At Pratham Books, we love visiting schools, reading out our stories, and conversing with the children and teachers. It’s a great way to collect feedback, understand how our stories are perceived, and reconnect with our purpose. And so, a few weekends back, a sunny Saturday morning found us outside the colourful Sujana Convent School for a story reading session with Oracle. Oracle supports the development and creation of our STEM books.  The read aloud was organised with the help of Mantra4Change.

At this event, we decided to simply observe and left the story telling and activities to be carried out by the very enthusiastic Oracle volunteers who joined us.

We carried with us ‘A Butterfly Smile’ by Mathangi Subramanian for the 6th grade class, and ‘A Cloud of Trash’ by Karanjeet Kaur for the 5th grade class.

The 6th graders immediately found the colourful butterflies and bright faces in the story charming, and were soon listening intently to the volunteers. Keen ears and peeled eyes followed Kavya’s story as she recollects leaving her peaceful village for crowded and noisy Bangalore in search of water, deals with her peers, and struggles to confidently share her knowledge about butterflies. The Oracle volunteers had an interesting discussion with the kids about the kinds of butterflies they’ve seen and admired, and how to be brave in front of new friends. With the lovely colours, relatable experiences, and simple but interesting knowledge about butterflies, the story was an immediate hit with all the kids. By this time they were excited about the activity and raring to go. Armed with stationery and butterfly outlines, they had a fun time creating and naming their own paper butterfly parks.

At the same time, the 5th graders were entering Cheeko’s world, where her casual littering habits have created a monstrous cloud of trash that follows her around and acts as a major obstacle in all her relationships. At the end of the read aloud, the children were given stationery, and asked to come up with posters telling people not to litter. Whether it was Cheeko’s experience, or their own observations, they were all brimming with ideas and opinions, and words and drawings were flowing freely. There were some strong slogans expressing great disdain for this sort of thoughtless behaviour. It was a lovely experience being able to witness their discussions and hear the conviction in their beliefs.

We snapped many photographs of the kids work, and had a quick snack break, and before we knew it, it was time to pack up and leave.

We all took different things back with us from the story telling session, and left excited about visiting again.

To see more images from the workshop, click here.

We thank volunteers from Oracle Bangalore for their time and enthusiasm for this session.

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Pratham Books (www.prathambooks.org) is a not-for-profit children's book publisher that was set up in 2004 to publish good quality storybooks in multiple languages to support reading acquisition among children. Our mission is to see ‘a book in every child’s hand’ and we have distributed millions of books in print and digital formats and spread the joy of reading to millions of children in India and across the globe. Pratham Books has always pushed the boundaries when it comes to exploring innovative ways in which to create access to joyful storybooks and have been fortunate in finding partners to collaborate with who share this vision.

We are looking for a Director - Fundraising and Donor Relations

Illustration by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan from How old is Muttajji? by Roopa Pai

Pratham Books currently has multiple projects which are supported by various donors. We are looking for a Director - Fundraising and Donor Relations, who will lead our fundraising efforts and build sustainable relationships with donors. The candidate recruited will manage a team and be responsible for all decisions on fundraising and donor management.  

Key Responsibilities:

Lead and manage the end to end process of fundraising and donor relations, which includes the following:

• Planning and strategizing yearly fundraising goals
• Establishing a strategic and systematic focus on closing multi‐year commitments with potential leads and donors (Corporates and Foundations)
• Researching grant opportunities and developing proposals for Foundations
• Identifying funding opportunities via awards 
• Building and maintaining relationships with existing donors and ensure timely reporting 
• Managing volunteering engagements with donors
• Implementing fundraising campaigns from time to time 
• Managing our crowdfunding platform www.donateabook.org.in

Required skills:

• 8 to 12 years of experience in Fundraising and Donor Relations at a non-profit organization or similar experience in managing CSR activities 
• Excellent writing and presentation skills 
• Well networked in the donor community 
• Is a self-starter, displays initiative and drive for results  
• Has the ability to lead individuals and teams in setting and achieving challenging goals

Nice to have but not mandatory:

Previous experience of working in the education sector.

Location:

This is a full-time position in our Bangalore office.

Compensation:

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Write to us:

Email your resume with ‘Director- Fundraising and Donor Relations’ in the subject line to [email protected]

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Today is World Children's Day - a time to reflect upon and renew our commitment to protect children's rights.  Here is a selection of books that showcase some of the principles listed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

We hope that these books will be a useful resource for educators, parents, and caregivers, and that they inspire our young readers.

 

Ikru's First Day of School | Article 28: The right to education

What will Ikru's very first day at school be like? This heartwarming, wordless book brings alive the unexpected delights and quiet fears of a child's first experience of going to school.

A Level 1 storybook written and illustrated by Sunaina Coelho, and published by Pratham Books.

 

Just Like Me | Article 12: The right to form and express views freely

It’s Rahah’s birthday party. Mum wants to know who she will invite. Will they all fit in?

A Level 2 storybook written by Hani du Toit, illustrated by Mary Anne Hampton, and published by Book Dash.

 

Your Body is Yours | Article 19 & 34: The right to be protected from violence and abuse

Your body is unique and it belongs only to you. Get to know it, and learn to take good care of it. A book that aims to start open and healthy conversations around our bodies, and our right to say no to anyone who does not respect boundaries.

A Level 3 storybook written by Yamini Vijayan, illustrated by Aindri C, and published by Pratham Books.

 

I Know My Rights | Article 42: The right to know and exercise your rights

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child lists out the basic rights that children have. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what colour your skin is, whether you practice a religion or not, what language you speak, whether you are a boy or a girl or haven’t decided yet – you have the right to these rights! This poster book lists out some of the rights of the child.

A Level 4 storybook written by Menaka Raman, illustrated by Sunando C, and published by Pratham Books.

 

SUPPORT STORYWEAVER

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that all children have the right to an education that helps them fully develop their personalities, talents, and abilities. The ability to read is the ability to learn, explore, and imagine.

StoryWeaver is deeply committed to the goal of literacy and giving children open and free access to the reading resources and opportunities they need to succeed in school and beyond. With your help, we can do even more. Visit https://storyweaver.org.in/donate.

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