Shailesh Venkatesh
Care for Children. We care, We share, Together we make a difference
Fundraising for International Association For Human Values
Story
A donation of just £ 50 is higher than the per-capita income of Lawagai, Jharkhand , a small tribal village in East India, where the
IAHV runs a school, one of many such schools for tribal children providing free education, regular
medical care, free transport, stationery, books, nutritious meals, uniforms and
bags.
Our vision is to grow the number of such schools to 200 by the end of this year.
Children from the rural and tribal belts of India end up in farms, factories or as domestic workers to earn a few rupees depriving them of the basic right of being taken care of to become a self-sufficient adult. Taking care of a little one is a basic instinct. Even animals and birds provide the necessary training to their young ones so that they can fend for themselves before they are let alone in the world. Yet due to social evils, poverty, alcoholism or many other such societal issues, human beings are not able to ensure this basic human right to their children.
The International Association for Human Values runs 103 schools in the rural and tribal belts of India where children are given completely free education. Apart from modern classroom education, these schools provide these children a holistic education through the techniques of Yoga, meditation, lessons of social responsibility & belongingness, making these children shining lights in their own communities. Children are such sponges that not only do they light their own lives, but also end up uplifting the adults in their families and communities they come from. For e.g. The schools have a system wherein various elected students are given different portfolios to handle, akin to the Indian political system. This enables the students to become responsible and also take wider ownership for a particular area of work. All these schools are run by volunteers, some of whom I know personally and it gives me immense satisfaction to see how effectively the funds raised for these schools are put to use.
Our vision is to grow the number of such schools to 200 by the end of this year.
Children from the rural and tribal belts of India end up in farms, factories or as domestic workers to earn a few rupees depriving them of the basic right of being taken care of to become a self-sufficient adult. Taking care of a little one is a basic instinct. Even animals and birds provide the necessary training to their young ones so that they can fend for themselves before they are let alone in the world. Yet due to social evils, poverty, alcoholism or many other such societal issues, human beings are not able to ensure this basic human right to their children.
The International Association for Human Values runs 103 schools in the rural and tribal belts of India where children are given completely free education. Apart from modern classroom education, these schools provide these children a holistic education through the techniques of Yoga, meditation, lessons of social responsibility & belongingness, making these children shining lights in their own communities. Children are such sponges that not only do they light their own lives, but also end up uplifting the adults in their families and communities they come from. For e.g. The schools have a system wherein various elected students are given different portfolios to handle, akin to the Indian political system. This enables the students to become responsible and also take wider ownership for a particular area of work. All these schools are run by volunteers, some of whom I know personally and it gives me immense satisfaction to see how effectively the funds raised for these schools are put to use.
“Education is this civilization’s greatest leveller. It has the power to empower the weakest of the weak, bring peace to the world and alleviate poverty. It is often seen as the only lit path in the pursuit of happiness”- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar