International Projects
Battersea Rotarians have raised funds to provide beds, blankets and soft furnishing for the residential students and we will shortly support the building of a new kitchen equipped with all the essentials to provide for over 300 children. We have recently installed an overhead canopy for the outside corridor providing additional leisure space for the children during the monsoon months, and protection from the heat of the sun. Here the children play, dance, and gather for musical evenings.
The project complies with the Rotary Areas of Focus, in particular:
Education – including education of girls beyond puberty (not previously possible in this area due to the lack of proper sanitation facilities). In addition, the school provides vocational training for the older teenagers and local adults who have missed essential education such as IT and financial management.
Health – installation of additional toilets and wash facilities for both boys and girls. Teachers and residential assistants are encouraging the children to understand the need for cleanliness in order to prevent disease.
Rotary members look to support humanitarian projects in other countries, and this is one of ours - AYODHYA PAHAR SCHOOL in WEST BENGAL, INDIA
Situated 300 Km from Kolkata in a tribal village at the hill top of Ayodhya Pahar in the District of Purulia, West Bengal. Members of Rotary in Kolkata have been working with the school for over 12 years. Starting with solar lights, providing safe drinking water, toilets (separate for boys and girls), school books, sports equipment and school uniforms, and lately construction of a 2000 sq ft (approx) dormitory for boys and girls, and a boundary fencing.
London Rotarians personally visited this school several times and were impressed with the enthusiasm from the children to learn and keep their school in good order. They also maintain the shrubs and trees that have been funded in the past by Battersea Rotarians - thus providing added shelter in the playground as well as enhancing the overall Environment.
The school has grown from 30 to approximately 300 students in the age groups of 4-13 years old, including 200 residential. The rest are older day students coming from local villages. The senior students undergo training ready for work placements such as office work, textiles/craft, retail and hospitality.
