VIDYA MITR

TOWARDS THE BETTERMENT AND HOLISTIC GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

OF THE STUDENTS OF VIDYA.

VIDYA MITR MENTOR MANUAL

 Table of Contents

1. Welcome

2. About VIDYA

3. About VIDYA MITR Program

4. Mentoring - Objectives and Desired Outcome

5. Guidelines and Our Expectations

6. What you can expect from VIDYA

7. The Road Ahead

 1. WELCOME!

We are pleased to welcome you to our team of VIDYA MITR’s. Mentor-Mentee

interaction forms the core of the VIDYA MITR program. You will find your role as a
VIDYA MITR fulfilling and your mentoring experience enriching.
Please refer to the Mitr Guide for Mentorship guidelines.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Vidya Mitr Coordinator –
Divjyot Kaur (School Counselor)

Thank you once again.

The VIDYA Family

 2. ABOUT VIDYA

When Rashmi Misra was living at the IIT Delhi campus in 1985, she used to see the
same five girls from the neighboring slum playing in a stream adjacent to the campus
well. One day, she approached them and asked why they weren’t at school. They
looked at each other, then at her, with incredulous expressions, and said, “don’t you
know girls don’t go to school?”. VIDYA started then, in 1985, with Rashmi herself
educating these five underprivileged girls in her apartment.

Over the last 33 years VIDYA has impacted 3,65,000 people with centres in Delhi,
Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune. Our goal is ensuring employability and self-
sufficiency for each individual whom we serve. Our programs address literacy as
multifaceted- encompassing academia, vocational education, mental and physical
health, life skills, social awareness, and values.

OUR DREAM

“We want to see an India where every child gets quality education, every
youth an opportunity to succeed, and every woman achieves economic
and social independence.”
 3. ABOUT VIDYA MITR PROGRAM

Vision

Our goal is to enhance the students with social, life and interpersonal skills and to
expose them to the real world through the experience of their mentors. The MITR
program is geared towards raising environmentally conscious, healthy, well nourished,
and responsible citizens of the country.

Goal

To facilitate a holistic academic, social and psychological growth of VIDYA students and
to guide them towards a career well suited to their aptitude and personality.

Mission:

The MITR program endeavors to ensure that every student has a mentor and for
the mentor-student relationship to become a lifelong association which nurtures the
student in a holistic manner.
4. MENTORING– OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED OUTCOME

Mentor-Mentee interaction forms the core of the MITR Program. The interactions
will focus on

1. Identifying any psychological / academic issues that the students might be

facing.
2. Imparting information related to health, hygiene, nutrition, key
environmental issues and environment friendly practices.
3. Assessing aptitude and attitude of a mentee and mapping it to a relevant
and productive stream and career to help the student to achieve his / her
potential.
4. Imparting career counseling and career guidance to facilitate future employability.
5. Providing avenues such as age appropriate projects and internships to
promote confidence and skill set.
6. Impart training in soft and leadership skills for personality development.
7. Advising the mentee on appropriate methods of dealing with age-specific issues
like peer pressure, conflict management and resolution, as well as identifying
red flags, if any. Please refer to the Red Flag document for a concise but not
inclusive list.
8. Suggest if the mentee needs specific help in any areas (academic / emotional /
psychological) and provide feedback on his / her progress in case any such
means (e.g. Counseling/ Remedial Classes for a particular subject / Parent
Counseling ) are undertaken.
9. To guide the mentee about Scholarships, Competitions, and Programs, which
he / she could benefit from.
10. To suggest and provide effective alternatives to textbook learning. The
alternatives should be accessible in school. E.g.:- Educational videos from
VIDYA approved sites.
5. VIDYA MITR, GUIDELINES AND EXPECTATIONS

a. MITR-Student Ratio: Our aim is to allocate 2-3 students to every MITR.

b. Location: All the interactions between MITR’s and VIDYA students would
happen in the VIDYA school premises. MITR’s are advised not to share
their phone numbers with the students If a MITR wants to take the
students out, they will need the prior approval of the principal.
c. Time commitment: We expect a time commitment of 2-4 hours in a
month. The interaction sessions would happen in the last period on
Thursday’s or on the working Saturdays. School would share these
timings as part of the orientation session. All interactions would be
recorded in a school register.
d. Duration: We expect your commitment to the MITR program for
a minimum period of one year.
e. Screening: We don’t have any criteria for selection of MITR’s. Our only
expectation is your whole hearted commitment to the role and compassion
towards the children.
f. Confidentiality: We expect you to maintain complete confidentiality of
the interactions with students. However, we appreciate that there may
be certain developments that you feel must be shared for the overall
benefit to the student. Please refer to the Red Flag document attached
in the MITR folder. You may want to share them with the School
Counselor: Somya Kukreti, 9953291490.
g. Reporting: MITR’s are required to keep a record of their mentoring
experience by filling the Feedback Forms after every session and
share your report with the program coordinator once in a quarter.
h. Diversity and Sensitivity: The students come from different
environments and we need to be sensitive to their situations. It would be
good if you can once visit their homes to develop a better understanding
of their immediate environment.
i. School Functions : It would be a great idea to participate with your
mentees in the various school events e.g. festival celebrations, Sports or
science events etc.
j. Share Feedback: We expect you to share your reflections / suggestions
/ feedback on the program via email to somya.kukreti@gmail.com
k. Recognition: As a small token of our appreciation, we will give you a
certificate at the end of one year to acknowledge your contribution; but
believe us, your biggest reward will be the positive transformation in your
mentee.
6. WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM VIDYA

a) Program Coordinator: We will appoint a program coordinator who would

be your single connect with the school and will closely monitor the
program.
b) Orientation Program: We will conduct an orientation session for all MITR’s,
where we will share more details of the programs and introduce you to your
mentees. We will also have our school counselor talk about basic skills and
some simple tips / pitfalls of counseling.
c) Access to school counselor: You will have access to the school counselor to
support you on a case-to-case basis.
d) Collaboration groups: The program coordinator will setup and moderate a
collaboration group of all MITR’s where we will expect you to share your
experiences, reflections or program improvement ideas or seek help from the
MITR community.
e) Class Teacher & MITR Annual Interaction: The school will provide an
opportunity for the MITR’s to interact with the mentee’s class teacher once a
year. We will let all stakeholders know of the date of this meeting at least 2
weeks prior to the meet.
 7. THE ROAD AHEAD :

Please take out time to go through our web site www.vidya-india.org or go through
a small film on VIDYA at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXciku8qyag&feature=youtu.be

We look forward to your signing up for this program. Please fill up the
attached document and forward that to either of our email ids mentioned
below.

Please feel free to contact the following for any further information you may require.

Richa Sahni (#: 98181 30574; Email : richasahni12jan@gmail.com)

Yash Pal Syngal (#: 98110 70080; Email : yash.syngal@vidya-india.org )

Divjyot Kaur (Email : Divjyot.kaur@vidya-india.org)

Warm
regards,
Rashmi Misra
Founder and Chairperson
VIDYA Integrated Development for Youth and Adults
Block-S, Plot No. 3126, Sector-24, DLF Phase III, Gurgaon
122002 Email: misra.rashmi@gmail.com