Mensa International was founded in England in 1946 with the idea of forming a society for bright people, the only qualification for membership of which was a high IQ. Mensa identifies a gifted person as one who has attained a score within the upper two percent of the general population on an approved intelligence test that has been properly administered and supervised. The individual must achieve a score at or above the 98th percentile (a score that is greater than or equal to 98 percent of the general population taking the test) on a standard test of intelligence. 
The Tribal Mensa Nurturing Program, an emerging chapter of Mensa International, is an initiative working to identify and nurture gifted children among tribal populations in India. We aim to enable and empower these children to become future leaders. We believe that there is a strong need to recognize gifted youth, as their accomplishments, potential the capacity to lead, their concerns about the world, and their ability to think creatively are in fact national assets. However, for these children to be successful, they need support and encouragement from peers, families, educators, programs and organizations. Through the Tribal Mensa initiative, we sincerely hope to be able to impact the lives of many of our country’s most able young people. We hope to be able to offer them recognition, resources and opportunities which will play an important role in their overall development. We understand that these gifted children need to be nurtured, supported, and challenged in order for them to reach the heights that they are capable of. We hope to be a stepping stone for these children to advance, excel and flourish. The Tribal Mensa Giftedness Identification Program conducts tests to screen tribal school children in order to identify those who are gifted.
Once identified these children are nurtured through a series of activities designed to ensure maximum learning and development of the child’s mind and body. Our team members make two trips a month to each school that we work with and conduct nurturing activities based on the ‘PanchaKosha’ Model of Human Development which is derived from ancient Indian texts. Each student receives a “Nurturing Kit” which contains activity books and games that challenge the child’s intelligence. The Bal Yogesh Project provides the gifted students with training in basic yoga and philosophy. The Bal Mitra Upasak Project guides the student’s development through physical, mental and spiritual exercise. Not only are the subjects made challenging and enjoyable to these gifted children, but special care is take to nurture their curious minds.
The ensure that every child receives the nurturing they deserve, we provide individual counseling and conduct teacher training programs and workshops at regular intervals to enhance the quality of education. Once the child completes school, our team provides scholarships to those students who wish to study further and improve their chances for a brighter future.
Through this initiative we strive to create future leaders among these tribal youth. We hope with time that these individuals will be able to empower their communities and our society.
With the help and support of our donors, we have since the inception of this program screened more than 50 schools spread across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh,Jammu and Kashmir and Assam and have identified over 2500 high IQ (gifted) children.These children are now undergoing skill development programs and are in different stages of intellectual nourishment. I am sure that if we work together we can help and support these young people who represent our nation’s future leaders,educators and professionals.
Our team is eagerly looking forward to further support from individuals, foundations and organizations to create the resources and opportunities necessary to meet the needs of these valuable young people.

Tribal Mensa Nurturing Program

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