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Background & Locality - Alapuzha, Kerala
The Alappuzha district of Kerala, also known as Alleppey,
is surrounded by a network of waterways; these are the heart
of Kerala's backwaters once referred to as the 'Venice of
the East'. The backwaters are a popular tourist attraction
along with the annual Nehru Trophy Snake boat race which is
held at the Punnamada Lake in the 2nd week of August every
year. Kuttunad, Alappuzha is well known for its 75km of lush
paddy fields, this region was known as 'Keralathinte Nellara',
which means 'rice bowl of Kerala'. The area produces coir
geotextiles, used to strengthen the dykes of the paddy fields
in this low land region. Coir and Jack Wood are the main materials
used to build houseboats named 'Kettuvallam' (boat with knots
- the coir knots the wood together with no use of nails) used
for the tourist backwater tours. Along the 82km coastline
of Alleppey there are a string of approximately 30 fishing
villages, the Theera Desa School provides education for Lower
Primary children in the small fishing village of Neerkunnam.
About the Project -Theera Desa Lower Primary School
Set within a strong local fishing community, this small lower
primary school is run by Dhevera, the local fishing village
community group who are the sole provider of funds for the
school. Over the past few years the head teacher: Mrs. Mohana
Kumari has seen a substantial drop in the new pupil intake
rate due to the general lack of profile and facilities of
this LP school. Parents are choosing to send their children
to other schools within the local area that are able to provide
better facilities for their children even though it involves
travelling outside their local community. The total number
of children on roll in 2007 is 305 pupils, 170 Boys and 135
Girls. Total funding for the school 2006/07 is INR 9000 (Approx
GBP £106) as raised by Dhevera community committee.
There is no government funding for this school as it is a
committee management school and the only support provided
by the government is one meal (consisting of rice and green
gram) every day for each child. The school staff live within
a 25km radius of the school with the majority of the 9 teaching
staff living locally near the school.
Head Teacher: Mrs. Mohana Kumari
Mohana
Kumari is a passionate and committed head teacher;
she has worked at the Theera Desa LP School for over
25 years as a teacher and head teacher. Keen to ensure
stability and longevity of the school; Mohana has
considered the possibility of using a loan to improve
the facilities of the school, ensuring the schools'
progress after her planned retirement in a year's
time.
There are two main teaching blocks built parallel
to each other creating a central area where the water
supply is situated. Next to the water supply there
is a mature mango tree providing the only shade in
the school grounds. The grounds are of a generous
size for the number and age range of children attending
this school. Neighbouring the school is a large medical
institution and a nearby a railway line. Although
there are low level foundations in place; there is
no secure boundary wall or fencing around the school
grounds.
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Central
Mango Tree |
Existing
drinking water tank |
Separate
to the teaching blocks is a rudimentary kitchen built
from corrugated metal sheets, a small building used
for pre-nursery pupils and a very basic lavatory area.
Areas
for development - Where we can help ?
Water supply:
The current water supply is very poor with no purification system. This must be replaced as a priority, including extending the water supply to the kitchen and lavatories.
Lavatories:
There are no sanitation facilities provided at this
school. Proposed plan is to design and build: separate
Girls and Boys toilet blocks with a septic tank treatment
system. Additional rows of taps to provide clean safe
water for the children.
Kitchen:
To remove the existing kitchen and build a new kitchen
with adequate space as an additional extension to
the end of teaching block 1. Provide water supply
to the kitchen and build a safe food storage area.
Teaching Block 1:
The two teaching blocks are of a reasonable design
and fit for the purpose as teaching areas. However,
one of the teaching blocks is dilapidated and needs
to be improved to match the standard of the second
block that incorporates the staff room. Ideally, this
would require building work to extend the roofline
to provide a platform corridor running along the length
of the block. This would provide a walkway for staff
and pupils, giving shade and protecting the building
from the harsh weather conditions.
Currently the windows have dilapidated bamboo woven
blinds which provide little protection from the elements.
These could be replaced or improved to match the standard
of the second teaching block. During the rainy season,
the roof leaks and is in need of repair; existing
roof tiles need to be cleaned and a new inner layer
of protective roof lining needs to be layed besides
replacing the damaged tiles. The interior classroom
partitions are damaged and need to be replaced. It
is proposed that an extension at the end of this block
will be built to provide a new kitchen facility, with
safe food storage area.
General
Maintenance and Site Improvements :
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Painting
the school buildings to freshen up its appearance
and all round renovation. |
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Boundary
issues: Addition of a school gate leading onto
the site. Wall or fencing around the perimeter.
It is hoped that the medical institution may in
time improve its boundary, alleviating the schools'
problem. |
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Planting
more trees to create a shady area for the children
to play. |
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Games area/painted murals using key skills Maths
and English to decorate and create a positive
learning environment for staff and pupils. |
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A
chance to build life-long friendships with people
from all walks of life. |
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A
chance to improve your DIY skills! |
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* This is a challenging project
that require volunteers to be resourceful, committed,
self motivated and will definitely involve long hours
of work with plenty of excitement and fun. You will
be involved in planning, organising and building activities
with the help of a team of volunteers, local laborers
and members of the community. Please note that the project
area is remote and basic facilities will be provided
by Yearoutindia. Amenities like Internet, ATM's, Fax
etc are only available at the nearby town centre.
Program Costs:
Please contact our volunteer coordinators in your region
for more details and breakdown of program fees. Majority
of the fees go directly towards the projects we support.
The remaining covers program related costs: all food,
accommodation, project-related transport, staff and
project maintenance etc. |
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