I am Vijaya Lakshmi, Product Associate for Key Education Foundation‘s CLAP project. Our Bangalore-based NGO’s mission is to improve the quality of Early Childhood Education in India.

Children Learning, Assisted by Parents, or CLAP, is a programme that empowers and enables parents to participate in their child’s play-based learning. Our goal is to increase awareness of responsive parenting practices,build  confidence in their own ability to support development in early years and to build a habit of playing with their children. We believe that children learn the best through play.

Getting to Know the Glific Team

 I was eager to finally meet the entire glific team, with whom I had only ever communicated virtually. I am thankful to the team for creating a community where we could all come together and exchange ideas and knowledge on the Chatbot.  

Meeting the NGO’s

I got to meet many like-minded people and learn about the difference they’ve been making in the social sector. Over the course of those three days, I gained a lot of knowledge from each NGO that participated in the sprint. Glific did a fantastic job of creating an environment where we could all come together to connect and collaborate.  

At the airport, I met Gautham from Reap Benefit, and we began to talking right away about our experiences with our own chatbots. I learned about a new programme called Frappe, and I can’t wait to give it a try.

IKKI, the chatbot from Quest Alliance, was something I had a chance to explore. I love the way the have designed their script to keep their users engaged. 

Every time I spoke to a new person, a voice in the back of my head would say, “Oh, that’s so amazing; I can’t wait to try it out.” I’m back now with so many fantastic ideas that I can’t wait to share.

Fun time

The three days in Udaipur not only did have a lot of learning but a lot of fun too. After our day ended we all went out for dinner by the lake. Around 7-8 people travelled in one auto, the auto driver was a little skeptical that we would all fit in one auto but we did anyway. It was fun getting to know them outside their work. We visited the monsoon palace as well and it had a breathtaking view.

Conclusion

Some of the conversations with Erica, Krishna and other dinner-table conversations, I’ve been left wondering what else our chatbot is capable of. These discussions gave  me an entirely new perspective of the impact we want to create at KEF.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend the Sprint and to meet folks who are so driven and inspired to make a difference in their surroundings and are working tirelessly towards it. Looking forward to more such spaces where people can gather to learn, network, contribute, and have fun.