Site Visit Report
Date of Visit : July 18, 2005 


I went to the school on Monday 18th July. Met the teachers, the headmistress and the correspondent. They are an active and enthusiastic lot and bright too. The teachers are looking for progressive and interesting ways of improving their school and their teaching skills too.

Met some parents too. They are happy to send their children here.

The children were all there, attendance was more than 90%. The children were happy and interactive. They appeared settled and seemed to have put the tsunami fears away. They can talk about the Tsunami experiences.

BACK TO SCHOOL- This is completed now :-) for the Sinthanai Sirpi School We distributed the children's requirements from our "Back to School" project. These were 2 sets of uniforms, a pair of shoes, 2 pairs of socks, a tiffin box, a drawing notebook, a packet of jumbo crayons, a pencil box with 2 pencils, an eraser and a sharpener and a pen for the older children. The children were happy to receive the material. (The total cost has come to Rs139,219= average cost Rs 521.5). In a spontaneous gesture of thanks two of them drew pictures for us. I am attaching them to this mail.

The children are right now crowded together in the room marked "Existing RCC Roof classrooms" in the attached map and a big airy sqaure room - a temporary shelter built by "Sashtra"- a wing of the Thanjavur Shanmuga College of Engineering as part of their research project. (There are 3 more such shelters, one used for teaching tailoring, two used by Suyam Trust as
reading rooms and counselling centres. A bus brings children from outside in the evenings and takes them back after the sessions.)


The children of the Sinthanai Shirpi school do need all our support for classrooms, for materials in school, for class furniture. Mr. K. Seetharaman and engineer Ramamoorthy are ready with their plan of action.

Please find the drawing attached. It is the same as in the web except for the outlines in red and black

http://www.ashanet.org/chennai/projects/akkarapetai_files/Documents_1/AkkaraiPMap.jpg


OPTION 2
In the drawing there is a red outlined block running left to right- called first floor. This is OPTION 2 of building over the ground floor which another NGO from Tirupur has brought upto the roof level. This option has met with resistance from the villagers living adjoining the school. These families are in huts and they fear a building looming above their heads
especially after the Tsunami disaster. There will be a lot of ill will if we go ahead with such a construction, instead of good will from the neighbours. So Option 2 will not work. Also, while we get more classrooms we will have to look at the facilities for running the school, where parents can meet the HM the teachers... and this would anyway occupy one big room down stairs. The positioning of the toilets for girls downstairs for classes upstairs is another question.

OPTION 1
The one outline-marked in black running up down in the attached plan is option 1. This will take care of one the girl's toilets, a place for the teachers and the school's office besides the critical classroom for the first phase. The school would then have 7 classrooms for LKG, UKG and classes 1to 5. It keeps the school in one ground floor plane right now,
provides for the toilets for the girls. The boys toilets also need repairs. The Correspondent and Mr. Seetharaman are working closely and there is an assurance from the JE, that the Electricity pole located a little outside of the school to the right of Option 1 with wires as low as 11 feet from the ground will be moved further away.

ONE MORE Need
There is a need for a compound wall to run the length from left to right between the existing rooms to the left to the proposed Option 1 building. This has of course to be discussed with the Asha chennai team approved, planned and cost estimated. There is a lot of open space for children to play right in front of the school and also beside the school to the left if we face it.

It is wonderful that

  1. We have pledged support from Asha Arizona $9400 {Furniture for the classrooms etc. - Rs 1.3 Lakhs Teaching/Learning materials - Rs 1.2 Lakhs Teacher Salaries and Miscellaneous Expenses - Rs 1.5 Lakhs)
  2. Vasundhara team from Hyderabad Rs1 lakh {for the school any need)
  3. $2000+ through Venkata and Hansa (For any purpose in this school but especially for toilet facilities for girl students)
  4. Support from St. Louis- the chapter is awaiting clarity on our side about how we are going to proceed in the matter of building - whether it is Option 1 or 2. This mail will hopefully help them decide.


This leaves us with the need to raise about Rs 5.2 lakhs for the building + whatever estimate we may come up with for the compound wall.

I shall be able to answer any further questions after 10 days when I shall be back in Chennai. I am leaving in a few hours from now for Mumbai.

Regards
Lakshmi