Maher Ashram (Robotics)

I led a community outreach program for my robotics team ‘Invictus’ and taught young children from Maher Ashram about motors and other robotic components over several weekends. We taught children ages 5-15 about the components of a robot and demonstrated how to assemble a basic robot and how to operate drones. Children in Maher Ashram didn’t have access to the latest in technology, so these trainings and demonstrations were aimed to teach young underprivileged kids something new and creative to generate hope.

Maher (Marathi: My mother’s home) is a UN-registered, interfaith and caste-free Indian non-governmental organisation based near Pune. The objective of the organisation is to provide shelter and support to needy, exploited, battered women, men and children. It was founded by Sister Lucy Kurien in 1997 in the village of Vadhu Budruk.

I learned more from Maher kids than I actually taught them. These kids were happy, energetic, positive and eager to learn; they were oblivious to their circumstances, which I was inspired by.