A Trip to Shastri: A Chance to Make a Difference
Site Visit 2006
Shastri School: An Asha For Education Project
By: Sruthi Ramakrishnan and Swathi Ramakrishnan, project stewards for Shastri School
Email:
From Left to Right:Secretary Mr. Basavaraju, Treasurer
and Assistant Secretary Mr. Chandraskerar, and Principal Mrs. Vijaykumari
Shastri School is run by the Karnataka Welfare Association for the Hearing Impaired and is a project undertaken by the Seattle chapter of the Asha for Education organization. Itis a school for speech and hearing impaired children in Bangalore, India. Many of the students are also orphans and come from low income homes. These students not only study in the school, but also live there as well. We have been involved with this project for about 6 years now by being coordinators and contact peoplefor Shastri.
As we have been working on this project for several years, we felt that it was important to make another visit to the school to see not only how the school has developed, but also give the current sponsors an update on the children.
We arrived at Shastri School at 10 a.m., when the school opens, and were greeted by the principal, Mrs. Vijaykumari. The school’s treasurer, Mr. Chandrashekar, and Mr. Basavaraju, the secretary also welcomed us into their office. Through our discussions, we learned about the children andthe school’s progress, as well as issues that Shastri was encountering.
There are currently 76 children in the school, most of whom are supported by sponsors. This includes 18 new students, many of which are pre-primary children. Apart from the students, there are also 18 teachers and two cooks who work full-time. The teachers are all trained to work with these children in speech and auditory training.
Rada Krishna teaching the 7th graders social studies
For the past few years, the school has looked forward to the graduation of 11 students who passed their 10th grade examination. In spite of the student’s impairment, they are not given much concession from the state. They are exempt from taking the English and Hindi exams, however they do need to pass all the other subjects and attain at least a 40%. The exams are taken at a government test center and the students are given extra time due to their disability. After completing the 10th grade exam, these students are still guided by the staff. Many of the students are now undergoing training for working in industrial positions. Some of them are even holding jobs as tailors and mechanical fitters.
The school has undergone many changes since our last visit, which was in 2003. During that time, construction was still in progress, but now the school is running smoothly with a remodeled kitchenette and a prayer room on the terrace. Other additions to the school include computers, primarily used for speech and auditory training, and a television, which the children watch after the school day is over. They enjoy seeing cartoons and sports, especially cricket. There is also a new library for students to read during their free time.
In addition to gaining support from Asha for Education and the sponsors through this program, the school also gets funding from local donors and companies which provide many of the schools supplies including the computers, furniture, and stationary supplies for the children.The school also gets support from the Kannada Bank and the Sahana Education Welfare Association.
We also got to see pictures of the children’s performances and learned about their class trips during the vacation period from the endof March to June 1st. During this time, the faculty organizes educational trips for the students such as going to the Mysore Zoo, traveling to the Srirungapatham Mysore Palace for one week, or going to the Nandi Hills for 2 days. The students are also currently preparing for the Independence Day celebration that will occur on August 15th.
We stopped by all the classrooms while class was in session to see the children hard at work. As we entered the class, all the students rose and greeted us traditionally.
Namaste
We also learned what the students were studying, ranging from social studies, mathematics, Kannada, and art. Students in the 7th grade were learning about the British rule in India, while in the next classroom, the 5th graders were doing complex addition and subtraction problems without calculators. Some children also excitedly showed us their lecture notes and one even held up his artwork.
In the afternoon, all the students scurried to the terrace so that we could take individual pictures to send to the sponsors. After the photo session, we served the children lunch at 1p.m. consisting of rice and sambar. The menu is usually chapatti, idli, or dosa for breakfast and ragi balls for dinner. We left after lunch so that the students could get back to their class work.
Visiting Shastri School and the children was a very moving experience for us. We were thrilled to see many of the familiar faces who we had met a couple of years ago. As we came back home, we were full of determination and hope, realizing what a large part Asha sponsors play in supporting the school.