Monday, November 26, 2007
Gift A Smile
Since 1985, the Art of Living Foundation has helped support Gift A Smile, an innovative school and service program for children and their communities in rural India. The school is now so popular that many parents in this traditionally agricultural area (with no history of education or schooling) now send their children to school instead of to work in the fields.
Gift A Smile is pleased to sponsor the "Dollar-a-Day" Program for the children in the poorer regions of India. For only a dollar a day, you can house, feed, clothe and provide education for a school-aged child.
Students from five to twenty years of age are provided with balanced meals, regular medical care, school supplies, and two sets of uniforms. Since public schooling is not available in the villages and tuition for distant private schools is too costly, Dollar-a-Day offers the only opportunity these youngsters will have to acquire the education and skills they need to become self-sufficient adults.
At present there are three kinds of schools - tribal schools, rural schools and schools for the weaker sections in cities. Although the philosophy behind all the schools is the same, the working methodology is slightly different. In the tribal areas, there are non-conventional schools, which lay more emphasis on enabling the students to shine in the fast changing world. In the rural areas, normal conventional schools provide all round education to fully tap the creativity of the child. In the schools for the weaker sections, a greater emphasis is laid on human values and inculcation of good habits like cleanliness and hygiene.
Our schools nurture the complete child, including mind, body and spirit. Family values are strengthened and social barriers are replaced by progressive attitudes. In addition to the basic curriculum of science, math, reading, language and arts, several innovative approaches are incorporated into the students' daily routing. These include:
Laughter: Studies are presented as an enjoyable challenge instead of as an overly-serious undertaking.
Friendliness: Students are encouraged to make new friends continually, fostering a feeling of closeness and togetherness.
Belonging: Each child is encouraged to feel that his/her teacher is also his/her friend and confidant. On this ground of mutual trust and admiration, a feeling of belonging to a caring community is cultivated.
Vocational and art classes provide older students with the practical and creative skills required to make a living and to help make their personal lives fuller. Women, who have traditionally remained at home with little opportunity for social contact or vocational training, now have a chance to expand their opportunities and to find new purpose in their lives. Classes for women include tailoring, typing, and traditional Indian crafts such as art, painting and music.
source: http://www.artofliving.org.sg
Ved Vigyan Mahavidyapeeth
The VVMVP school is located on the 21st Km of Kanakapura road. It was established with a commitment towards excellence in holistic education for children from rural backgrounds. Inspired by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar, this school provides free education for over 2000 children from around 45 villages in the surrounding area. A majority of the children in this school are first generation learners. They are the first in their families to receive any kind of formal and structured education.
The children are given healthy and nutritious mid day meals from the school. The teachers also come from the same background so that they can understand the mindset of the students and relate to them in a better way. The school focuses on the all-round development of the child. In order to bring the students into the mainstream of society various workshops like the ART Excel program are conducted. This helps the child to gain confidence and perform better in the educational and cultural fields.
There is a fleet of school buses that pick up the children from their homes in the morning to take them to school. The children all wait with their friends and classmates from the same village for the bus which arrives at around 8:30 in the morning. This transport is provided to them for free. New sets of uniforms, schoolbooks and even bags are provided to the children so that they do not forsake their education for want of any of these material amenities. Along with academics, education is balanced with an emphasis on social curricular activities like dance, music, drama, debates, tree planting campaigns, sports and a host of other activities. The local culture is emphasized and the folk art forms are maintained by inculcating a healthy respect for their own culture
The children have been provided with a healthy and nurturing atmosphere. The school follows the State Board of Karnataka syllabus. In spite of 95% of the students being first generation learners, the school has had a 100% pass rate in the board exams! The parents of these children are so happy to see them going to school whereas otherwise they would have been working in the fields and other such places even at this young age.
There are many more such children waiting to be supported. You can participate in making this beautiful vision come true.
It costs Rs.10,000 per child per year (education, transport, food, medicals, uniforms, books, bags etc. inclusive). To sponsor a child, send your cheques/DD in favour of �Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth� payable at Bangalore to �288/C, 10th Main, 5th Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore-560041�. For further info: ph: 080-28432274/9342241537
Original source: http://www.aolcbe.org/repo/vvmps.htm