ISHA VIDHYA - IN NEED OF YOUR SUPPORT
Dec 2008
"This school is very, very good. It is different from other schools. In other schools, if you tell one thing wrong, they will beat you. Here, it is not like that. I like school because the teachers are not beating or scolding us. They are teaching nicely."
- S. Sachin, class II student from Isha Vidhya School, Kurandi, Nagercoil
Isha Vidhya offers a life-changing opportunity to rural children: High quality, English education affordable to even the poorest families. So far, four schools are established in villages near Coimbatore, Erode, Nagercoil and Tuticorin, serving a total of 1077 students. The majority of students are covered with need-based scholarships, and parents have already started coming with tears of gratitude as they see their first family member becoming equipped with the education necessary to break out of the cycle of poverty affecting so many of India's rural poor.
For the 2009-2010 academic year, two new Isha Vidhya schools will be opened, one near Villupuram and one near Cuddalore. Cuddalore was devastated by the 2004 Tsunami and Isha Foundation has already done substantial rehabilitation work in the area. Villupuram, located 160 km from Chennai, is an economically weak, agricultural-dependant area with the majority population belonging to Scheduled Castes . Both communities have responded overwhelmingly in support of the new schools. Bhoomi Pooja (a ceremony to mark the beginning of school construction) was recently held on 23 November for the Villupuram school and on the 14 December for the Cuddalore school. A group of volunteers donated land for the Villupuram school and Agility Logistics Pvt. Ltd. sponsored the school construction. Isha Foundation's Tsunami Rehabilitation Fund is dedicating the Cuddalore school to the local community as a follow-up to their rehabilitation work in the area.
The vast majority of students at both the new schools will come from very economically deprived backgrounds. Though tuition fees run only Rs. 200-300 / 5-7 USD per month, many families will be unable to afford this amount. To make Isha Vidhya accessible to even the poorest of children, many new scholarship sponsors are needed for the 2009-2010 academic year. With two new schools opening plus newly admitted Lower Kindergarten students joining the existing four schools, an estimated 1000 new students will be in need of scholarships.
Sponsoring a student represents a unique opportunity to dramatically touch the life of a child. Through the Isha Vidhya scholarship program, each sponsor is matched with a student / students and receives updates on the student's progress, as well as letters and photos. Sponsors can also write back and even visit their student(s) at the school. Over the years, sponsors can become involved in the life of their student(s) and watch as the children grows and blossoms. To find out more about sponsoring a child, please visit http://www.ishavidhya.org/scholarships
Two new Isha Vidhya fundraising initiatives have recently been launched. The annual Mumbai Marathon, to be held 18 January, presents an opportunity for people from across India and the world to come together in support of social change. This year, 125 dedicated Isha volunteers have signed up to run or walk in support of Isha Vidhya. There's still time to pledge your support! Visit http://www.ishavidhya.org/marathon/ to find out more about the runners, the event, and to see how you can get involved.
Sadhguru recently offered a special opportunity for everyone, from all walks of life, from all corners of the earth, to make a profound difference in the life of another. The Skip-a-Meal program is an invitation for those having three or more meals a day to skip one meal each Wednesday and make a monthly contribution of the amount saved to the Isha Vidhya project. Whatever you would spend on your meal can help change the fate of a rural child. Beyond just the financial donation, skipping a meal each week gives an opportunity to feel a small amount of the hunger that so many millions of children daily experience. The amount saved for one meal a week may seem like a small contribution, but when thousands join together, we can create a huge impact in making quality education available in rural India. To join this initiative, please visit http://www.ishafoundation.org/skip-a-meal.
"I'm a barber by profession. Only because of this scholarship program is my daughter Sunmathi able to study in this type of English-medium school with computer facilities. She is the first one in my family to study in a matriculation school! I thank the Isha Institution for providing a scholarship to my daughter."
Mr.Rangasami, parent of Sunmathi
scholarship student at Isha Vidhya School, Perumapalayam
"For more information about Isha Vidhya and how you can become involved, visit http://ishavidhya.org, call +91-422-2515-484 or email: info@ishavidhya.org
