2020
Scholarship for two sisters
Abhinayavalli and Soundarya are two sisters from Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu. While Abhinaya, 11, is in Grade 6, her sister, who is 13 years old is in Grade 8. Both love going to school and their head teacher says the two are bright students.
However, recently the school found out that the siblings were working as part-time domestic help as they had no financial support at home. The children’s father, a mason, died after he accidentally fell off a high construction site. Their mother suffers from paralysis and is unable to even walk. The children and the mother live with their grandmother, who has little herself.
Though they go to a state school, where education is free, the children cannot afford to buy even basic things like pencils or a geometry box for school. Given the family situation, the two children were close to dropping out of school. Aware of this and not wanting the good students to miss out on their education, the school head decided to seek help for the two girls. A friend who runs an NGO approached us with the school’s request. Hope Unlimited has now committed to giving the two children a monthly scholarship so they do not have to work, even part time but go to school instead.
(February 2020)
Support for school library
Vidya Vanam is a school for tribal and underprivileged children in Anaikatti; a village situated around 30 km from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. The school aims to provide a learning environment free of fear and a curriculum that integrates the community's needs and respect for the surrounding natural resources.
The school provides free education for tribal children and those from the Scheduled Castes and most backward communities, who comprise 60 per cent of the students. Vidya Vanam ensures that girls in the community get access to all the facilities that the school offers. Besides, the children have access to a library with over 4000 books.
Hope Unlimited is supporting the school to refurbish its library with more reference and fiction books.
(March 2020)
Hope Unlimited donates laptop and iPad
With the lockdown, schools remain closed in India. Private schools have largely switched to online classrooms and in many States, governments too have done the same, either through the internet or television channels. Yet, millions of children are struggling to access these virtual classrooms as they do not have a smartphone, forget a laptop. Digital Empowerment Foundation has started a movement to address the digital divide. Under Digital Daan, the organisation is asking people to donate smartphones, laptops, desktops, etc, in good working condition. These devices are then given to children enabling them to access e-classrooms.
Hope Unlimited has donated a laptop and an iPad for this initiative so far.
(October 2020)
Mahalakshmi, Puducherry
Mahalakshmi’s family struggled to live with dignity even before the pandemic. The 13-year-old’s parents would sell the traditional winnowing pans that her father made from bamboo leaves, an income that barely sustained them. Just before the lockdown, the family had borrowed some money to buy ceramic pots, in the hope of selling these at a profit. Unfortunately, the total shutdown brought only more misery for the family as they couldn’t sell anything. Worse, Mahalakshmi, who is in Grade 9, could not continue her education as the government school she went to, resumed classes online and the girl did not have a smart phone. The family had migrated to Puducherry and have not managed to get any identity cards, including a ration card that might have provided them with some aid from the government.
Unable to attend classes and with the family in dire straits, Mahalakshmi and her 11-year-old brother started helping their mother as she tried to sell the ceramic pots. The father is an alcoholic and does little to support the family. With no cart, the three carry heavy loads on their heads, walking the streets, in the hope someone might buy the ceramic ware and winnowing pans. They are earning enough just to pay off the interest on their debt with little left even for food. When they sell to a family, sometimes, they also get food. Otherwise, they wait till they return home at night to have a meagre meal.
A local NGO seeing their plight got in touch with Hope Unlimited. The Trust has now bought the girl a smart phone so she can be a student again and start online classes. Besides, Hope Unlimited will provide a monthly cash transfer for the coming months to help the family tide over their immediate crisis and in the hope that the girl is able to stay in school.
(November 2020)
