Viswa
Bharti Vidyodaya Trust
No. 17
August 2007
Parents step
forward to take charge: The crunch for space in the
school vehicle continues to be a problem (click
here for a student's
opinion). The parents have had a series of meetings to decide what to
do about this. They decided to hire a jeep in addition to the school
van. This has come at a considerable expense though – almost nine
thousand rupees a month. They have decided to raise this money among
themselves and give it to the school every month. So everyone
(including those using the school van) pay sixty rupees each month,
and all the money is used to pay for the jeep. This has eased the
problem for now, but there are still some issues about the rate
charged and the lack of punctuality of the driver. The older children
now take the jeep, and the school van is used for the primary school
children.
They have had
trouble finding a driver whose charges are nominal, careful while
driving on these roads and understanding in nature. This is asking
for a lot – BUT they have managed! They’ve changed the vehicle
three times since school started this year and the struggle is still
on. This is a huge responsibility that the parents have taken on for
the education of their children. We are really proud and happy to see
the effort that these parents are taking; something that most people
take for granted. Obviously, the message that comes through is that
if you are willing to provide good education even the poor are
willing to invest.
Theppakadu Trip: On Independence Day we decided to take the children of Vidyodaya School to Theppakadu (a few Bettakurumba villages around an Elephant camp in the forest, that has now become a big tourist centre). Some of the children from there were taking part in a dance programme organised by the forest department. The others were keen on watching them dance – since the dance they were putting up was one they had learned in Vidyodaya. They had in turn taught it to the other children in the village.
The highlight of the trip was something we had not planned for though – a talk by Mr. Soundarajan, of the Nilgiri Wildlife and Environmental Association. He happened to be there and was kind enough to talk to us about various issues of conservation and why it was important. All the kids knew that the Mudumalai Sanctuary was going to become a Tiger reserve, but none of them knew what exactly this meant. He talked to them about why the Tiger, being at the top of the food chain, was an indicator of the health of the ecosystem and why it had to be protected. All the kids listened enthralled for an hour! All the children were naturally interested in the forests and wildlife, since many of them came in contact with it on a daily basis. The talk was also littered with anecdotes and other interesting bits of information – like the difference between a monkey and a langur.
Onam
Holidays: We were closed
for the last week of the month for Onam – the traditional harvest
festival. Despite this, we did have “poo kolams” (flower
decorations) in school for a week before the holidays. Many of the
children helped Kalyani Chechi to create these designs every morning.
The holidays also marked the end of one term, and all the kids seemed
very happy.
Heavy Rains: The monsoon this year has been quite erratic - rather than a continuous drizzle, we've had a series of miniature storms. We had to close school for almost an entire week as the rain was so heavy. Visitors often wonder how we inform the kids of a rain holiday at short notice. Getting info to all the children in Chembakolli or any of the other remote villages, where there are no phones, is impossible unless someone actually goes there. So the decision is collective. If the rain is very heavy each family more or less independently decides whether the kids can go to school. And invariably the decisions are unanimous – even if we decide school is open, no one will land up!
Children’s
News:
The children's news did not come
out as
planned this month, but we have Maran’s essay about the Theppakadu
Elephant camp here instead.
Theppakadu Elephant Camp and Masani
I live in the Light
Padi in Theppakadu.
Near that is the elephant camp. In the camp there is a new small
elephant called Masani. One day in the evening it came to one village
in Masinagudi with the cows. It does not have tusks and it lives in
the music room. It always cries loudly and drinks a lot of milk. It
is growing very fast.
There are also many big elephants in the camp. One very big, tall elephant also does not have tusks. It is called makhna. Elephants chase people if they get close. Male elephants get musth. Then they get very angry with mahouts. Elephants carry many leaves for them to eat. They also eat one kg of ragi everyday. The mahout mixes payar, ragi, salt and jaggery and gives it to the elephants. They like it very much. Small elephants also eat little ragi.
Some
elephants go for rides in the
mornings. First they go for bath in the river and then only they come
to eat food. I took a photo of Subramani Elephant. My uncle is the
mahout for this elephant.
All donations to the Trust
are
exempt under Section 80G(5)(vi) ITAct.
The Trust also has permission
to receive Foreign funds No. 0759011.
Address : Post Box No. 28, Gudalur-643 212,
Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu,
Website
: www.vidyodaya.org