Amardeep School Indore, India

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Amardeep SchoolIndore, India
Presented to Bryan Rotary Club Luncheon Meeting
June 7, 2006

• Director Sheila Gawande

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Indore is the largest city in the state. It is an
industrial city and is known as the commercial
capital of Madhya Pradesh.
Indore
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The Problem

• Economic reforms in India are creating
  unprecedented opportunity.  But this only
  benefits people with good education.
• So far, only a privileged few can afford a good
  education.
• There is a great opportunity for economically
  backward Indians to break out of poverty and
  stagnation in the social and economic system.

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One of three slums from where our students come
in Indore. My mothers maid lives here. This
place is a 10 minute walk from my mothers house
who lives in a nice, gated colony. In India, the
lives of the poor and the rich intermingle on a
daily basis and yet there is a huge divide both
cultural and economic. The woman in the picture
is carrying water for daily use.
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In summer, the city sends trucks such as this one
2-3 times a week for the people to store water.
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More water problems.
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A Small Solution

• Set up a school for slum children in Indore near
  my mothers house.
• Rent space and buy school furnishings.
• Hire teachers.
• Encourage parents to send their children.
• Set up a charitable foundation to raise money for
  the school.

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Our Plan

• To provide targeted education to equip our
  students for the Indian marketplace as it will be
  when they graduate
• English language skills, Math and computer
  skills.
• To be a source of high quality private school
  education, unlike the education for the poor
  programs found in overcrowded and poorly run
  government schools
• To produce at least a few quality graduates who
  will go back to their own communities to start
  businesses there and be engines of change.

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This is the Amardeep School Front in Indore. The
school opened its door on April 11, 2005. It is
located on 115, Sreenagar Main Road, Indore. We
have one large classroom and a small computer
room. We have 2 teachers.
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Inside the Montessori classroom
Inside the Montessori classroom The children
love it here. It is clean, cheerful and a happy
place to be.
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Mrs. Briganza, one of our dedicated teachers.
Lakhan is a serious student. A natural born
leader - he loves to help other kids.
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Building confidence Kids get to address the
class and talk about something of interest. Mrs.
Briganza is providing encouragement.
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Padma teacher is taking a tea break.
Sana (6) is learning cards and counters. She
loves school and comes everyday.
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Kitchen area. Prem Bai makes tea for herself and
the teachers. Although illiterate herself, she
understands the value of education. Every
morning, on her way to work, she knocks on their
doors to remind the children that they have to
come to school. She feels responsible for
children in her basti.
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Gajendra (4) gets his first Montessori lesson
from Padma Teacher. How to roll a work mat.
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Parents day Parents were invited to observe.
In this case, we had to go to their homes and
bring them for this special day.
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Our 1st year Report Card

• Low absenteeism ()
• Of a total enrollment of 25, 18 attend regularly
• 50 of the students are making amazing academic
  progress ()
• Have very skilled elementary grade teachers ()
• No turnover
• Library with 100 English books ()
• Are slowly but surely gaining the confidence of
  parents in the slums we work in ().
• Some parental involvement still very minimal
  (, -).
• Year-round school ()
• Hours 8-1230. Will extend hours by 2. ()
• Visits by local Rotary club ()
• Immunization, regular medical checkups.

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Older students. They had dropped out of their
previous school. They come regularly now.
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Two of the youngest - Priyanka and Alisha -
working in Practical Life area.
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Practicing additions and subtractions. This is
Akashs first school experience. His dad is a
daily-wage carpenter.
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Sana and Shadeb working on small motor skills
learning to write the numbers.
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Rajkumar (age 10) loves to work with movable
alphabets. He can recognize all the alphabets and
likes to make 3 letter words. He has been with us
for almost a year now. He never went to school
before and spent all his time playing on the
streets with marbles.
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The Math Shelf. Aman (6) is deciding what he
should work on. The children are free to choose
their work once they have completed the daily
assigned tasks. They love the free time. Aman
is the youngest of three brothers. His older
brother Lakhan (9) also is a student of Amardeep.
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Reshma, a sensitive 9 year old had dropped out of
the Government school because the teachers
mistreated her. She had been out of school for
over a year when she started coming to our
school. She loves it here. She wakes up early and
gets dressed by herself a whole hour before it is
time. Reshma is very particular about hygiene and
takes her teachers words to heart. She
reprimands kids that come from her neighborhood
for playing in dirt in their school
clothes. Reshma is a perfectionist and loves to
draw. Here she is drawing a picture of a cow. She
will not stop until it is perfect (in her
opinion).
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Lakhan loves to play computer games. The children
wait patiently for their turn on the computer.
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Major Challenges

• Reliable transportation
• Absenteeism
• Lack of parental involvement
• Most kids work for their parents.
• Funds for K-10 school building and premises
• Operating expenses as school gets bigger
• Every additional class of 25 students costs
  approximately 5k operating expenses per yr.

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Some of the children in our school come from this
basti (urban slum) in Indore. I would like
these children in my school, especially the
younger ones.
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I tried for 30 minutes to convince this mother
(standing there in 105 degree heat) to send her
little one to our school. I did not succeed that
time.
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This Years Goals (2006)

• Ensure reliable transportation to and from
  School.
• Buy a mini bus, and hire driver.
• Move to a larger facility.
• 4-5 classrooms, computer lab, library, backyard
  for outdoor activities, cafeteria and stage.

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Transportation Out of 25 students, 16 commute to
school in two such 3-wheelers. The rest walk.
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Medium Term Goals

• Increase enrollment
• 100-125 in 4 years
• Get accreditation
• Local education board.

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Long-term Goals

• Own School Building and Premises in Indore.
• Minimum area needed is 2 acres in urban area.
• Streamline classes from K through Grade 10.
• Earn accreditation by ICSE Board
• Students take all-India Board exam at end of
  grade 10. They then enter a 2 program (like
  high school) and then a 3-year college.
• Place at least 50 students in college, and the
  rest in vocational schools.

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Disha is 3 years old. Her mother has big plans
for little Disha.
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Children take turns to serve snacks.
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The kids made a welcome mat with flowers for
Pongal festival.
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Group Project The class made a community. Each
child made her/ his home, grocery shop, park,
school and other typical landmarks. Here Reshma
is using crayons as Naaz watches. The warm
clothes were donated by the children of College
Station and Houston, Texas.
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Organizational Structure

• Our school is run by a foundation. The foundation
  is
• A not-for-profit company incorporated in State of
  Texas.
• Incorporated to fund and manage schools in India
  for children from very poor homes.
• IRS 1023 Application for recognition of exemption
  under Section 501 (c) (3) is pending.
• We have no employees. Every donated goes
  towards running the school.

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How Can You Help?

• We need
• Books and educational CDs for children aged
  3 -10.
• School supplies.
• Teaching aids like charts, maps, posters.
• Old magazines like the National Geographic.
• Books, objects and toys of cultural / artistic
  interest.
• Financial donations in any amount.
• Sponsor 1 or more children
• Donate towards a specific program (snacks,
  transportation etc.)
• Donate towards general operational expenses of
  the school
• Or donate towards the building fund.

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For More Information

• Visit our website http//www.thebabajifoundation.
  org/
• Contact Information in India
• Whenever you are in Indore, please visit us.
• Mrs. Padma Shirke
• P-11, Kalindi Park
• Sreenagar Extension
• Indore, MP India
• Phone [phone]
• Cell 98933 11609
• Contact Information in Texas
• Sheila Gawande
• 704 Dover Drive
• College Station TX 77845
• Phone [phone]
• Cell 979 739 6446

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Thank you!

• One child at a time, each of us can make a
  difference.

Happy faces Aman (6), Priyanka (5) and Disha (3
and half) are happy to be at school. This is
their favorite time of day.