Oscar Foundation and the Consulate General of Israel, Mumbai announced the opening of the Digital Learning Centre (DLC) in Chembur, Mumbai. The Center will be inaugurated on 17 December, 2020 by Yaakov Finkelstein, Israel’s Consul General in Mumbai. He will be accompanied by Ashok Rathod, Founder-Director, Oscar Foundation.
Anjali Naik, Municipal Council Member from Chembur will be the guest of honour for the inauguration.
The DLC in Chembur will cater immediately to the academic needs of 100 children from low-income backgrounds through 14 brand new computers that can be used to access their school work online.
For the academic year of 2021-2022, the DLC will reach out to 250 underprivileged children through this centre. The centre will contribute to a smooth transition to online learning by providing access to digital courses to children and youth in the Vashi Naka community.
The Consulate General of Israel has supported this Digital Learning Center with the assistance of MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation. MASHAV, which is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel was started in 1957. Over a period of six decades, MASHAV has trained tens of thousands of trainers across the world. It has helped setting up projects in developing countries that will create an impact at the community level. This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MASHAV has shifted to the digital platform for its training courses and has been supporting noteworthy initiatives like the one started by OSCAR Foundation.
OSCAR Foundation is an organisation that uses football sessions as an incentive to keep children in school. This unique ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ strategy has enabled OSCAR to impact the lives of 3,000 children in Mumbai and Karnataka in 2019-20. Over the last 10 years OSCAR has reached out to nearly 12,000 children. OSCAR Foundation founder-director Ashok Rathod mentioned, “ The DLC in Chembur is the first step in our goal to provide quality education to marginalised communities. The parents and children who already attend our football sessions have been longing for a DLC where they can study and learn in a safe environment. We are so glad we are able to deliver this to them with the support of MASHAV.”
On this occasion, Consul General Yaakov Finkelstein said, “The Israeli Consulate is proud to kick-start the cooperation with OSCAR Foundation, with the launching of the new Education Center in Chembur. As Israel is a strong believer in using education for building technological abilities, it's very symbolic that the new center will be equipped with the newest IT systems and computers, for the childrens' benefit.“
