Project Description
The Dhamma Dipa School (DDS) was founded in Sabroom district of Tripura by Dr. Ven Dhammapiya, a Buddhist monk who earned his Ph.D from the University of Bombay and returned to Tripura. He is a strong believer in education being the backbone for development of a society and at the urging of local people and Government officials he took on the responsibility of forming a residential school for the disadvantaged children of Southern Tripura. He works as an Asst. Professor in a Govt. Degree college and donates his salary to the school. These children hitherto have had no access to education. The school intends to prepare them for opportunities outside their tribal communities in attempt to help them overcome poverty. Most of the children are tribal children from the Mog tribe. The school has to support the instructional, boarding and lodging requirements of the students. The school caters to children from grades kindergarten to 4. The vision is to add one additional grade every year until it reaches grade 12. The future plans include addition of library, labs, and incorporating revenue generating activities like weaving, farming to make the school self sustainained.
DDS started with 50 students in May 2002. It currently has over 150 students and targets to target 200 students by 2005. The tribal students arrive by boat across the river every Monday and stay at the school through Friday. Presently, classes are held in temporary bamboo structures built using local construction techniques. Dr. Dhammapiya also intends to have concrete structures for classrooms, since the area is vulnerable to fierce winds. In one instance one of the classrooms was adversely affected by the winds and the kids sustained minor injuries. The boarding and lodging facilities include the kitchen and dining halls which are separate from the instructional area. There are huge water tanks for bathing purposes. A neat row of toilets and urinals have been constructed. The girls hostels has extended halls that were built under the BADP - Border Area Development program. Significant help in terms of free labor was provided by the local community. DDS has a principal, administrator and 7 teachers, with cooks and matrons to assist the residential needs of the school.
Goal of WAH 2005 Proposal
The creation of a library at the village with books covering a wide range of topics will spur interest in reading and writing. As this is a residential school, the library will also serve a central resource to help encourage both recreational reading and to allow the students to enrich their areas of interest. WAH 2005 will help support the following:
