Harish is an 8th grader from Kozhipuliyur, Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu. According to his teachers and peers, he’s a quiet boy who rarely speaks in class or otherwise.

His transformation began during a time when most students took a step back from their school and studious responsibilities – the lockdown of 2020. This was the time that Harish was really understood for his capabilities.

His volunteer teacher, Ms. Nalina Sivakumar, saw the potential in him when he used to complete his tasks before the given time and yet remain quiet, waiting for the other students to finish. On further encouragement, he revealed that he’s more interested in Maths and Science out of all the subjects. He revealed that he even conducts small experiments in his kitchen garden.

The positive encouragement from his teacher really made a difference as he started becoming more committed to his projects. He started to show his creative side and that really impressed everyone who knew him. The creatives that he made out of leaves and orange peels were something that surprised both his teachers and his friends.

But the instant that really took them aback was the short video that he made for a marketing assignment. All students were asked to make an advertising video for a brand of soap. When every other student tried to just make a very simple video where they spoke about their brand of soap, Harish’s video was truly commendable as he made his friend do all the explaining and he came into the frame like a celebrity ambassador for the brand and recommended the soap to the viewers!

Other than just this, he’s becoming more interested in tasks with more difficulty and complexity and in NCERT subjects too. He is gradually but undeniably becoming more expressive about his interests and that is surprising even his family members.

His teacher, Ms. Nalina was teaching his class one day about the ill effects of tobacco usage and was showing them the difference between a smoker’s lung and a non-smoker’s lung. Immediately, Harish had doubts whether alcohol has similar effects on the human body. Ms. Nalina immediately taught them how an alcoholic’s liver gets damaged similarly. The next day she gets a call from Harish’s grandfather who gratefully informed her that Harish had strictly prohibited anyone in the family from drinking alcohol anymore and even educated them on the harmful consequences it can cause.

Harish is the paragon of how one can only cause a change in themselves or around them if they put their mind to it. With a little encouragement from his teacher, he was able to showcase so much creativity.

At eVidyaloka, we do our part by ensuring a volunteer teacher and a student are connected, to enable access to quality education. However, the commitment, drive, and passion come from the students and their teachers.

To ensure more volunteer teachers like Nalina and more students like Harish are connected, you can contribute here or volunteer your time here.

This blog is written by Ria Mathew, Team eVidyaloka.

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