BHARATHI TRUST

Ninety percent of the people live in remote areas, where they do not have an access to education, medical aid and livelihood. They travel to far off villages to earn their livelihood as farm hands, fishing, digging roots, forest plantation, coolie work at rice mills, and agricultural work during harvest and brick laying. They earn Rs.15 to 20 per day and its seasonal work.

1. Village meetings are held.

2. When the villagers express a need for a school in their village.

After the selection of schools, each village forms a school committee consisting of three members. The school committee selects land for the school, which is given freely by the Government. The committee decides what kind of school structure they want to build. They also identify teachers in and around their village, who are educated. They select a helper, who is either a destitute or a widow from their own village.

Once the land is selected the villagers help in every possible way, to put up a structure, except for the materials and masonry work, which is taken care of by Bharathi Trust.

After the school committee selects a teacher, he or she is welcomed to stay close to the school premises. The villagers look after her welfare, by giving her food and shelter. Then the Trust, with the help of resource persons, trains the teachers. The training period is for one month, during which time, the teachers are taught how to handle the children, the syllabus and methodology is discussed, the making of various learning materials etc. All the teachers belong to the same community as the children and almost all are plus 2 passed. The teachers are also helped to analyze the day-to-day problems of the village people and how it affects the child.

The teacher is encouraged to plan her course of action. This is done by lesson planning for the week. In order to check out, if the planned programme was executed effectively, Siddamma calls for a weekly meeting of the teachers, where they express their views and their shortcomings. Planning for the forth-coming week is also done during this weekly meeting.

Learning by doing is the methodology followed by the teachers. Language learning is done by various means. Identifying words with the help of the pictures, colours, stories etc. A lot of flash cards are displayed around the classroom, with the children's names, the teacher's name, the day, month and date that enables the child to identify and learn. Sentence formation in taught by picture stories, where simple sentences are written in bold letters below each picture. Later, the children are asked to match the picture with the flash cards, which has those simple sentences for each picture. Most of these stories are taken from their own community life, which enables the child to relate to easily.

Field trips are a routine feature of the school. Children are taken to forest areas where medicinal plants grow. The teacher takes the children to the village elders, who are familiar with these plants, to explain to the children their names and their uses. This way, they not only learn new words, but also gain knowledge of their resources.

Mathematics is taught by introducing the quality of the numbers from 0 - 9, with the help of pebbles. Then the shape of the numbers in taught and further addition with the place value. Multiplication is taught in a practical way.

Story telling, action songs, social songs, dance, clay modelling, painting, drawing, games, cutting and pasting. Very often children make up stories, which are reached and exchanged among the schools. The children have a choice as to what they want to learn for the day.

The parents are invited once a month for school meetings, where they also get an opportunity to see the exhibits of their children's drawing, paintings and clay modelling.

We have two full time health workers who record the height and weight of every child and identify the child with mal nutrition, eye disorders, skin diseases and primary complexes. To help combat mal nutrition, Bharati Trust provides the children with meal schemes. For breakfast, the children are given an egg, milk porridge with 9 cereals. For lunch they get rice, dhal and vegetables. In the evening they are given dates and chenna. When a child in severely mal nutritioned, it is referred to Government hospital. Every child has been administered with polio drops and other preventive infections. The teachers visit local primary health centres and make use of the facilities offered there.

1. Rajapalyam (Uthukottai Taluk): 40 Irula family lives in this village. Since 2 years Sarpam village committee has been functioning in this village. Through village committee government has constructed permanent house and overhead tank has been provided for drinking water. 70% of these tribes are illiterates. They all are agricultural labour.

The community with the help of mason has constructed the school.

In this school we have made 3 groups IST group has 20 children below 6 years, when we teach groups and provide all creative activities. In IInd group, we have 10 children who are below 10 years to whom we teach Tamil and IIIrd group has 9 children who are above 10 and below 15 years who go for cattle gracing and attend 5 hours a day in our school. They start learning Tamil.

Initial stage, children refuse to come to school. But now children like our school.

2. Kottangulam (Uttukottai Taluk): 60 Irula families live in this village. Through Sarpam village committee, all government schemes as such house land, housing Road, Streetlight, had been implemented.

98% of these tribes are illiterates. They live near forest area so they wok in the forest and also go for agricultural work. They don't have regular work here. So for particular season like peanut and paddy, they migrate for short term and come back after one month. Since 2 year Sarpam has been requesting government to provide Balwadi (crèche) now branch of the Balwadi had been brought for the age group of below 5 years. But unfortunately, the government teacher never comes regularly. She gives excuses that this village is in remote area and she need to walk 6 km daily.

We have made in to 4 groups. Ist groups has 20 below 5 years old children, to whom we taught action songs, story, drawing and basic Tamil. In IInd group, we have 14 children below 8 years to whom we taught Tamil and also all other activities, we have 8 children who are in IIIrd group. They are all in the age group of 9 to 11 years with the help of our teachers and government teacher we have enrolled them in the government school. But we continue teaching Tamil and maths after (4 'o clock) they come from government school and we have 8 children in IVth group. Who are cattle gracing children around 10 to 15 years old. They spend 4 hours a day we teach then Tamil and Maths. Also provide other activities also.

3. Senjiagaram (Uttukottai Taluk): 60 Irula families are there in this village. They live in remote forest area. 10 families have small agricultural government land where they don't have irrigation facilities. They cultivate land in the rainy season other wise, they all are agricultural laborers.

Here we have 2 groups Ist group we have 26 below 6 years old children for whom we teach songs and provide other activates. Rest of the 14 children are in IInd group who are in the age of 7 to 12 years old. We taught them Tamil and Maths.

4. Junganapalli: (Uttukottai) 30 Irula families live in this village basically they are agricultural labours. They also involved in forest planting work. They also migrate from here to other areas for livelihood.

Here we have 3 groups Ist group caught of 20 below 6 years children and 15 children are 7 to 10 years and 7 children are above 10-15 year. All the age groups learn Tamil and Maths.

5. Mullainagar (Ponneri Taluk): There are 60 families and they are all agricultural laboures and very few go fishing. There and 4 groups of children. Ist group (0-6) has 20 children whose parents leave behind the young ones, for the older children to take care of. So the school going children bring along they siblings too. IInd group courses of 16 children age group 6 - 8 years. IIIrd group 8 to 9 years old are able to read and write. They are 10 in number. The IV group has 15 children 10-15 years. They are able to read and write on their own.

Apart from learning Tamil and maths, the children also have other activities such as dance, singing painting and drawing.

6. Raja Rattina Nagar (Ponneri Taluk): There are 85 families and they belong to fishermen community. They have a very unique way of catching the fish. As they are not permitted to fish in the sea waters, they catch fish in small ponds and lakes by diving into the water and with bare heads catch the fish 98% of the population are illiterate and very backward economically.

The Ist groups of children are 25 (0-6) years and the parent send their children along with the older children to school.The IInd group consists of 20 children of 6-8 years.The IIIrd group consists of 20 children of 8-10 years.The IV group has 20 children of 10-16 years. The III & IV group is able to read & write. The IV group children help their parents during the day time in catching the fish (as their bodies are more agile, children are preferred for this activity) During the evening the children attend school.

7. Elevambedu (Ponneri Taluk): There are 40 families and they also go fishing. They don't have permanent land and the Sarpam organisation is trying to get them land through the Government. For the time being they have put up a temporary school structure and they hope to get a permanent place soon.