Chakma
children in Arunachal Pradesh, India have very limited access to state-provided education.
State-provided teacher ratios are as low as 1:300. There is little
cultural appreciation of the value of literacy in this predominately
farming people, who rely mainly on paddy and a few cash crops for
a subsistence living. The school dropout rate is as high as 95%.
Many Chakmas grow up expecting to be harassed, assaulted and despised.
They have been routinely prevented from participating in literary
activities, games and sports.
A few
educated and dedicated Chakmas want to change this position. A grant
from the National Foundation of India allowed SNEHA to start a Chakma
primary school in 2003. The school hopes to upgrade every year to
achieve the Secondary Senior level. Recently, 148 children attended.
Students are taught in three languages: their mother tongue, Hindi
and English. But from Grade III onwards, they are taught only in
Hindi and English. The attendance rate in the area served by this
school is now 98%.
SNEHA
aims to provide value-based education based on five core universal
values: truthfulness, righteous conduct, peace, love and non-violence.
The school stresses the following areas:
* promoting reading habits in children and their parents.
* they want their children to be good human beings first. 'Smart'
can come later.
* creating environmental awareness by planting trees, gardening,
discouraging the use of plastic, and explaining the consequences
of deforestation, which is widespread in AP.
* Instilling awareness of the importance of hygiene, cleanliness
and social service and responsibility through cleaning their
own campus and the premises of the local Buddhist temple.
* Providing students with games and sports.
* Trying to find funds for cultural activities, such as purchase
of musical instruments; teaching children to sing patriotic
songs.
BODHI provided an initial grant in 2005 to enable a pay increase
for the dedicated Chakma teachers of IRs/-300 per month.
Health
Health
will improve not only by reduced poverty but also by the greater
knowledge and behavioural changes that education (especially literacy)
allows. Health facilities to the Chakmas are very limited but may
follow if funds allow. Dysentery, diarrhoea, elephantiasis and typhoid
are common. 'The nutritional status of the Chakma children is very
pitiable. Pregnant and lactating mother do not get sufficient nutrition
üall ü live in an environment characterised by malnutrition, undernourishment,
poor shelter, dearth of safe drinking water and sanitation,' Susanta
says. See our website for more details.
Ways for you to participate
1 teacher's salary for 1 yr IRs/- 36,000
Teachings aid & equipment 20,000
Games and sports 10,000
Cultural activities 10,000
Books and stationery 750 ea x 240 students 180,000
Library books 100,000
Teachers' training 50,000
Medicines, water, electricity 22,000
It's possible to learn a great deal about how a project is run and what its main problems are when those who are most imtimately involved with its day-to-day operations tell us about how they are progressing. This is very true of SNEHA.
Please read this Year 1 report by Mr Susanta Chakma, dated 16th October, 2005.
BODHI
and SNEHA.... YEAR 2
As
our relationship with SNEHA deepens, we're enthusiastically working
with this wonderful organisation for a second year.
Mr
Susanta Chakma writes from Delhi in April 2006,
'Everything
is going excellent in school. We shifted our school to a new permanent
place. Recently, we successfully provided teachers' training to
our 15 teachers in two schools in association with Mahabodhi Society,
Bangalore,India. We are going to provide basic computer education
to our children from next session. With Bodhi money we purchased
lots of books for our children which will increase their horizon
of knowledge in different areas.'
For
photographs, reports and other information from Year 2, please
visit
Year 2
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