Sahaya's mission to construct a new building for the

JAWAHAR MATRICULATION SCHOOL of Andimadam

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

When the new school year started mid-June 2009, classes shifted from the old building to this new one.
The total number of children has increased from 65 students to 164 children!

Our current goal: Improving the infrastructure

You can help us!

Thanks to many generous donations, we have now raised sufficient funds for desks and benches. Local carpenters are now busy making them and a first delivery has already been made. The pictures below show how they look like. Now we are raising funds for educational materials (a television with DVD player, books, science objects, art supplies) and other furniture (book cases, cabinets, etc) to store such materials safely in the classrooms. Can you help us? Then please consider making a contribution. This is an example of a set of the desks and benches that local carpenters are making. The price per set is approx. $100. Each set can accommodate 4 children, so the price comes to $25 per child.

Brief History of the Jawahar Matriculation School:

• There is a big need for quality education in rural areas for children who cannot afford the expensive private schools. Therefore, Mr. Selvam (founder of READ) and a friend started in 1990 the The Jawahar Matriculation School of Andimadam. In 2003, this school became fully under the wings of READ.
• In 2005, the school had 50 students and 6 teachers. In the school year of 2008-2009, there were 65 children with 7 teachers and one aya (helper).
• Since the school moved into the new building at the start of the 2009 school year, the number of students has increased rapidly and in July 2010, is now 164 students. The school has currently 12 teachers.

• In the past years, the school operated in a rented building, which was in bad condition as the walls and roof were slowly falling apart (see pictures below). The owner had decided to sell the property and demolish the school building and sell the land for further development.
• These children needed a new school building....so in 2007, when we had raised most of the money for the construction of the Mother Teresa School, READ and Sahaya International decided that we would build a second school!

Fundraising efforts since 2007:

• Sahaya's secretary Koen Van Rompay donated the money to buy the piece of land.
• The total price to construct a two-storey school building was approximately $75,000. The Koninklijk Atheneum school in Ekeren (Belgium) has raised most of the money to construct this much-needed school building in the village. Click here to learn more about the ongoing fundraising events of this school. We are also very grateful to several other schools in the Antwerp region and many other contributors who have been assisting us with their donations and efforts.
• Volunteers of Sahaya International in the USA has also assisted in the fundraising efforts.
• In June 2008, several friends, including Sahaya board member Ramin Yazdani, Lauren Vaage and Sahaya founder Koen Van Rompay climbed Mount Shasta in California to raise money for the Jawahar school. They looked for sponsorship. For more information on their climb, visit the Mount Shasta adventure update, Ramin's home page or Koen's home page.
• In 2009 we raised all the money to complete the construction! The school has moved to the new building in June 2009.
• A new method of teaching will be provided in the school for the children, including computer training, hindi and yoga. In addition, the children also participate in cultural performances on special celebrations (Independence Day, Children's Day, Teacher's Day, Republic Day) and receive a certificate for it.
• But we still need your help, because now our next goal is to raise money for infrastructure:
  • desks
  • chairs
  • better books
  • educational materials
  • book cases
  • a few computers
  • objects for a science classroom
    
• Please continue and join our efforts to give these children the best possible education. To make a donation, go to our donation page (click here).

We thank you tremendously for your support!

---

The construction:

Here are some pictures taken from May 2008 through January 2009 that show the steps of construction:

May 2008: Construction started!
October 2008: the first level was constructed and a start was made with the 2nd level.
January 2009: the construction of the 2nd level is in full swing!
March 2009: the major construction is done....now it's time to finish the details!
May 2009
July 2009: construction is nearly finished and only some small tasks remain to be done.

---

Here are some more pictures of the old school and the lovely school children.

A warm thank-you for all your support! Please come visit us.