|
1. Description of Our Community
The local community selected for the project is migrant-refugee communities of Faridabad. At the time of partition, when the residents of undivided India were given an option to choose either India or Pakistan as their future homeland, many communities and groups of people decided to migrate to India. Many of these communities were from the Frontier Province of north western undivided India, beyond undivided Punjab. These communities were Banoo, Multans, Kuhatis, Derewals, Jhangis and Sikhs primarily. A vast land full of henna shrubs and jungles in the vicinity of the capital of the country called Faridabad was chosen among many of the settlements for the refugees coming in. Next on the agenda was to provide them opportunities to earn their livelihood and to provide the basic amenities like electricity and housing. These were the hardworking people who believed in the dignity of labour. These people started of with small businesses and establishments and with sheer grit, determination and hardwork converted their ventures into leading business houses and conglomerates of the 20th and 21st Century. They converted a barren land and created one of the most successful settlement of the refugees in India. This project examines the saga of settlement of refugees in a jungle of Henna shrubs. The whole town of Faridabad has bloomed around these communities. It makes us ponder on the contribution of these refugees in the prosperity and progress of this Industrial Town. We have tunnelled and dug deep into the history of the creation and sustenance of the Area called New Industrial Township of Faridabad.
2. Summary of Our Project
The Project brings to fore the forgotten tales and glories of the pioneers of New Industrial Township of Faridabad. It describes the journey of the town from being the spot of shelter to an industrial hub. It discusses how despite being a desolated area, refugees resuscitated the land converting it into one of the biggest Industrial Towns of the North India. The sheer grit and determination of the settlers is an idol for many generations to come. When these communities first came to Faridabad, they were faced with lots of hardships including loss of home, land, fortunes, families and valuables. However, with the support and encouragement provided by the existing local communities they found camaraderie and motivation to fare well and to keep on fighting. This project is going to delve deep into their stories of the migration, settlement, starting over and achieving success and glory. The impact of these communities on the town of Faridabad, it becoming a District and consequently becoming one of the biggest Industrial towns in North India. We are going to look into the contribution of these communities on the social, political, economic and cultural impact on the fibre of the town. We have gathered the information and data from the length and breadth of the community, the residents, the industrialists and the leaders of the community. It has been our endeavour to bring out the heart and soul of the community through a multi-dimensional approach. This project highlights the untameable spirit of the people and their panache.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6
E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):
We are in the digital age. Computers and Internet are playthings for generation Z. The Corona Pandemic has made us rely more on technology. Best of the design tools, softwares and websites are at the disposal of the students with a click of the mouse. Yes, there were times when due to high usage the bandwidth was short, however, our Institution was behind us every step of the way. We had Zoom meetings and online discussions to work on the project. The end result is the evidence of our hardwork.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
When we were informed about the contest, we found it difficult to decide the category to participate in. We contemplated and discussed vehemently about the categories 2, 3 and 7. Ultimately Category 2 was finalised. At first the students were clueless about the community selected as they have never heard the stories about the creation and development of Faridabad. However, when they started to research, they became exited and thrilled to connect to their roots and explore about their origins. After brainstorming for many days, a flow chart was finally created and a path was chalked out for the project to take off finally. The biggest challenge presented itself in the form of the Annual Examinations of the students, however, with the constant support from the educators and parents students kept on labouring. Braving the coronavirus restrictions, students kept on researching and interviewing people, relentlessly gathering information. Students acquired a new vision to look at their Home Town called Faridabad and appreciate it with all its flaws and shortcomings. To keep everyone on track and follow the deadlines without fail, teachers created One Drive link for all to share, review, edit and provide feedback of all our works. The response of the teachers was prompt and we were able to improve and go beyond the expectations.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
We found that community is what we make of it. The warp and weft of the community are its people and their generations. The dense the this connect will be, denser the spread of the community will be. Beginning from the pioneers-the first settlers to subsequent additions to the community, people had made sure that they are able to create far greater glories than the ones that they left behind in Pakistan. The burning passions of their hearts and the smouldering fires in their bellies have not left them leave any stone unturned in reaching the pinnacle of the success. This has enhanced a sense of belonging towards their community and re-establish human and cultural values.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
A child should learn about the birds and the rocks and the trees by experiencing them and not just reading about them from the books. Aravali International School has the core belief system deeply rooted in the traditional Indian Philosophy of experiential learning. Our schools work on a unique pedagogy of Collaborative Deep Design Thinking (CDDT). CDDT is a problem-solving approach, which equips our students with the core competencies. Through this process, students are trained to explore existing challenges, ask questions, interpret given information, ideate and create new solutions. The Aravali institution provides the space to its students in achieving their own happy place through an integration of innovative and challenging academics, technology, performing arts, sports and entrepreneurship programs, that makes the students develop a love of learning, confidence and a firm value system that supports them in embracing real life challenges. Also, internet has been part of our academics this whole session due to pandemic. So, the children were already doing lot of research work on a vast number of topics. Thus, the team of the students working on the project took this in their stride and came out with flying colours.
|
