovative. At the end, it was elating to see

those young minds come up many useful

paper products out of scratch. The task

then continued where they had to brand

and sell the products they made to FHI

volunteers. praise worthy.

This motivated them to come up with

product names and impressive sales pitch

for their items.

‘This is an incredible

NGO Everytime I

have amazing

experience working

with them. It's like

contributing to the

future as we all try to

instill developmental

skills in

underprivileged

children. This work is

so full of

contentment.’

Palak Sharma

FHI Shimla

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SEEKING SOLUTIONSVADODARA - AUGUST 2019Text by Truptimayee Das, FHI Bhubaneswar

The Vadodara event took place on 18th

August 2019 at Friends Colony, Fatehganj.

The theme for the month of August was

‘Seeking Solutions’. The emphasis was on

the process of identifying and

understanding a problem, analysing the

situation, evaluating different solutions for

it, choosing the most apt one, and finally

implementing it in an efficient and effective

manner.

Contrary to the common belief that learning

and fun don’t mix, FHI never fails to make

learning life skills absolutely entertaining.

The first of the decided activities was the

Solution Bee; here, a problem is read out to

all the teams of children after which they

brainstorm and write down all possible

solutions on paper. Each team then starts

discussing their solutions with the others till

one best decision is decided upon. This

activity triggered the troubleshooting ability

among the children to come up with

multiple solutions for one problem.

The next activity conducted was Wounded

Webs. One child from each team was

blindfolded and had to untangle the human

web by that their team members were in by

following verbal instructions from them.

What made this challenging was that the

human web was to be made as per the

directions given by an opposing team.

This activity helped the children understand

the power of team effort in solving

problems and the importance of

articulation. 

The third activity was the Problem Charade

where the teams were given topics relating

to general problems that young children

face at school. They had to work with their

respective team members and volunteers to

help us spread awareness about the issue

and suggest ways to handle the same. The

topics covered by the teams included

bullying and teasing, academic pressure,

materialism, education disparity, child

labour, learning disabilities, language

barriers, etc., Many children and volunteers

shared their personal experiences on how to

overcome these problems which were

highly motivational. The other activities

included a Scavenger Hunt and Rakhi

Making from waste materials.

In today’s world, problems come in our way

on a day to day basis and it is important to

develop the skills to tackle such problems.

Our theme ‘Seeking Solutions’ taught the

underprivileged children, who often lack

adult guidance and support how to solve

problems on their own. Such life skills are

most essential as they turn them into

confident, independent, and successful

individuals.

‘ It’s been greatworking with such ateam. It was my first

volunteeringexperience with thesewonderful people andthe way all of us made

the event happenmakes me really

proud. I feel great tobe a part of this team.I hope we can keep up

the good work andmake a lot more facessmile. Thanks FHI!.’

Upasana BhattasaliFHI Kolkata

‘FHI is doing a great

job by instilling life

skills. I feel blessed to

be a part of this

organization where

the little efforts are

counted and

appreciated.

It provides enough

exposure for personal

growth.’

Shivani Bhilwaray

FHI Delhi

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCEText by Neha Dalwani, FHI Surat

Fine motor skills session included an

activity called the Pictionary Dictionary. We

divided the kids into eight groups of seven

each and a volunteer. In this activity, flash

cards were provided carrying different

English words and the children had to draw

the meaning of the given word to help their

teams guess the word. The initial plan was

to have a single round; however as per the

children’s excited request we did several

more making each round harder with more

complex words. 

Artistic skill session included theme based

drawing. The theme was to draw about the

famous festival of Gujarat – Makar

Sankranti (Kite Flying celebrations) which is

celebrated on the 14th January every year.

 Required materials were provided and each

student came up with interesting scenarios

and all drawings were made creatively.

The activities in gross motor skills session

were solely oriented. It included lots of

dancing, singing and the famous Lemon on

the Spoon race. Kids enjoyed dancing to

their favorite songs and singing them as

well. At the end of the session, to revive

their energy levels, little mouth-watering

treats were also distributed. On the whole it

was a glorious day and our happiness had

no bounds. I have never missed an event

since!

Fly Higher - FHI is playing a vital role in

creating difference in the lives of

underprivileged children by organizing

educational events, awareness campaigns,

health camps and inspiring them to explore

their talents. FHI volunteers play an

important part by making extra efforts

towards children who are hardworking and

willing to develop their life skills. All

volunteers have the same purpose which is

to create bright smiles and share their

stories, experiences, and ideas to help guide

the children. 

In this article, I have described my very first

amazing volunteering experience with FHI.

In the beginning of 2019, the organization

scheduled an educational event at a school

for the underprivileged in Panas Gam,

Surat. The event turned out to be a

fascinating one with a wide variety of

interesting activities which were both

entertainment and educational. Each

activity was unique and fun in its own way. 

There were around sixty students of

different age groups. The event was divided

into three sessions which were gross motor

skills, fine motor skills and artistic skills. The

session began with an active interaction

consisting of brief introductions on what

was planned for the children that afternoon.

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‘What FHI discussed about today is very importantand necessary. Thank you very much FHI! We hopeyou come back with more such important themes.’

Annai Velankanni Orphanage, Pondicherry

Newsletter TeamShivani Sridharan

Sharmishtha HardasNupur Shah

Truptimayee Das