Project jedi

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To reach out to less privileged children online to make them excited about reading and learning. 

April 15, 2020

• Be a Team Leader, if you are living in an area where education is not accessible to underserved children and you wish to support their education. 
• Volunteer with us to create drawing instructions, or interactive games for children.

To fix a call with us to know more about the program whatsapp us at +91 93487 31510. 

or/and

To help this project sustain.

Picture this: You’re a child. Your school has shut down. The playgrounds are empty. The streets are silent. Your parents, daily wage workers, have suddenly lost their income. There's worry at home. Maybe even hunger.

No one asks how you’re doing. There are no friends to talk to, no teachers to explain what’s happening, no routine to hold on to. You’re left alone with questions, fear, and silence.

This was the reality for millions of children in India when COVID-19 forced the country into lockdown.

In just one week, Childline India (1098) received over 3.07 lakh calls—a 50% spike—from children facing abuse, confusion, and emotional distress.

In these moments, children didn’t need just homework. They needed someone to care. Someone to listen.

Let’s look at one such critical story:  

Riya (name changed), 11, used to attend Unmukt’s community sessions regularly. When lockdown began, she was stuck at home—her mother worried, her father jobless, food supplies low. She stopped speaking in calls. She stopped drawing.

Then she met her  mentor who called every week, not to teach math, but to talk. To ask how she was. To play a word game. To listen. Within weeks, Riya was sketching again. She made posters on how to stay safe from Corona. She began writing stories. Slowly, she returned to herself.

All she needed was a friend who showed up.

 Project Jedi was born out of a question: How do we reach our children when the world shuts down? The answer was simple: with people. We brought together a team of volunteers—Jedis—inspired by the guardians of peace and justice in Star Wars. For us, a Jedi is a mentor, a guide, a steady voice in a child’s life during turbulent times.

They helped children talk again, laugh again, and learn again.

Through regular online or phone-based interactions, Jedis helped children rebuild routine, regain confidence, and rediscover joy in learning—even from inside a single room

Segment of the population it served

Children aged 8 to 14 from underserved, vulnerable communities. 

Program Duration

Completed.

Focus Areas

Project Jedi focused on making English learning and reading accessible to children through stories, conversations, and creative stimuli—nurturing curiosity, confidence, and connection during isolation. 

In just a few weeks, Project Jedi brought together mentors from across India—alumni of IIMs, NITs, professionals, entrepreneurs, and individuals driven by compassion. Together, they created safe, nurturing spaces where children could read, speak, and express freely. Children designed Corona-awareness posters, explored themes like the environment, communication, and even coding, and began to share their thoughts through stories, drawings, and conversation. For many mentors, the project became a source of purpose and healing during a time of widespread uncertainty.

Project Jedi didn’t just teach—it listened. And in that listening, it helped children reconnect with joy, curiosity, and their own voice.