Sponsoring a child's education

Hey Shubodayans... After quite a long time, Shubodaya feels an awesome experience to meet you in this post.

In our last post, we hinted on a plan - "Field Triangle". While there is a delay in our implementation of our Field Triangle plan, we have now stepped into a new continuous activity. Right from the eye camp at Kaveripakkam, we have been into short-term events or activities. While we are happy and proud to continue organizing such events, we feel that we are progressing in envisioning our motive - to enlighten the needy with education.

Recently, Shubodaya helped a deserving student - Vimala(studying 10th class) - to continue her education taking away the financial obstacles. Materials needed for her education and the tuition fees has been sponsored by us. This has motivated her to strive hard to achieve a good result in her first board examination. We will take care that she does that with ease and gets into a good college. Shubodaya thanks each one of Shubodayans, especially Akshaya, Karthik, Pradeep, Senthil and Valarmathy who extended their support in implementing this new initiative.

If you come across a child struggling to continue education, please do not hesitate to contact Shubodaya. We will do our best to make him/her study. We are working on to structure and sort things to track on the performance of the child whom we are sponsoring. We are seeking advice from experts in this field such as Vazhai to learn to do this service efficiently so as to serve the society even better.

Please share your views/suggestions to improve and energize Shubodaya. And can anyone guess what is our next event? Do comment that. We will meet in our next post to inform that.


A nice quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson to end this post:
"Don't waste your life in doubts and fears: spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours or ages that follow it."

Shubodaya service to PUSH

Our teacher always insisted us to start a composition with a good quote. It was the time when most famous quotes were invented by self. Although teachers knew that it was an invented quote, they encouraged us by saying “This is not the age to advice world”. This is what a teacher is all about, most sacred profession in this world. Wonder why all these stories? Continue to know more...

Yes, now I remember a good proverb quoted by Dom Helder Camara to start with:

“When we dream alone it is only a dream

When we dream with others, it is the beginning of reality”

A.P.J.Kalam insisted us to dream; We friends in Shubodaya also had a dream, how the world would be if there are no illiterates? How would it be if, one educated person takes the responsibility of inculcating education into an illiterate? Really, it would be fascinating, yes our dream is “Education”.

As a part of this initiative, Shubodaya contacted a remote orphanage named PUSH situated near Red Hills, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. PUSH has 45 orphans whose basic needs with education are taken care by its proprietor Mr. Rajamani. Out of the many orphanages we visited, PUSH was the one who were really interested in getting help for education. We are really thankful to Senthil, Shankar and Karthik for finding such an orphanage.

Pradeep, Shankar, Senthil, Karthik Purushothaman and Karthik Dandapani started our visit to PUSH on 16^th May 2009. Our first few weeks to PUSH was an ice-breaking or silence-breaking session, when we started to mingle with kids. In 2 to 3 weeks kids became very close. Then it was time to start our educational practice and thus segregated children based on their classes.

5 to 6 students from 2^nd grade are taken care by Karthik Purushothaman.

5 to 6 students from 2^nd grade are taken care by Karthik Dandapani.

4 students from 6^th grade are taken care by Senthil.

4 students from 6^th grade are taken care by Pradeep.

Shankar volunteers in the academic preparation for all classes.

This segregation was derived so as to have a good student–teacher relationship. You might wonder what happens to the rest of 25 students in PUSH... As quoted, when dreams come together as reality, unexpected things happen... a helping hand was given to us by another NGO people named Enexions. As we are totally 5 from Shubodaya, helping hands of Enexions sounded great and we cannot forget to thank its head Mr.Narasimman and his crew at this juncture. Saying that, the rest of the 25 students from various other grades were categorized and taken care by Enexions.

As guys in PUSH study in Tamil medium school, it was very difficult for us to adapt to them. When we experimented on this, a game like approach to teach subjects like English and Mathematics was found conducive, by inducing interest with the students also. Thus it is decided by Shubodaya and Enexions to take this path and concentrate on English and Mathematics for now.

When Shubodaya expands in future, our hands can be extended for other subjects too. Saying that, the academic portions that are taught in school are taken care by Shubodaya and in the 5 hours that we spend every weekend, we make sure that students of PUSH are imbibed with some useful knowledge. Statistics on students improvement cannot be shown in this short span. So, keep waiting for our PAS [Performance Analysis Statistics] in another few months. Friends with same interest and dream to make a difference in this world are welcome with extended hands.

Shubodaya is now in the process of structuring a non–formal but an effective practical approach for each and every grade, which in future, will be bench marked with top schools. “Change is what needed” is not only the campaign words for our fellow American, but also to the whole world. Let us pray and put our hands together to bring this Shubodaya’s initiative a huge success.

Team Shubodaya thanks each and everyone who has contributed for our service till date.