Make Ways Academy

The academy is basically just House No-2 in Patel Nagar, tucked away in Star Colony here in Lucknow. It’s a quiet residential street for the most part, though things get a bit more active when the students start arriving. We use a couple of the ground floor rooms for the classes. It feels more like a home than a school, which I think the kids actually like. There is a small porch out front where they park their bicycles. During the summers, the Lucknow heat is really something, so we’ve got these heavy curtains to keep the sun out. The neighborhood is mostly families, so everyone knows each other. If someone’s bike is blocking the lane, someone will just shout from the gate to move it. We don’t have a big sign or anything, just a small board. I spend a lot of time just organizing the notebooks and making sure there’s enough chalk and markers for the day. Sometimes the water cooler acts up and I have to fiddle with it to get it working again. It’s just me and a couple of others keeping the place running. We started this because there wasn't much else for students in this specific pocket of Patel Nagar. It’s not a corporate office, just a place where we sit down and study. We stay until late evening most days until the last student leaves for Star Colony.