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India’s own loveable characters on the television show Galli Galli Sim Sim are engaging Indian preschoolers in joyful learning experiences covering basic reading and math skills, socio-emotional development, health and hygiene practices, and celebrating the country’s multicultural diversity.
Research indicates that early childhood care and education in the first six years of life, globally accepted as the critical development years, influence a child’s lifetime educational, social and economic achievements. Of India’s 128 million children between ages two and six, about two-thirds nationwide lack access to formal early education. For the approximate 6 million children living in India’s impoverished urban slums, only 1.5 million are reached by the government’s efforts to promote early education.
Galli Galli Sim Sim was launched in August 2006 by Sesame Workshop and Turner Entertainment Networks Asia to expand the nation’s early education opportunities to all Indian preschoolers. The initiative includes a television show and content delivered through other media, as well as a strong educational outreach component which is led by Sesame Workshop India. With a goal to ultimately reach 1.3 million children and their caregivers living in urban slums across India’s 6 largest cities, the Galli Galli Sim Sim outreach program is being rolled out in balwadis (preschool child care centers) and, literally, into the streets in urban slums on repurposed vegetable carts equipped with televisions, DVD players, generators and themed educational materials for children and caregivers.
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has committed $2 million over a five year period to support Galli Galli Sim Sim educational outreach in the urban slums of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
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Photo Credit: Sesame Workshop
'Chamki,' full of life and forever curious, is a Muppet character on Galli Galli Sim Sim, India’s local version of Sesame Street.
Grants: $2 million over 5 years
Activities: Educational outreach to preschoolers and caregivers in India’s urban slums
Impact: 1.3 million preschoolers
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