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The education provided at this
school encompasses "practical, social, moral, physical and
spiritual aspects of Indian culture." Mrs. Pandey started this
school for 15 students in her home and now would like to expand this
to 100 students. The school was founded with the hope and intention of growing
and developing as the children who come also develop and
grow. Asha Pandey is the project coordinator. She received her
M.A. in psychology from Banaras Hindu University, as well as
completing a one year teacher's training course. Upon
graduation, she worked for 2 years as a teacher at the Ram Niwas
school, as well as at the St. Atulanand Central school, both in
Varanasi. At St. Atulanand"s there were 65-70 children under her
supervision in the classroom. The methods at this school were
not beneficial to teaching or learning for that matter and Mrs.
Pandey became bored with the monotony of the existing system.
Children could not learn because they were not receiving the
attention or the support that they needed. Everyday she saw children
in her neighborhood who were not in school. Mrs. Pandey talked
to the parents of these children about sending their children to
school for a few hours a day; she asked the children if they
wanted to come. It was then, with community support on her side,
that she decided that she would create a school, based on her
experience, for those children who were forgotten by the
educational system. The aim of this project is to provide
an education to those children who, due to extreme poverty have
not had the opportunity to go to school. Children who are
orphans, who work to contribute to meager family earnings and those
who beg.
This school is now operating from nursery level to 1st/2nd standard
and it is the project's aim to develop the school up to 5th
grade standard. It is the school's goal that, by receiving a
good education at this institution, children will be able to
continue their education starting from 6th standard by obtaining
admission into any state or privately run Hindi medium school.
The education provided at this school has to encapsulate and convey
practical, social, moral, physical, and spiritual aspects. Care
is taken to discover every child's hidden talents and special
capabilities in order to encourage and develop each childms
character. There are 75 children presently enrolled at this
school; they range in age from 4- 14 years. These children are
either from the neighborhood of the school (Assi), or are
brought in by rickshaw from the main ghat (Dasashwamedh). The
children from Assi are mainly Bengali and most live in a small
shanty town located next to Varanasi's last ghat. Dasashwamedh
is Varanasi's largest ghat; it opens up to the main bazaar and
is quite different from Assi's residential and more relaxed
atmosphere. The children from the main ghat are homeless. Many
families came from Bihar or neighboring villages in search of
work; then without money or resources to return home, they have
settled along the ghat's periphery. The project has given priority to
those children who are extremely poor and without basic
resources; for this reason the Dasashwamedh children have been
accepted. These children are brought up in a completelydifferent
environment from many Indian children.
From the beginning, this school has been run as a Non-Formal
Educational Institution. Five days a week class begins at 9:30 a.m. and
continues until 12:30 p.m; on Saturday school is 1/2 day. The schedule
allows children to work after class if necessary, thereby ensuring regular
attendance. Another aspect of this project is to insure the health and
safety of these children. Due to the lack of basic necessities in their
lives it is this projects' goal to be able to provide nutritious food on a
daily basis as well as basic health care. These facilities are necessary
when children come to school with problems such as: hepatitis, fevers,
wounds, lice, etc., all of which interfere with a good learning
environment. Apart from Mrs. Pandey, there are four other teachers
formally working at the school. This allows the children to be divided
into five groups according to their level of learning, development and
ability. The true interests of children can be seen and encouraged by
having a curriculum based on reading, writing, mathematics, as well as
singing, recitation, and arts and handi-crafts. In addition, everyday
basic hygienic practices are taught to these children, thereby encouraging
health and improved personal standards of cleanliness. The teachers at
this school are not merely interested in teaching children the rudimentary
subjects but also to teach self-respect, self-discipline and
self-motivation. Despite the outnumbering odds against them, these
children are learning. At the start of this project the children came to
school extremely dirty and unkempt, many spoke constantly in vulgar words
(a reflection of their lives outside of school.) Now most of them have
begun to understand the importance of coming to school with clean hands,
feet and combed hair, and behaving with proper manners. Many of these
children have had no previous experience in a classroom setting. At the
start many of them could not even sit still to listen to directions. Now
when the children come to school they are excited to show what they have
learned and see learning as a puzzle to solve. These children are
empowered by every bit of knowledge they uncover. There is a long waiting
list of approximately 50 more children whose parents have come to school
to ask for their admission. Unfortunately, these requests cannot be
granted because of the current lack of space. In its first year, the
school was run out of a small room on the roof in Asha Pandey's home. At
first when only 15 children were coming from Assi the space was
sufficient, but due to the influx of children from Dasashwamedh ghat, the
small upstairs room was not adequate for the children to move around, let
alone allow ample space for concentration. In its second year, Mrs. Pandey
has rented a space in the quiet neighborhood of Nagwa-Lanka. Now there is
room for the children to concentrate on thier own work and the teachers
can focus on teaching rather than the discipline of destracted
students. Through private donations the school has just recently purchased
land located between Asha's home and the current location.
Plans have been drawn up which detail a one floor school with a
capacity for at least 100 students in addition to proper storage space, a
large Hall for school functions, a playground, and a kitchen. In order to
complete this plan $23,000 is needed. The bare minimum costs needed to
relocate the school is approximately $9,000. With this partial building
the school could still run properly and as funds were collected the school
could expand from there. Asha Pandey and The Little Stars School would
like to begin building as soon as possible so by July 1, 1998 the school
can begin the year at its permanent location. This is only a beginning;
continued financial support is necessary in order to get the school up and
running quickly and efficiently. There are many government run schools in
Varanasi into which these children could be admitted. One of the major
problems facing the children coming to this school however, is that they
lack the resources to actually go to any of these schools. Uniforms,
notebooks, pencils, erasers -- all of these things cost money. Money which
these children simply do not have. Asha Pandey has founded a school that
not only provides the basic supplies, but also caters to the individual
needs of these children. This is not merely a school for learning letters
and numbers, but it is most importantly a place where the children feel
safe. Here is a place where children belong. Many of the children coming
to this school would not learn in a formal state run institution where
wondering curiosity is stifled and mindless memorization from text books
receives good marks. It is not the grades that these children desire but a
stimulating environment where learning is encouraged in each child. At the
Little Stars School, children are learning to develop their creative and
intellectual minds as well bringing a feeling of self-confidence home with
them every day.
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