IGNITEIn 2003, Sathya Nagaraj and Sushila Joseph decided that they were going to make a difference in the society they lived in, through education. They joined hands and identified several children who were unable to further their education after completing Higher Secondary level due to financial hardship. Their vision gave birth to IGNITE, a flame of hope that brought light into the lives of many children!! Friends from Chennai and overseas came forward to sponsor these children.
The children selected through this program come from very poor backgrounds with a monthly income of Rs.5000 or less. In spite of the financial hardship these children have scored around 1000/1200 in their Higher Secondary exams. Most of them are first generation learners in their family. A total of 250 children have been sponsored by the OPEN-IGNITE partnership so far. Over 75% of them are in good job supporting their families. Over 75% of these children are employed through campus recruitment and are well placed in their jobs.
Program details
OPEN and IGNITE sponsor children mainly into career courses that would assist them to enter the workforce soon after completion of their studies such as
Two- and Three-year Diploma in Engineering
Four-year Engineering Degree - B.E
B.Sc. and B.Com. three-year Degrees
OPEN not only arranges the payment of fees but also goes a step further with the help of IGNITE by:
Monitoring the childrens' education through to completion
Keeping in touch with the Heads of Departments in their respective colleges to track their progress
Following up with their exams & results
Offering Spoken English and Personality Development classes for students
The program is aimed to make these students responsible, independent individuals who will be an asset to our society and our country.
Educational Needs
OPEN has been partnering with IGNITE through the Educate a Child (EAC) program, since 2006. In 2006 OPEN contributed Rs.1,73,750; in 2007 it was Rs.3,92,490; in 2008 it was Rs.5 lakhs; in 2009 it was Rs.7 lakhs. The current proposed budget is Rs.8.5 lakhs for the year 2011.
General Cariappa High School
General Cariappa Higher Secondary School (GCHSS) is located near Gandhi Nagar, Kamaraj Street, Saligramam, Chennai. GCHSS was founded in 1956. It is a Government aided school helped by the Guild of Service. At the Higher Secondary level, the school offers vocational courses in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Repairs and Maintenance, Draughtsman (Civil), Radio and Television Repairs and Maintenance, Business Machines and Computer Programming. GCHSS provides dedicated service of education with a vision of improving the quality of surrounding humanity.
This school is a model school for OPEN. Students from this school take vocational streams and some have been getting jobs right out of high school. A growing number of students from this school pursue two-year Polytechnic programs to expand their skills. GCHSS has always been in the news when the Plus 2 results come out. A long list of meritorious students from families of poor financial background grab some of the state top ranks. Children of weavers and manual laborers who graduated from this school are now part of the Indian middle class, working for companies such as Airtel.
Every year a major portion of the successful students pursue higher education in a discipline of their choice of engineering in various disciplines, nursing, etc. These students need funds to pursue their education further.
School Profile:
Total strength of the school - 894 (100% - Tamil Medium)
No. of Teachers - 34(Govt.)
Infrastructure work completed:
OPEN renovated the boys toilet and built the computer room during the year 2009. During the year 2010 OPEN renovated the multi purpose hall, noon meals kitchen, men staff toilet and built the lady staff toilet.
Educational needs:
Students of the GCHSS lack basic English speaking and writing skills. Most of these students are first generation students. These students get very little help from their parents. OPEN is evaluating options to partner with external organizations to offer basic English classes to all students in 6-12 standards during the latter half of academic year of 2010-11. The cost of the program is estimated to be approx Rs 300 per student per year.
OPEN is also evaluating options to start an after school program for the elementary school children from the school. This program is aimed at providing a well rounded development for these kids.
Infrastructure needs:
The The school receives very little funding for infrastructure from the Government.
Ganapathy Iyer Girls' Higher Secondary School
Ganapathy Iyer Girls’ High School, located in Gopalapuram, Chennai, is a Government-aided School run by the Gopalapuram Educational Society. This school provides high-quality education for economically backward girls living in the area. OPEN began partnering with this school in year 2007, following a meeting with Mrs. Sharadha Manee, the Principal of the school. Our partnership has been growing over the years, and OPEN has been funding a constant stream of her ideas, the latest of which is Karate classes for her wards.
School Profile:
Total strength: 272 (60% - English Medium, 40% - Tamil Medium)
No. of Teachers: 10 (Govt.) + 5 (Management)
2009-2010: X std - 98% of the students passed. Highest score - 476/500 (school record)
Monthly Expenses of Rs 25K/month are being sponsored wholly by one of our generous patrons, Mr. Natarajan Kumar of Northern Virginia, for the following activities:
After school program
Night Study Remedial classes for weaker students from Std. VI to X. Refreshments are provided to the students, and remuneration paid for two night study teachers.
Student Tutor Program: For classes VIII and IX the above average students are coaching the below average students, for which incentives are paid to the student tutors
Extracurricular activities: Tabla and Karate classes
Extra-curricular Program during school hours: Spoken English,Computer Education
Additional Vegetables in mid-day meals for all students from standard VI to X
Breakfast for X Std students
Yearly Scholarship starting in 2007:
On the basis of the academic performances, students from VII Std to X std are selected for the scholarship. Scholarship includes tuition fees, notebooks and workbooks, uniforms (2 sets) and shoes (2 pairs).
Non-scholarship students are offered one set of uniforms and one pair of shoes.
One time Capital expenditure spent to improve infrastructure of the school:
Shelter: Provided shelter in the ground floor prayer hall at a cost of Rs. 1.5 Lakhs in the year 2007
Furniture: Provided 63 sets of steel benches and desks for the students at a cost of Rs. 2.15 Lakhs in the year 2008
Jaigopal Garodia Schools
Jai Gopal Gorodia Foundation was formed in year 1974 by Mr. Jaigopal Garodia with a special interest in education and with a motto of taking education to the poor. Jaigopal Garodia has a phenomenal success in the field of education. He effected a positive change in our country through spreading literacy and providing quality education which focused on the individual growth of every child and shapes each of them into a better person and citizen of India.
As a strategy, he would adopt government schools mostly in the urban and rural areas of Chennai and help them out with their infrastructure needs. He strongly believed schools should have class rooms/toilets/labs/benches/playground in good shape to create interest in students to even come to the school and in fact, kids should feel proud of their school.
One of Garodia’s schools approached OPEN in the year 2003 for building a kitchen to cook their mid day meals. From that point of time, we have been involved in several infrastructure projects and scholarship programs for various Garodia schools.
Scholarship Programs:
From 2003 to 2006 OPEN provided scholarships to about 100 students in Jaigopal Garodia Girls' Higher Secondary School in Saidapet every year. Most of these girls are top rankers from economically backward families, and could not afford the tuition fees. In 2007, this was extended to 250 students from multiple Garodia schools.
Infrastructure Programs:
In 2003, OPEN built a kitchen for Jaigopal Garodia Girls' Higher Secondary School, Saidapet, Chennai. The kitchen doubles as a classroom for off-curriculum nursing and sewing classes that were started by a visionary headmistress. OPEN had also funded the purchase of desks and benches for 10th and 12th grade students, who have been writing board exams sitting on the floor. OPEN has been funding the annual education costs of 80 girls from classes 7-12 and had also started spoken English and Personality Development classes for select girls in Classes 9 and 11.
In the ensuing years OPEN has funded a construction of a science lab at Jaigopal Garodia Higher Secondary School, Madhavaram, Chennai, bench and desk sets for various Garodia schools, water sump, and completion of girls' toilets.
Spoken English Classes:
OPEN supported special spoken English classes for the students in a few Garodia schools including the ones in Saidapet and Virugampakkam.
Siragu Montessori School
Siragu, a unit of Suyam Charitable Trust, is a school that is loosely based on the Montessori method of education but has evolved and developed its own innovative curriculum that best caters to the special needs of its students. It is located at Palavedu Pettai, very close to the Indian Air Force base at Avadi, Chennai.
Siragu, the Tamil word for ‘wings’, was started in the year 2001 to provide quality education, completely free of cost, for first generation learners, such as the children of slum dwellers and children belonging to the community that survives on alms. Initially, the school faced a lot of resistance from the local community because education was viewed as an unnecessary extravagance, which deprived the family of a valuable source of income that the children would have generated. However, Siragu persisted with its vision and now has evolved into a community that includes people in and around Palavedu Panchayat, with children from families who have been begging, scavenging, farming, pig farming, manufacturing or working in brick kilns for generations.
OPEN which had identified the lack of education as a significant obstacle in improving the lives of these children, who were otherwise stuck in a vicious circle of child labor and poverty, saw a very committed organization in Siragu. This inspired us to support Siragu and we decided to contribute to the school’s operational expense from Jan 2010, which we found was the best way to achieve our intended objective of ensuring that the children received a quality education as well as a healthy lifestyle.
However, OPEN has moved beyond simple funding, and has strived to create a world class system in place by designing effective reporting structures to track and monitor the outflow of precious capital, which in turn has helped the school to identify key control elements that enable it to operate efficiently. OPEN conducts proficiency audit amongst randomly chosen children to ensure that there is minimal Design-Delivery gap, apart from regular financial audits.
The School Profile:
395 students, out of whom around 110 students are hostellers cared for by Siragu Home
35 teachers ably aided by 15 support staffs
Currently has approval from the State government till the 8th Grade and is in the process of obtaining ICSE affiliation till 10th Grade
9 permanent class rooms and 10 temporary class rooms which substitutes as a dormitory for the hostellers after school hours
A permanent construction project has been planned, with the budget estimated at 3 crores. First phase funding of about 40 lakhs has been obtained from AkzoNobel, the parent company of Dulux paints
Needs of Siragu met by OPEN so far:
Inspired by the commitment the organization showed, OPEN funded about Rs. 11 Lakhs towards operational expense and about Rs. 3 Lakhs towards 3 sets of uniforms each for 400 students in the year 2010.
Continued support to help Siragu achieve a self sustaining system, OPEN has funded about Rs. 3.5 Lakhs till March 2011 towards their operational expense and has an estimated budget of about Rs. 12 Lakhs from April through Dec 2011.
A few achievements of Siragu students:
In the National level Olympiad exams, 2 students of the school were among the top 50 rank holders
A lot of our students have excelled in the Hindi proficiency exams such as the Prathmic, Parichaya and Madhyama, conducted regularly by the Hindi Prachar Sabha
Students have participated in District and State level competitions in Karate and have won many accolades and brought laurels to the school
In a district level competition organized by the Bhoomi trust for more than 30 schools in the Chennai district, our students participated in many competitions and bagged top honours
