THE BACKGROUND
Children in remote villages in Tamil Nadu often do not have access to government schools. Even if they do, many of them drop out, for many reasons including the distance from their homes. Single Teacher Schools (STS) is a unique concept of schools which supplement govt. schools in Tamil Nadu & helps with the education of these children.
THE PICTURE BELOW SHOWS A TYPICAL SCHOOL
These schools have only basic infrastructure, and this becomes a challenge. Students do not have writing desks, and they do not have access to electricity. This is a hindrance as the school operates from 5 to 8 pm.
The solution is simple, the students each need a writing desk and the school needs at least one solar lamp.
THE SOLUTION
By providing these schools with solar lamps & writing desks - these students will have a better learning experience. The students at the school sit on mats or on poor and non-ergonomic seating arrangements. The objective is to enhance the facilities in the school so that the children, who belong to mostly families below the poverty line, are motivated to come to school.
THE COST OF PROVIDING A WRITING DESK TO EACH CHILD AND A SOLAR LAMP TO A SCHOOL ( EACH SCHOOL HAS ABOUT 30 CHILDREN ON AVG.) IS JUST INR 15000.
IMAGES BELOW SHOW SOLAR LAMPS AND WRITING DESKS AT SCHOOL
ABOUT ME
My name is VARUN MEHUL NANAVATI. I am 14 yrs old and in Grade 9 at the Sishya school at Adyar, Chennai.
I have undertaken this campaign because I believe a good learning environment is important for every child. Single Teacher Schools are an innovative concept that is helping a lot of students in remote rural areas of TN. There are currently 1057 schools with 31000 plus students and counting.
Parents of these children are daily wage laborers who work in agriculture, factories, shops, etc. These schools dramatically improve the quality of education and have the potential of getting the family out of the vicious cycle of poverty. This is because the parents are often illiterate and the child is the first person in the family to get educated.
However, it's not easy to sit on the floor and concentrate when you do not have even a writing desk. They often use their bags as makeshift desks. I was surprised to learn that for just INR 15000 we can fund writing desks for all 30 students PLUS give a solar lamp for the school. (Since these schools are from 5 to 8 pm and lighting is important).
Am very excited about this and want to help as many schools as possible through this crowdfunding initiative. Please support my campaign and let us together make studying fun & easier for these young students.
EXAMPLES OF STUDENTS YOU CAN IMPACT
GLIMPSES OF THE SCHOOLS
LOCATIONS OF THE SCHOOLS
ABOUT ROTARY CLUB OF MADRAS EAST
The club was inaugurated on 3rd April 1985 and has held Rotary principles and values enviably high. The founding fathers gave it the character it retains even today while at the same time strongly believing in its need to evolve with passing time. 30 years down the road, you see a vibrant club, young at heart and face, happening and vivacious.
The club has been in the thick of action conducting programmes and running projects that are pertinent and of value to the beneficiaries. Additionally, it has been holding for several years in a row, national events like – National Fair on Water Management in Agriculture, BioMass (waste reduction, reuse & recycling), Energy ’91 (conservation & alternative sources), Green Expo (balancing development & environment issues), Green Earth ’94 (population, pollution & poverty), Food Security Expo ’96, Millennium Fair – 99, with the help of our Honorary member the world-renowned scientist Dr M.S. Swaminathan and elderly statesman Sri. C. Subramaniam, the former Governor of Maharashtra.
TAX BENEFITS
Funding for this campaign is eligible for tax breaks as ROTARY CLUB OF MADRAS EAST is a registered trust and you can avail of benefits under section 80G of the IT act. Foreign funding is accepted too.
FAQs
Will we get to know the details of who benefitted?
Yes. After the money has been collected it will be transferred by Fueladream to Rotary Club of Madras (East). It will take from 2 to 4 months after that to get details of fund use. Once I get this information from them I shall upload this on the UPDATES section of this campaign. You will then get an alert & can read details about how the funds were used.
When do I get the receipts?
The receipts will start getting processed about 4 to 6 weeks AFTER the campaign is closed and will be sent to you directly.
How does crowdfunding work?
Crowdfunding in India is a relatively new concept & is growing very quickly.
It’s a concept that allows a large number of funders (like you) to fund an idea or a cause or event by giving small amounts of money online. Fueladream.com is a crowdfunding platform in India that allows for such pooling of funds. You can fund innovations & ideas on FuelADream and be the first to get these products or make them come true. You can also do a good turn by funding charities and causes through crowdfunding. When you fund a charity it’s more like a donation & you get small innovative rewards like a shout-out on an FB page or a thank you email from the beneficiaries.
