SPOTLIGHT- Govt Schools at Chikkaballapur
March 2017
In this month’s Spotlight, we feature the schools in Cluster E of our breakfast initiative.
The cluster comprises four Government Primary Schools – Dinnehosahalli GPS, Ankanagondi GPS, Arikere GPS and Hanumanthapura GPS.
DINNEHOSAHALLI GPS
It may be a small school but it hopes to make a lasting impact in the lives of its students. Located in Dinnehosahalli village in Chikkaballapur District, the school strength is just about 36 students, across its 1st to 5th grade. Thanks to its ambitious Head Master, Sri HD Ramachandra, who constantly strives to make the school a better place of learning, the breakfast initiative was welcomed wholeheartedly here.
We serve breakfast to these children on all the five working days. The food is cooked in the premises by the cooks, Mrs Bhagyamma and Mrs Gayatri, who are ably supported by the school staff and authorities.
Volunteer-in-charge – Mr Saitej KM (Engineering graduate working at a private energy solutions company)
ANKANAGONDI GPS
This school is located in the Ankanagondi village in the Chikkaballapur District. It enjoys a total strength of 56 students and offers classes from the 1st standard to 7th standards. Once a rocky campus, the school now boasts of a beautiful garden with herbs and other educational attractions for children to learn from.
The school Head Mistress, Mrs Premavati along with the three teachers, Mrs Manjula, Mrs Bhagyamma and Mr Nagendra and two cooks, Mrs Umadevi and Mrs Munitayamma, have been of tremendous help in rolling out the breakfast initiative. Thanks to their constant support, breakfast is served to children on all the five working days.
Volunteer-in-charge – Ms Sowmya Prabha (Project Manager with an IT MNC)
ARIKERE GPS
Arikere GPS located in Arikere village of Chikkaballapur District doesn’t enjoy many facilities. It’s a very small school with just about 21 students, studying in the 1st – 5th grades. The school is run by Head Mistress Mrs Shaheen Taj, who is supported by the teacher, Mrs Shoba. Together with the school cook, Mrs Chandrakala, the trio have been an important part of the Annapoorna work in their school.
The school children are given banana and milk every morning as a part of the breakfast initiative and this has helped improve their health drastically. With a majority of students coming from very poor sections of the society, the breakfast programme has helped them tremendously. Regular medical camps are also conducted here and children diagnosed with health issues are monitored continuously and treated when required.
Volunteers-in-charge: Mr Sai Kumar (working professional) and Dr Smitha Sai Kumar (Ayurvedic doctor).
HANUMANTHAPURA GPS
The school located in Haumanthapura village in Chikkaballapur District has only about 25 students in total, studying in its 1st– 5th grades. The school is run by the Head Master, Mr Mallacharya, who is ably supported by the teacher, Mr Manjunath R and cook, Mrs Ansuyamma.
Before we started the breakfast service, the school was challenged by absenteeism and drop outs. The Head Master and the teacher would go house-to-house to bring the children to school. But all this changed after we started serving breakfast to the children in the school. Providing breakfast on all the five working days did wonders. Not only did it bring the children back to school, it also improved their overall health quotient.
Volunteers-in-charge: Mr Saitej KM (Engineering graduate working at a private energy solutions company) and Mr Sai Kumar (working professional).
Many other service initiatives too were conducted in these schools.
Healthcare
Medical camps were conducted for the students of all Cluster E schools by paediatric doctors. Parents and teachers of children, who were found to have some health issues, were informed about it to help the doctors monitor the condition. Few students with illnesses beyond the scope of the camps were taken to hospitals for treatment. A first aid kit, consisting of all the necessary medical items for immediate treatment of children was then given to these schools.
Education in Human Values
Education in human values classes were conducted at these schools twice a month. In these classes, children were taught and spoken to about the importance of following the basic human values in their lives. This was done through story-telling, interactive sessions such as games, quizzes etc.
Distribution of School Stationaries for the Entire Year
Considering the poor backgrounds of the school children, the Trust distributed all of them with the necessary stationary, books and geometry boxes for the entire year.
Distribution of Plates, Tumblers at Ankanagondi
Students in these villages often find it very difficult to procure many essential items required for schools. When some of the teachers shared with us how poverty coupled with the remote locations of the schools has been a constant challenge, our volunteers immediately sprang into action. After discussions with the Head Masters, it was found that the school at Ankanagondi required proper plates and tumblers for children to have food. The existing ones were in bad condition and they were finding it difficult to procure new ones. The Trust with a focus on the holistic development of children took up the task of meeting the schools’ needs.
Repairing doors, windows, toilets at Hanumanthapura
The main doors of the school was broken and most of the hinges in the windows were very old due to which windows could not be opened or closed properly. Few of the windows were completely damaged and this posed a major concern during rainy season. Another troubling problem was the toilet door. The lock was damaged and one of the hinges at bottom of the door was damaged, which made the door useless, making it very difficult for children to use it. When the Head Master approached our volunteers for help, we were more than happy to help. After a thorough inspection by one of the volunteers, funds were released and the Head Master with the help of a local carpenter fixed all the broken doors and windows.
Pictures showing condition Before Repairs
Pictures after Repairs
