Do we feel less emotionally connected donating for school infrastructure than sponsoring a child?

[Anurag Jain]

 

NEEV Vidyalaya, Hurlung – Under Construction

 

Dear Friends,

 

Do we feel less emotionally connected when we are donating for school infrastructure rather than when we are sponsoring a child? This question started humming in my mind, seeing the questions asked by some of my friends who have been regularly sponsoring a child’s/children’s education at NEEV. I presume this would be the thought in most of you so I am writing this mail to clear the air. Please do not read this mail as an attempt to solicit funds. Well it is, in a way, but as you read further, you shall realize or definitely feel that there is something more I am attempting. However, what you finally construe of this mail, is of course your freedom 😊

 

I noticed a hesitation in the minds of my friends to donate for the new school infrastructure. I thought that the Global Giving “Little by Little Campaign” was a great occasion for our friends to come forward and donate so that their donations would be matched. A total of about 10 donors came forward through Global Giving. Today is the last day. One of my friends suggested that I should send a notice each day beginning from April 3^rd to April 7^th over NEEV Google Groups because people tend to miss and forget. However I desisted the temptation to do so; I felt that would only irk people.

 

I see that people are not quite diligent while reading. In every mail before this I have mentioned that the Rural Kids Sponsorship has ended and that the children of the old school are continuing their studies in the old school at Govindpur, under the guidance of the teachers who worked with us and trained by us. Yet, I am asked about what happened to the old sponsored children. The old school children are still getting a fee waiver but they have to now bear 50% of their auto fares, which was being sponsored by us. Those who were unable to bear it have moved to different schools.

 

The Rural Kids Sponsorship was instituted by us because of three main reasons

 

1. Children had to come from rural areas to our school situated in the city, which they could not, because of steep auto fares.
2. We had to pay teacher’s salaries. We could not pay these salaries only through the fees of children as we could not charge high fees. At any rate this is a huge chapter, one of the most difficult challenges we faced till the last day : recruiting teachers with their heart and mind in the right place and paying them at par with other schools.
3. After 10 years, seeing the inevitability of not finding teachers who would work for true education and revolution, we had to create a corpus fund and radically re-think the school so that we completely do away with reliance of teachers and reliance on school fees and at the same time keep ourselves and NEEV Vidyalaya sustainable.

 

NEEV is not about conventional education or giving education to make children fit in society. That they will choose to fit into society afterwards is entirely their choice. But that is not the education they receive in NEEV. In NEEV they are taught to question the present society. NEEV does not function as a contractor to provide educated labour to the present socio-economic structure of society. I have mentioned this in every mail I write. So when you are supporting NEEV you are not simply supporting a financially poor student get educated, get a degree, and land a high paying job; that he/she would choose to do so is a choice he/she takes. Livelihood is important for us but more important than livelihood is living.

 

Education at NEEV is about a total revolution in the psyche of man. Well, you may question my credentials or virtues to cause such a revolution. To that I would say I am trying; for it is better for me to try rather than play safe; it is better for me to make a thousand mistakes than to rest on laurels of some petty security and success lauded by society. You may also choose to disagree or doubt my motives, intentions or abilities: which too is fine for me.

 

The NEEV Vidyalaya at Hurlung is designed to free ourselves from the challenges we were facing in the old school and so we did away with the Rural Kids Sponsorship Program

 

1. We are going to have only about 50 children and we are not going to hire any teacher. ( We have only one teacher assisting Shikha and is paid Rs. 1000/month) At present Shikha is teaching all the 30 children who have enrolled from Nur to Std. 3. She is doing so at the cost of running our NEEV Herbals business, as she now spends every morning between 8:00 am to 1:00 am, teaching. This is a substantial amount of time and of course she does this, receiving no financial remuneration. This was made possible by the great help rendered by one of our close friends Monika Shah, who substitutes for Shikha’s NEEV Herbals work while she is teaching.
2. I do not teach now. (Did it the whole time last year) I spend my time doing fund raising, communications, office work, maintenance and researching (with some carpentry work too). We have done away with any office staff; all this work has to be handled by me alone.
3. So effectively we do not have to bother about hiring teachers and staff; and meeting their salaries, which works out to be a substantial amount.
4. Moreover no employee or hired teacher works with a sense of causing a revolution. In the current school, Shikha and I are there directly interacting with the children. There is a huge difference when we (Shikha and I) teach as compared to children being taught by teachers for whom teaching is merely a profession rather than a way of revolution.
5. We have created a corpus fund of Rs. 50 lakhs, which we would like to go up to to 60 lakhs so that we can be self-sustainable in terms of other operating expenses like maintenance, repairs, internet-electricty-phone bills, stationary, electronic equipment and accessories etc. This frees me and my time from constant fund raising activities.
6. The corpus fund also ensures that I draw an honorarium of Rs. 10,000 a month to meet my personal expenses and create personal savings.
7. The school is situated in the village itself so children do not have to bear expensive auto fares.
8. The school text books that we have selected are those which have good content and low price. Up till Std. 3, including copies, the total amount of money, children have to spend in copies and books does not cross Rs. 600. Anyways for good teachers, text book is only a window, not a bible. With just Rs. 200 monthly tution fee, no transport expenses and inexpensive books, most of the children in the village can manage their financial expenses for education at NEEV Vidyalaya.

 

So what we require the most now is money for infrastructure development. We cannot raise this through school fees and we certainly do not want to create an education factory by admitting children in hordes, just to get money for infrastructure.

 

We also tried our best to shift the old children to our new school. But the distance was so great that it simply did not work out. The auto wallah was charging Rs. 700 per child.

 

So after reading all this, you feel inspired to help NEEV with its school construction and further expansion, please go ahead and make a recurring monthly donation between 10 $ - 50 $ or it’s Indian equivalent Rs. 650 – Rs. 3250 at https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/help-create-a-revolution-in-education/. Today is the last day.

 

In case you would like to donate to NEEV directly through NEFT as you have done before, please feel free to do so.

 

Your contribution would be used for the following. Donations shall be accumulated till we reach the desired amount.

 

1. Buy land behind NEEV Vidyalaya to function as a garden as well as playground for children (approx. 25 lakhs). Picture given below

 

 

2. Build the first floor of NEEV Vidyalaya to house a library and hobby rooms (approx. 25 lakhs)
3. Buy tools and machines to teach handicrafts like carpentry, tailoring, spinning and weaving, bamboo craft etc. (approx. 10 lakhs)

 

I am not looking for donors, I am looking for real friends who feel it worthwhile from their being to support the journey we are undertaking. If it’s charity you are looking for, NEEV is certainly the wrong place.

 

Love,
Anurag