WAH Campaign is now closed. To make a donation to this project please click here and hit Donate

Grama Vikasa Saradhi (GVS) society was established on April 25, 2000. This project aims at supporting the GVS upper primary school (standard I to VII). The school is located in a society of poor agrarian, semi-tribal, and other backward class families mostly dependent on rain-fed agriculture with small holdings. None of the schools students are employed though they spend some time helping their parents. Education is very negligible in this area. This was a primary school (I-V) until May 2002 after which it was converted to Upper Primary school (I-VII). Five batches (26 students) of students have passed 7th class from GVS School. Now these students are spread over the mandal in various schools for their higher studies.

The migratory nature of the population requires the school management to constantly emphasize the importance of education of the parents. After graduating from the primary school the children move to the nearby government schools for higher education. However severe inefficiencies in these nearby schools demotivate the students increasing dropout rate from these schools. GVS is entertaining the idea of using animators to improve the quality of education in the schools in neighboring villages. We would like to take up classes to these students every day evening (4 pm to 6 pm) two hours in their school premises. For this activity we are planning to employ animators one for each village. More than 800 students will be benefited if we take up this activity.

Literacy Campaign: Kovilapalem, which is situated next to the school, has almost everyone as an illiterate except for one or two members. And this would be one of the most wonderful activities in summer for the students to educate their parents. Students were very happy to teach something to their parents and so also the parents ready to accept it from their student teachers. The parents were so illiterate that they don’t even know how to write their name in their own language. But the student teachers were there to make it possible. This project attempted by nearly 25 students in which almost parents of 13 students showed it possible that the student teachers can make anything possible. The parents of these 13 students at last got a little well through their education while the others are still in their progressing stage, but will soon make it through the education. This was an achieved success by the students in a period of one month. The students made it possible what the government was not able to do it perfectly. The students showed what is right, ‘Nothing is impossible.’ And coming to one more of the activity performed together by both students and teachers that they did just before the schools reopened. It was rally done in the neighboring 5 villages highlighting the advantages of education and how stressful it would be to earn a living in the future if the student were a dropout now. This was an enthusiastic rally and became a very much mind supporting rally for almost all the dropouts in all the villages. This almost enabled 13 students to enroll themselves again in their respective schools. This was one more achieved literacy rally

Advocacy GVS not only is taking up the promotion of the students from the 2 schools mentioned above but GVS also looks up to the welfare of the other students who are not able to get into the government schools for their higher classes. In spite of promoting the students of the 2 schools the GVS team is looking after that no student in the neighboring 11 villages will remain a dropout. These students don’t really have a perfect view of their career nor do their parents guide them, as they too are illiterate. GVS helped these students in getting engaged in the Government schools nearby. It is achieved by counseling the students and their parents. GVS is guiding them for their future career. The students and parents of these 11 villages are now a step forward in acquiring their career. These parents and students approach the GVS team in any difficulties in getting certificates related to income and tax from the concerned government offices. It is a very difficult task to get these certificates for both the students and parents. GVS teachers and educated village youth at Kovilapalem are conducting classes for illiterate people. 20 women and 4 men come every day for these classes and it is a regular activity. Right now 7 women and 2 men can read and write small words in Telugu language. The same activity is going on at Gadabapalem village by school teacher Lakshmi and here 5 men and 4 women are in progress.

GVS vision is to build a model school to provide good quality of free education to the poor children of the surrounding areas so that their growth is not hampered for want of opportunity. Seven years of working of the school has its impact already in the 3 villages; educating the children, we have seen, is educating the parents. We want to run this School from standard I to VII in future as well. Our expansion plans are adding 4 more classrooms, a playground with accessories for tiny tots at least two more quarters for the teachers, a laboratory, a library, computer room and a crafts room to impart vocational training. We want to replicate similar type of Primary Schools in habitations of the Mandalam where there are no Government Schools at present. We would like to develop the school so it can be converted into a government school with same kind of commitment from the villagers to u[hold the principles cultivated in the current management.

The future vision for GVS is to provide 100% literacy rate in Gadabapalem and Kovilapalem villages. We strongly believe that primary education is the key to empowering a community. Our goals are:

• 100% literacy rate in Gadabapalem and Kovilapalem
• Zero student drop out
• 100% continuing education of the students graduating from GVS schoo
• 100% literacy rate in Gadabapalem and Kovilapalem
• Cultivate students to educate elders in the community
• Engage community on the importance of education
• Community engagement as important stakeholders in future development of school