Manzil During Covid

“Where there is a will, there is a way” – William Hazlitt

And that is the philosophy that has brought us here today. 2.5 years of the pandemic has crossed by, but our zeal to continuously reinvent ourselves and enable shared learning for Manzillions in the virtual world has only picked up more pace.

Manzil is a learning space where we always take opportunities from a learning point of view. When we started virtual classes it was not as easy. Issues regarding the network, limited devices and lack of technology were challenging for us. But our team and teachers didn’t give up. We found ways to make our classes more interactive and tried to solve these problems and now all the classes are virtual and people are connecting with us from all across the country.

And it has opened so many doors for us.

Reshaped the way our admission processes work.
Inspired us to open several new programs to enable our students.
And shown us how online classes can enable us to reach students far and wide.

Reshaping our Admission Process

Before the pandemic, we had well defined admission process at Manzil.

Every interested student would fill and submit a hard copy of their admission form.
The teachers would help them and review the forms.
On the first Sunday of every month, the admission process of all candidates (appx. 50-100 people) would be conducted together in a physical space.
The process lasted for around 2 hours where students got the opportunity to know more about Manzil, how it came to be, its ideology, what all they can learn and even interact with teachers and coordinators of different subjects.

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Post pandemic, we streamlined our admission process using online video conferencing solutions like Zoom and Google Meet.

The new process includes:

Release of an application notice 1 week prior to the admission date, along with the Google Form for application
A team of form checkers review these applications with required feedback until the admission day
The admission day is still on the first Sunday of every month
Every candidate joins the online video call at 4 PM, and the admission process starts
Participants are shown videos, and short presentations to induct them to Manzil’s values, processes and teams. And are also added to their subject wise orientation calls with respective teachers

With the use of technology, we have now been able to admit and collect student data digitally. Now anyone with mobile and internet access across the world can enroll and attend Manzil’s classes unlike before when travelling used to be a big issue and students were limited to only nearby locations.

READ MORE…

Shared Learning via Online Classes

During Covid, the spirit of learning at Manzil did not fizzle, just the medium changed. We shifted all our classes to online to continue the learning for our students. Zoom or Google Meet was used to conduct lessons, and teachers started making use of PowerPoint, virtual games, and eBooks to take their classes much more effectively. Students of art classes such as dance, theater and kathak also started using technology to learn more effectively.

Here are some of the ways we were able to positively impact our ongoing initiatives with online learning:

Impact on the Hello Zindagi Program

We were able to ensure the objective of helping young people through this program by creating self-introspection workbooks, taking sessions around emotions and time management, resume making, and professional conduct at workplace. And ever since 130+ students have gained from this program, 5 of them getting hired for Manzil internships in 2021.

How Our Teachers Adapted to the Challenge

Our founder, Ravi bhaiya, started a fortnightly meeting with all teachers to give them a space to learn and help each other. They could share challenges, discuss ideas, and develop together. Occasionally we invite guests on the call to share their life journey and motivate the teachers.

Online Talent Show & Celebrations

With Covid forcing us to turn everything virtual, we began to organize our events online. The students got to learn a whole new way of managing events. And the best part was being able to see everyone from different age groups participate with enthusiasm, and have such a fun time together!

As a result of online learning modes, we saw:

Several students from outside Delhi join Manzil classes. Our numbers increased to 400 per month.
New learning possibilities with outstation mentors & volunteers.
No more constraint with respect to physical classes. We could add as many students, and there was no need of waiting lists.

What makes our heart flutter with pride are the reviews we got from our students.

However, some of the common challenges that emerged was the unavailability of digital devices and internet connectivity with all students. As well as the limited ways these online classes could be made engaging. The Manzil team however rose up to these challenges and introduced new initiatives to enable these.

New Program Initiatives at Manzil

Digital Device Program

Manzil started a digital device distribution initiative, to support our students in their academic learning and enable them to attend online classes without any disturbance.

Teacher’s Well-being Sessions

These sessions were started to enable teachers to handle their emotional needs better. This not only made them aware about their mental health, but also guided them on how to address specific mental health issues among students.

Kotla School Theater & Storytelling

Dramebaaz – a theatre group of Manzil, helped organize a 10-day online theatrical workshop for 3-5 year olds to educate children with storytelling and basic theatre skills while making it fun and interactive for them.

Manzil Internships

For the first time, Manzil invited students to be a part of the team through internships. The idea was to take their learning a step forward by giving students exposure to the actual work and train them through learning-by-doing.

How Manzil Has Evolved During the Pandemic

If we look back, we can see that Manzil has come a long way from where it was in 2020 at the brink of the pandemic. There are several ways we have been able to impart learning and wellness for our students and teachers now. But none of this would have been possible unless we were able to first ensure a safe and healthy environment from them before. For most of our beneficiaries, it became difficult to even get timely food when Covid came. To them, learning became secondary. And so did for several other families suffering during those times. So our first challenge during that time was to keep the community together, to provide them ration kits, offering relief, organizing consultations, oxygen cylinders, hospital beds, and delivering medicines to the needy.

Several Manzillions Manzillions – students and alumni – came forward to volunteer during those times. They were leading this initiative and creating a safety net for everyone in the community in case they fall. Students learning to be sensitive to others around them, even if they themselves come from difficult economic backgrounds, their selfless spirit to serve in times of needs, acts of kindness and compassion by being a catalyst of change, all of these demonstrates that Manzil must be doing something right.

Here are some of our blogs that will give a detailed perspective on how we evolved together during the pandemic:

From Offline to Online

How we went overnight from physical spaces to online classes for students to give them a space to learn, and provide any support their family needed.

READ MORE

Manzillions’ Fight against Second Wave

The second wave saw several of our Manzillions volunteer to provide help and assistance to other Manzillions as well as those in need.

HERE’S HOW

Two Year of Virtual Manzil

Looking back at the past year full of learnings, new initiatives to appreciate how far we had come as a community that we are proud of building.

READ MORE

“No matter what the troubles are in front of us, we will fight those challenges and win in the end.”