Showing posts with label Esha Summer Project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Esha Summer Project. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Esha Summer Program 2026: AI for All

Context 

The project will run from April – March 2026. 

The idea is to use AI specifically for the non-sighted. 

What does that mean, exactly? 

If you are someone who is interested in AI and its use cases, find one that will specifically help the non-sighted. 

Then, write to us. 

You can work on the idea by yourself OR with a team member. (if you don’t have a team member, we will publish your idea and wait for someone to express interest) 

The implementation has a luxurious timeline of 3 months  – April to June 2026. 

We prototype in April/May. 

Test in May/June 

Do limited deployment latest by June end. 

And wait for the user response. 

So, is this a contest?

No. 

All usable ideas are winners. 

Who can participate? 

Anyone above the age of 14. The opportunity is best suited for students looking for a summer internship/project, but anyone at all. 

The project is open to everyone across the world. 

But I know nothing about blindness?  

We will host orientation sessions every weekend all through April. 

Register for any one of them to get the fundamentals, AMAs, and any other info you need. 

Register for a session that works for you here. 

https://forms.gle/U7eXrcE7m4JpH8DW9

But the best way to get to know the sector is to visit a school/hostel near you. Observe. Record. Understand. 

Finally, What’s in it for me? 

First, the opportunity to use AI as you haven’t imagined before. A greenfield territory. 

Two, the certificate. The certificate will also mention the adoption of your idea. Esha certificates are recognised globally and count towards community work AND tech experience. 

Third, all inventors retain the IP on their idea. However, we do require that the tech should be made available to the VI either for free OR at a nominal cost. 

Fourth, that magical thing – mentoring and meeting other great folks thinking differently in this space. 

More details here: https://eshabraille.org/current-projects/

Monday, July 31, 2023

Report on the Esha Summer Program 2023

The Esha Summer Project 2023 got off to a nice start with 55 registrations. Most of these registrations were through social media. 

As usual, the students were asked for their choice of project. 

Orientations were held for students who opted for project management, video making, and research. 

Eventually, three students were part of the research project. They did some analysis and helped us create tables and graphs that went into the report. 

Students dropped out at various points in the program. 

We observed the following: 

A. Students who opted for video making dropped out when they realised that they have to follow a process and create an educational video, not a social media video. They did try but were not able to make an explainer. 

B. Some students had travel that interfered with the summer program. 

C. All the students who opted for Project Management dropped out because of the quantum of work. One student was blacklisted. It is recommended that project management should not be given to students. This experiment has failed, yet again. 

D. Some students, who chose research, were not able to devote the time required to do the analysis. The learning for us is that high school students are not able to tabulate data or make basic graphs. That expectation should be corrected. Further, there is a real time crunch among high school students. 


About 25 students were selected for participation. 11 students completed the program, and only one of them got a Certificate of Commendation this year. 


Our objective at Esha every year is that the students should get sensitised to the needs of blindness. Am very happy to report that the only student who did Blind Walks this year, was very touched at the end of the program. The other students who participated in research or recording also wrote to us that they learnt something as part of the project. 


One difference this year was that English screenreaders are now relatively mature. So, we did not get English content recorded. Content was contributed and is being uploaded on the Esha website for free download. Like CLABIL this content is also academic or literary in nature. 


Lessons for the next year

1. We should be more friendly with the volunteers. 

2. We need to keep the parents more involved throughout the process. Sometimes, students forget to tell us about travel plans. parents do this better. 

3. Project management should not be given to students at any level - including college. 

4. We shoudl try to get more college students. 

5. This year, we could not convince children to do Blind Walks. Next time, we should try and get more blind walks done. 


Output 

Audio Files - 12 audio files in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and English (1 file on lakes of Bengaluru). 

Content - 12 question banks submitted in History, Physics, English, Chemistry, and Biology. 

Blind Walks - Two blind walks covering 12 people. 

Research - 3 students 


Partial work is not listed in this output. Work done but not found to be of suitable quality is also not listed. 



Saturday, April 15, 2023

Esha Summer Program 2023

 The Esha Summer Program 2023 is here! 

The presentation is here. 

You can also see the slides in order below. 

The link to register is: https://forms.gle/P5hLAd77M3a381kj7

For any questions, please write to us at summers@clabil.org 

























Sunday, July 31, 2022

Report on the 2022 Esha Summer Program

The Esha Summer Project 2022 was a happy one in the sense that after 2 years, we reintroduced field work. 

For the last few years, the project management was being done by students. This year, I decided to do the project management myself to interact with the summer volunteers and to understand their working and communication style better, so we may train our next year's PMO volunteers better. 

Here are the observations: 

1. Since this project was going to be managed by a single PM, we decided to cap capacity at 15-20 volunteers only. 

2. We decided that a virtual orientation with all volunteers to help them understand the ethos of Esha was mandatory. If a volunteer does not attend the orientation, they cannot continue in the program. 

3. Like every year, the form had to be closed within 2-3 days. We got 45 applications within 4 days. We usually keep a buffer for about 40% dropout ratio, because students tend to underestimate the professionalism required for this work. Some children were underage. We informed them and looked forward to having them in the program once they were older. 

4. The biggest dropout rate was in the orientation itself. Only 26 children attended the orientation. We held 2 sessions so children could attend at their convenience, and then one more at the request of some parents. 

5. Of the 26 who attended, we gave them assignments as per their choice. The website team had some discussions, but never really delivered anything. Quite a few students started work but did not submit by the deadline date. No reminders were sent, and they were removed from the program. Which was, I think, a good practice, because we never heard from these children again, so a reminder would have been a waste of time for both. 

6. A total of 10 volunteers completed the program and got their certificates. Of these, 3 were selected for the Certificate of Commendation. 

7. We conducted 3 blind walks, recorded 6 audio files, and made an awareness video about Discovering Hands - a special employment and health initiative by blind women. But the bulk of the work was done in research - we collected responses from 700 people through the summer program, which is very impressive. The next stage is report writing and making that report universally available. The audio files have now been uploaded to the online library. 


Overall, it was a satisfying experience and we had some lessons.

Some of the students who dropped out told us that they had applied to more than one summer program and just prioritised their time. i.e., if they got an assignment with a better known NGO, or one that interested them more, they went for it. 

The children who did volunteer with us said that their experience was positive and they enjoyed the experience. 

Next year, I think we should have a more structured feedback mechanism so that we are able to proactively improve the program for the volunteers of the future. 

These are the videos created as part of Summer Program 2022: 

Discovering Hands - Breast Cancer Detection without radiation - YouTube

Esha Sensitisation: Blind Walks of 2022 - YouTube


Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Discovering Hands - Early Breast Cancer detection - Sehar Jaggi makes a video

Very happy to share this. After 2 years, this year, Esha finally restarted field work on sensitisation and our summer project included Blind walks and information videos. 

One of the most amazing projects in India is early breast cancer detection. Early detection, esp for cancer, can make a world of difference.

Dr. Hoffman discovered, tested, and brought to market a technique that allows early detection of breast cancer in through a non-invasive, zero-radiation diagnostic test. This special technique was brought to India by the NAB Center for Women - because - wait for it - this non-invasive diagnostic test is conducted by VI professionals!

Sehar Jaggi, our volunteer for Summer program 2022, made this lovely awareness video on location - at the NAB Center for Women, Delhi! 

https://youtu.be/GIdPKdxN4ys

This is the first awareness video coming out of Esha after a long time. Do watch! :)

And if you are aware of more such initiatives that we can carry, please do let us know. Just a gentle reminder - our keywords are Dignity, Empowerment, Enablement.

Any project supporting these three keywords are wonderful for us to know about and amplify, in whatever small way we can.


Saturday, May 7, 2022

The Esha Summer Project 2022

Today, I checked. 

The Esha Summer Program started in 2011. We have been running a structured summer volunteering program for students for 11 years now! This is our 12th Summer Program. 

A summer program is not just a way to build the audio library, or improve the social media numbers for Esha. 

A summer program helps us sensitise scores of students every year. 

When they join, they are eager young people looking to add something to their resume. 

But as they conduct blind walks, learn braille, record, they change. They start to see inclusion for what it is - natural. 

This year, we offer 4 volunteering options. Field work is back for the first time since 2019. 

Inviting student interest in the Esha Summer Program. 

Entries close 15th May or when we reach program capacity, whichever is sooner. 

More details here. 


Please register here: https://forms.gle/2d26Hh1UvWF8n1qk9


Friday, August 6, 2021

Esha Summer Project 2021 and CLABIL update - More files added

 We just uploaded the files recorded during the Esha Summer Project 2021. 

This year, the mandate was to find content from our own families, and to record in Indian languages. 

19 files were recorded in Hindi and Marathi. Its a good start. Our metro children are very uncomfortable with Hindi and with finding content from their families, but after the initial hiccups, they did manage to talk to their grandparents and record some delightful content. 

The students recommended for a Certificate of Commendation are: 

Rhiditya Windlass 

Shlok Palekar 

Archit Pargaonkar 

:) Congratulations, all 3, and thank you for creating such good audio for the CLABIL project. 

All the files are now available in the Esha Audio Library - www.clabil.org/audio.php 

3 more files from Arthashastra were also added today. 



Saturday, July 24, 2021

The Lumber Room - Audio recorded by Nandika Karunakaram

We are glad to share the recording of The Lumber Room, Saki Short Story. This was recorded by Nandika Karunakaram, our summer volunteer of 2020. Click on the link below to listen to it!  

The Lumber Room

Enjoy! 

Check out Esha's online audio library- http://www.clabil.org/audio.php  for more recordings!      

Sunday, May 23, 2021

The Esha Summer Project 2021 is here!

 I'm very, very happy to share that the Esha Summer Project, 2021 is actually going to happen! 

If your child can speak fluently in at least one Indian language (Indian English not included), please join hands to create audio content for our free online audio library  - www.clabil.org/audio.php 

What it is 

The Esha Summer Project is an annual volunteering project specially created for students. 
Every year, we make it possible for students to volunteer from wherever they are. 

Usually, the Summer Project has 5-6 options for volunteering. But this year, in light of the circumstances, only audio recording is being offered. 

What will we record? 

This year, the focus theme is OUR HERITAGE. 

We will record any of these: 

A. Proverbs with their meanings and application. 

B. Folk tales - the ones we hear at home, not from books. 

C. Classic books (authorised version only please) - I am recording the Arthashastra. You can record stories from your classics - Ramayana in most parts of India, Sangam literature in the South, etc. 

D. Poetry in our own languages

E. Classic Short stories in Indian languages 

F. Local traditions, lesser known festivals and celebrations 

G. Some native cures that are commonly found in our homes but not otherwise well known. 

H. Any wealth, trade, investment, or business management practices that we know at home. 

I. Any farming practices that are known to your community but not outside. 

१. कहावतें, मुहावरे, लोकोक्तियाँ 

२. किस्से , कहानियाँ, जो घर पर सुनाए जाते हों, दादी नानी के द्वारा। कितब से पढ़ कर नहीं। 

३. आपकी भाषा कि कोई भी जानी मानी पुस्तक -  आधिकारिक प्रति से ही पढ़ी जानी चाहिए। जैसे मैं अर्थशास्त्र पढ़ रही हूँ। भरत के अधिकतर राज्यों में रामायण पढ़ी जाती है। 

४ कविताएँ, जो आपकी भाषा में लिखी गई हैं, अनुवादित नहीं। साहित्यिक कविताएँ भाव सहित पढिए। 

५. आपकी भाषा में साहित्यिक कहानियाँ 

६. आपकी संस्कृति के रिवाज, रवायतें, कुछ ऐसे त्योहार जिनके बारे में सब लोग नहीं जानते। 

७. घरेलू नुस्खे जो आपने अपने बड़ों से सुने हों या जो आपके घर में होते हैं। 

८. कोई व्यापार, धन आदि से जुड़ी सीख जो हुमएन घर में दी जाती है। जैसे मेरे घर में सिखाया जाता था कि हथेली ऊपर होनी चाहिए, नीचे नहीं। यानि कभी किसी से उधर नहीं लेना चाहिए। ऐसी कोई भी सीख या चीजें जो हम घर में करते हैं। 

९. खेती से संबंधित कोई भी राज या बात जो आपके घर में पाई जाती है। 

This project has been well thought out. 

Our idea is to encourage young people to undertake a journey to  their roots, and to do so, they will need to interact with their grandparents and other older relatives of the house. We hope that this will lead to great conversations, good learning, and of course, creating a body of work that preserves knowledge that is slowly being lost to the metro Indian. 

Who can participate? 

The project is open to everyone from 12 to 24 years of age. We have 30 volunteer slots this year. 

How does this work? 

If you have never participated in the Esha Summer program, it works in a really easy way: 

1. You apply 
2. Someone from the PMO either calls or emails you and confirms your participation. 
3. You get the how to guide for recording. 
4. You are assigned a member of the PMO who will understand your interests and make your assignments accordingly. 
5. The assignment is given on Sunday. You have until Thursday to complete that week's assignment. Submission is on Thursday. 
6. The PMO rep assigned to you checks and confirms that the assignment meets the quality and is accepted. 
7. If you have thoughts on what you want to record next, please talk to the PMO person and tell them. Since the focus this year is to harness the wisdom we have at home and take for granted, we expect to hear from you what should be recorded from your culture :) 
8. You can participate for one week or all 6 weeks. 
9. Once the project is over, we will issue a certificate after 2 weeks. This time is needed for us to process the entire content and issue certificates. 

Timeline

Registration: May 23rd to May 31st (or when we get 30 confirmations, whichever is sooner.) 

Assignment: As soon as you register and are confirmed. 

Recording till: July 15th

Certificates by: July 31st. 

Tell me about the certificate

Esha Volunteering Certificates are internationally recognised. The certificates are very specific. They indicate your time contribution, the languages you recorded in, and the no. of files. it is all verifiable online and with the organisation. 

Some exceptional volunteers in the past have also got letters of recommendation from us. 

Great! How does one register? 

Here: https://forms.gle/qyftooGixCdXAqtg9

We look forward to seeing you! 

Update: We reached project capacity within 2 days. Thank you so much for the overwhelming response. 


Wednesday, May 27, 2020

One Story a Day

This summer, let's listen to one good story a day.
Today's story is a Hindi story by Premchand: Bade Bhai Sahab.

Listen to it here:
http://goo.gl/XnNdjP