UPKRAM

UPKRAM Nurturing expression of children from underserved communities to build agency for better life outcome

23/06/2026

Every day can be a Reading Day when a culture of reading is nurtured. 🤗🌻

In our partner government primary schools, children reach for books during free time not because they have to, but because they want to. This joy is what Padhne ki Ghanti, our school library programme, cultivates.🌈

A library is more than a room full of books. It is a space where children discover stories, poems, comics, travelogues, and worlds that spark imagination, curiosity, and expression.✨

Our libraries are led and maintained by the children themselves. In doing so, they develop leadership and collective ownership, the foundation of a reading culture that sustains itself. 🤗

Reading is one of the first foundational skills we give a child. It unlocks learning, participation, and a life lived wi...
19/06/2026

Reading is one of the first foundational skills we give a child. It unlocks learning, participation, and a life lived with dignity.

But somewhere along the way, reading quietly loses its magic, shifting from a source of wonder to just another box to tick.

What if we changed that?

What if children first met reading through stories that sparked curiosity? Through conversations that made them ask questions? Through books that made them laugh, wonder, and imagine things they'd never imagined before?

At Upkram, that's exactly what storytelling pedagogy makes possible. Stories become the medium through which children build language, explore ideas, make sense of the world and discover that reading can be joyful.

Because children who find joy in reading don't just read better. They read more. They read longer. They become lifelong readers.

This National Reading Day, let's celebrate more than the ability to read.

Let's celebrate the love for it.

16/06/2026

Children immersed in the joy of stories under the open sky :)

This is what we mean when we say we nurture expression and agency in children. 🤗

This is what we mean when we say we use storytelling pedagogy to strengthen children's reading and writing skills.✍️

This is what we mean when we say joyful learning creates meaningful participation.🌈

As we approach National Reading Day, here is a glimpse of a community read-aloud session led by our team member, Nutan. Through stories and shared laughter, children and their parents come together to experience the joy of reading.

Education is one of the strongest safeguards against child labour. ✍️When access to quality education, learning resource...
12/06/2026

Education is one of the strongest safeguards against child labour. ✍️

When access to quality education, learning resources, and supportive environments is limited, the risk of child labour increases.

According to the United Nations, 138 million children are still engaged in child labour worldwide. Even today, millions of childhoods are shaped by work instead of learning, play, and opportunity.

This is especially true in remote and underserved communities, where poverty, limited opportunities, and social circumstances often prevent children from staying in school.

Every child who has access to quality learning, compassionate educators and opportunities to thrive is one step closer to a future defined by choice rather than circumstance.

Let us continue supporting efforts that ensure every child has the right to learn, and build a better future. 🌻

The expression and form of play have evolved over time. From open fields, physical movement, and outdoor games, childhoo...
11/06/2026

The expression and form of play have evolved over time.

From open fields, physical movement, and outdoor games, childhood play is increasingly shifting towards digital devices, structured environments, and purchased resources. Today, when many of us think of play, we picture screens and toys.

But in many rural communities, play often looks different.🌻

A handful of pebbles becomes a game of Goti.
A patch of soil and a stone are enough to mark a playing field.
Clay, cardboard, sticks, leaves, and everyday objects transform into tools for imagination.

What stands out is not the absence of resources, but the abundance of imagination.✨

On this International Day of Play, we remind ourselves that play does not always require toys, gadgets, or dedicated infrastructure, sometimes, all it takes to play is a few friends, an open space, and the freedom to imagine. 🌻🤗

[International day of play, bachpan manao, Children, Rural India, Sonbhadra]

What can make school holiday homework interesting and fun for children? 🤔This year, we asked ourselves this question. ✨F...
10/06/2026

What can make school holiday homework interesting and fun for children? 🤔

This year, we asked ourselves this question. ✨

For many of us, summer vacations meant playing outdoors until sunset, exploring our surroundings, and learning from the world beyond textbooks. Yet, gradually, holiday homework is turned into pages of repetitive exercises and assignments.

Instead of worksheets, we designed activities that children genuinely enjoy and learn by doing. Something which also bridges the gap between school and community. Keeping the context of rural tribal communities in mind, we wanted children to reconnect with their culture, language, nature, and the people around them and feel proud of their identity.🌻

Children are speaking with elders about their childhood memories, creating toys and learning materials from clay, and becoming more aware of themselves, their school, and their community.

These experiences nurture curiosity, encourage care for nature, and help children discover that learning exists all around them :)

[Children, Play, Learning by doing, School break, Sonbhadra]

What happens after a child receives their very own library?🤔Months after delivering bags of children's literature throug...
06/06/2026

What happens after a child receives their very own library?🤔

Months after delivering bags of children's literature through Jab Kahaaniyan Ghoomne Nikli, we went back to meet the children, not to give, but to listen.

We wanted to know: were the books being read? Were they becoming part of daily life? Were children taking ownership of the stories we had left behind?

Our conversations with the children were heartwarming. Some children eagerly asked for more books. Some proudly showed us how they had carefully stored them in an almirah. Others told us how they now visit each other's homes to read together, swapping stories the way children swap secrets.

These follow-up visits mattered to us because the work doesn't end at delivery. It lives in how a child handles a book, remembers a character, or chooses to read before bed.

If you believe every child deserves a story of their own, support our journey of creating opportunities for learning, expression, and agency for children in Sonbhadra.

[Jab kahaaniyan ghoomne nikli, Children, Literature, Joy of reading]

04/06/2026

The sight of children immersed in books may seem ordinary. Something like how we expect every childhood to look. Yet, for many children living in some of the most remote parts of our country, access to books, stories, and joyful learning remains out of reach.

Last year, Jab Kahaaniyan Ghoomne Nikli set out to change that reality. Through this first-of-its-kind initiative in rural India, stories travelled across villages, hills, and forests in the tribal belt of Sonbhadra, reaching children during their summer and winter vacations and turning community spaces into vibrant corners of reading, imagination, curiosity, and learning.

We revisited these places and met the children, reminded once again that meaningful change sometimes begins with something as simple as a story in a child's hands.

Join us in keeping this journey alive. ✨

[Jabkahaaniyan ghoomne nikli, literature, Sonbhadra, Joy of Reading]

30/05/2026

Beyond work, meetings, and deadlines, an organisation is built on people, conversations, ideas, and a shared purpose. 🌻

For a grassroots organisation, what truly keeps the journey alive is the people who choose to walk together. Here, we learn, lead, and create together and sometimes pause to reflect or share a meal.

We believe that meaningful work grows when people are given the space to express themselves fully through art, stories, conversations, or simply by being who they are. ✨

We are thankful to everyone who has been part of this journey. Each one has left something behind: a thought, a memory, a perspective, a contribution that continues to shape who we are becoming. 🌼

[Work culture, teambuilding, collective growth, grassroots]

Strengthening the capacity of our team has never been a question for us. We believe that both personal and professional ...
26/05/2026

Strengthening the capacity of our team has never been a question for us.

We believe that both personal and professional growth are integral to organisational development, and we remain grateful to have partners like who continue to support this journey.✨

Recently, our team member Tulika attended a workshop in Delhi focused on strengthening skills in program coordination and management. Through the sessions, she explored the intricacies of classroom observations, learned to integrate thoughtful questioning into lesson plans, and reflected on ways to incorporate SEL elements into classroom practices.🤔

Beyond the workshop, there were also happy moments of meeting new people, sharing conversations, and visiting Qutub Minar, moments that make learning journeys memorable in their own way.🤗

[team, capacity building, grassroots, impact, education]

Address

Dalla, Chopan
Robertsganj
231207

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+918052506804

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