Slum Children Beat All Odds
BANGALORE, India, May 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The popularity of the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" has highlighted the plight of the impoverished, but beyond the glitz and glamour, there are still 700 million people in India living on less than $1 a day. Among them are the country's 250 million "Untouchables" (known as "Dalits") who have faced systematic persecution and discrimination for over 2,500 years. One institution, the Shanti Bhavan School, is trying to reverse the fortunes of this underprivileged segment of society through long-term, high-quality education.
Shanti Bhavan is a tuition-free school and home for India's most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Located an hour outside of Bangalore, it has been serving the poorest of the poor for over thirteen years. And it has produced real results: its entire first two graduating classes finished the national ICSE high school examination with top marks, achieving a 3.5 GPA and higher. This has been a landmark achievement, a first for any school for Dalits in India.
"I knew the ICSE would be difficult, but I studied hard and my teachers made sure I was prepared," says Amrita, a 10th grader who came from the slums but excelled in the examinations. "I feel as if the whole world is open to me, and now I have the confidence to compete with anyone."
Most educational programs for the poor focus on basic literacy without offering a stable environment. However, the minimal skills taught during these courses are not enough to prepare the disadvantaged for college or professional jobs. Consequently, they have been trapped in poverty for generations.
Shanti Bhavan has rewritten the poverty alleviation model with a revolutionary approach on the principle that every child, regardless of his/her social and economic background, deserves the opportunity to gain a good education. All children are provided a secure, nurturing environment at "homes" on its campus, providing them with nutritious daily meals, clothing and proper medical care. The adjoining school in the campus offers excellent education from pre-school to 12th grade, preparing the children for college study in good institutions.
Michelle Miller, a NYC music performer who has volunteered twice at Shanti Bhavan had this to say about her experiences there: "Shanti Bhavan fully embodies its name as a 'haven of peace'. The children are taken from the grips of malnutrition, abuse, and neglect and are given loving care, nurtured emotionally and educated with expectations of excellence. The result is an intellectual curiosity, a deep sense of compassion for others, optimism in their future, and a desire to use these tools to help others in abject poverty."
Even in this recession, Shanti Bhavan has managed to continue its operations through grassroots funding, primarily in the U.S. and the UK. The school hopes to continue its mission with the assistance and generosity of those interested in the welfare of deprived children.
To contact Shanti Bhavan:
U.S.: 121 Hawkins Place, PMB 192, Boonton, NJ, 07005 (phone: 940-368-4370)
Website: www.shantibhavanonline.org or email shantibhavanchildren@gmail.com
SOURCE Shanti Bhavan
Shanti Bhavan is a tuition-free school and home for India's most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Located an hour outside of Bangalore, it has been serving the poorest of the poor for over thirteen years. And it has produced real results: its entire first two graduating classes finished the national ICSE high school examination with top marks, achieving a 3.5 GPA and higher. This has been a landmark achievement, a first for any school for Dalits in India.
"I knew the ICSE would be difficult, but I studied hard and my teachers made sure I was prepared," says Amrita, a 10th grader who came from the slums but excelled in the examinations. "I feel as if the whole world is open to me, and now I have the confidence to compete with anyone."
Most educational programs for the poor focus on basic literacy without offering a stable environment. However, the minimal skills taught during these courses are not enough to prepare the disadvantaged for college or professional jobs. Consequently, they have been trapped in poverty for generations.
Shanti Bhavan has rewritten the poverty alleviation model with a revolutionary approach on the principle that every child, regardless of his/her social and economic background, deserves the opportunity to gain a good education. All children are provided a secure, nurturing environment at "homes" on its campus, providing them with nutritious daily meals, clothing and proper medical care. The adjoining school in the campus offers excellent education from pre-school to 12th grade, preparing the children for college study in good institutions.
Michelle Miller, a NYC music performer who has volunteered twice at Shanti Bhavan had this to say about her experiences there: "Shanti Bhavan fully embodies its name as a 'haven of peace'. The children are taken from the grips of malnutrition, abuse, and neglect and are given loving care, nurtured emotionally and educated with expectations of excellence. The result is an intellectual curiosity, a deep sense of compassion for others, optimism in their future, and a desire to use these tools to help others in abject poverty."
Even in this recession, Shanti Bhavan has managed to continue its operations through grassroots funding, primarily in the U.S. and the UK. The school hopes to continue its mission with the assistance and generosity of those interested in the welfare of deprived children.
To contact Shanti Bhavan:
U.S.: 121 Hawkins Place, PMB 192, Boonton, NJ, 07005 (phone: 940-368-4370)
Website: www.shantibhavanonline.org or email shantibhavanchildren@gmail.com
SOURCE Shanti Bhavan
posted by Paresh Paleja at
1:33 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home