From Street-Tested to Scaled: Doorstep’s Legacy and Opentree’s Transformation
Classrooms full of play, progress and possibility
In March 2023, Seema returned to Mumbai with her husband Professor Sanjay Sharma, his cousins Sundip and Rupa, and her father Jagdish. Despite being on crutches with a fractured ankle, Seema was determined to spend time with the charities, do some strategic thinking, and see just how far they had come.
The Opentree Foundation welcomed the group into one of their Foundational Play™ classrooms. The room was alive with chatter, movement and joy: children solving puzzles, negotiating rules, collaborating in small groups, and confidently choosing games that matched their interests and skill levels.
Inside a Foundational Play™ classroom · March 2023
This photograph from that day captures the moment perfectly — a space where learning, confidence and emotional wellbeing were unfolding in real time.
Sanjay, whose career in cardiology is shaped by evidence and outcomes, was struck by how intentional the environment was and how joyful the children were. This wasn’t just “play” — it was a structured, research-backed model designed to build life skills, strengthen emotional resilience and support foundational learning. He watched children move between guided activities with focus, independence and collaboration, each one learning skills through play that would help them thrive far beyond the classroom.
For Sundip and Rupa, it was their first time seeing Child Action’s work in person. They were delighted to see a School on Wheels firsthand. Jagdish, who spent his career at the World Bank working on community development across Africa, was impressed by how much the Opentree programme had grown — from simple play sessions years ago to a fully developed, NEP-aligned model now being adopted across government schools.
At a Doorstep School on Wheels bus · March 2023
The visit made clear just how transformative Foundational Play™ has become; this was systems change built from the ground up.
What began as a small initiative in Mumbai is now one of India’s most compelling approaches to early learning — measurable, scalable and deeply human.
Seema — on crutches with a fractured ankle — and family during the visit · March 2023
Read more about The Opentree Foundation and Doorstep School.