Behind The Scenes of Turn The Bus (Part.2)

Interviewer: We are back with Java Singh and another captivating conversation. Hoping to get to know more about the workings of Turn The Bus as we continue our delightful conservation. 

Interviewer : Tell us about your interesting experiences at work. 

Java: My best experience has been with two groups, one was a team of students pursuing B.A (honors) in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram college. These students created content for class 12 political science students. They were committed to our cause. Another team experience that is close to my heart was at the state university of Udaipur. The geography department’s head was enthusiastic about our mission, she put together a group of her research students to create content for class 10 Geography students. 

Interviewer: How do you think the work you and Turn The Bus put together is helping the targeted population? 

Java: Our mission statement is to provide education. Our inspiration was Khan Academy, it was helpful for so many students, even Bill Gates appreciated his tutorials and found them effective for his children. Similarly, we hope that even for Turn The Bus’s content that any child sitting in rural Bihar will receive our content. We aim to provide students with substantial education. We hope to evoke curiosity and respect for learning among these children from rural India. 

Interviewer: How do you think Turn The Bus’s contribution is helping society stride towards a better future? 

Java: Our contribution is very small because we are helping a community with a low literacy level. Bihar’s literacy level is 65% among men and amongst women, it is much lower. We are up against major problems such as the mother with whom the child spends most of their time is illiterate herself, during monsoons they are devoid of electricity for days, due to monetary or health problems the child is not admitted to schools or the schools are too far for the child to attend. Hence, these challenges are very difficult to overcome. But we hope to help these children to study at their own pace and time, making it easier for them to cope. There is also a digital barrier, they hardly have one cell phone in the family and the girl child is usually the last to get to use it. We are hoping to deliver education to every child’s doorstep. We are also working on counseling the families on the importance of educating the female children, and buying them a cell phone which will primarily be used for education purposes. Hope to change the mindsets of the parents and motivate them to become more self-reliant, possibly through a digital revolution which will help them to take control of their lives. 

Interviewer:: Thank you Java for this insightful conversation. It was a pleasure talking to you.