ENGAGE is conducting a pilot program to enhance the social emotional learning of children living with different disability conditions. The pilot is based on a theoretical framework developed by Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a U.S.A. based not for profit consortium of experts and academicians. The pilot is focused on physical and extracurricular activities but also more traditional support to learning, especially writing. We are working thanks to the service commitment of Urja, Grishma, Namita and Aastha ENGAGE Corps, all students of social work at undergraduate level that, paired up, are working with children from two different organizations, Autism Care Nepal and Shanti Sewa Griha, two well established not for profits in Nepal.
Urja and Grishma have been assigned to Autism Care while Namita and Aastha have been working with Shanti Sewa Griha, both groups serving full time twice a week, on Monday and Tuesday. Both teams have devised a Learning Curriculum that set the learning outcomes and related activities based on the CASEL model of social and emotional learning. At Autism Care Nepal, the curriculum is more focused on physical and sport related exercises while at Shanti Sewa Griha the work is more on more traditional learning, especially writing in Nepali and some more basic english language classes in addition to other extra curricular learning oriented games and plays.