NEELBAGH :-
The year 2001- 2002 has been a very exciting, as well as challenging year, for all of us at Ashraya.
EVENTS DURING THE YEAR IN THE SCHOOL
The school has a new Headmaster, Mr. Raghavendra, from October 2001.
On November 14th we celebrated Children’s Day, where all our teachers enacted plays, songs and performed various dances, for our children. The children were very happy and enjoyed seeing their teachers in a different light. On the same day we planted 150 trees on the boundary of our new High School premises.
Mrs. Nomita Chandy, Mrs. Surya Vaz and Miss. Priya David were also present for the programme and planted a sapling each.
To enhance the knowledge of the children and widen their horizons, a Dish Antenna was installed to enable them to watch various suitable programmes on television.
The year 2002 started with a programme by the children and the staff.
Mrs. Sumati Satish and Miss. Priya David attended this New Year function. All the children in the school were presented with gifts. Our thanks to ICARE for giving us a generous donation for the party.
On 13th January the hostel children, with a few residential staff, went to see the circus in Madanapalli. The children saw elephants, lions, parrots, monkeys and various acts, by a number of performers. It was a new experience for many of the children. The children and staff really enjoyed themselves.
Unfortunately, on 13th January, our visiting government doctor passed away. It was a terrible shock for the staff and children. He was a good doctor and always looked after the welfare of the children.
The school closed for the summer break, from 12th April to 12th May ; We had around 87 new applications for the academic year 2001-2002. After the entrance tests were conducted for the new applicants, 57 children were admitted to the school in various classes. The strength of the school was 132 and with the new admissions the strength increased to 189. Our present strength in the hostel is 32 boys and 28 girls i.e. 60 students.
On 14th August, we celebrated Founders Day, as well as our Sports Day.
Dr. Aloma Lobo, the President of the Voluntary Co-ordinating Agency – Karnataka, was the Chief Guest . Mrs. Nomita Chandy, Mrs. Sumati Satish and Miss. Priya David were also there at the function. The Sports Day was held in the morning and the Founder’s Day celebration was held in the afternoon.
On August 15th the 55th Independence Day of our country was celebrated with the hoisting of the flag and singing of the National Anthem.
On September 5th the children put up a wonderful show for the people who instill knowledge in their lives – THEIR TEACHERS. The Bank Manager from Rayalpad attended the function and the 7th and 8th standard participated in a Hindi essay competition. This competition was sponsored by the Bank.
COMPETITIONS
Our children have been participating at the taluk level in various sports activities. They did well in some events and won many laurels. M.B. Suresh has been selected to compete at the state level, in the Discus Throw.
The children from the seventh standard appeared for the State level exam for the first time in the history of the school . 13 children took the exams in the month of April. All the children passed with First Class marks . The children and staff were ecstatic with the results, as we were one of the few schools who had done so well.
Mr. Harinath and Mrs. Pushpalatha attended a workshop on “ Games ”, at Bangalore, which was organized by Sutradhar. The workshop was very interesting as well as enlightening, for them.
On 21 September, an in-house workshop was conducted at Ashraya by the staff Mr. Shankar, Ms. Rekha, Mr. Harinath and Ms. Pushpalath who had attended different training programmes. This was for all the staff from various projects. Mr. Harinath as well as Ms. Pushpalatha conducted a session on GAMES. It was a very useful workshop for all the staff, as well as a good opportunity to interact with people from the other projects.
The children also won a lot of prizes at cultural events organized at the taluk level.
INSPECTION AND VISITORS.
We had the Block Education Officer from Srinivaspur, come for an inspection to our school on October 10th . He was very pleased with the developments in the school and recommended recognition till the 10th standard.
On 15th July, The Deputy Director of Primary Education from Kolar, as well as The Block Education Officer from Srinivaspur, came on an inspection. They were very pleased with the running of the school and with the facilities provided for the children.
NEELBAGH VOLUNTEERS:-
During the year we had the following volunteers working with us at Neelbagh.
1. Ms. Melanie Goering, from Germany
2. Ms. Charlotte Waters, from Australia
3. Mr. Illan Stein, from America
4. Ms. Natalie Leske, from Australia, who teaches English and Drama.
We are very grateful to our volunteers for spending time with our children and staff. Each of them has taught them a great deal and thereby enriched their lives.
NEW BUILDINGS
The new buildings, with better and new facilities, are under construction. Six new classrooms, four workshops, two laboratories, a library, a boys’ hostel, a girls’ hostel, a dining area and a kitchen, a sick bay, two guest rooms, an office complex, and staff quarters are in the process of being completed. We hope that these facilities will be ready by the end of November. The buildings have been constructed under the supervision of Mr. Kumar from CIEDS. The buildings are built on similar lines of the old buildings i.e. mud walls with tiled roofs and thatch and are low cost.
STAFF AT NEELBAGH
Presently we have 11 teachers, six helpers and a driver, who under the leadership of Mr. Raghavendra, the Headmaster, have been involved in the lives of the children and have been working together for their development.
Two new teachers were appointed to teach Hindi, as well as dance and drawing.
Mr. Manjunath married Mrs. Pushpalatha. Both of them are on the staff of the school. Our congratulations to them.
SPONSORSHIP
We are very grateful to our sponsors CIAI, from Italy. The K.C. Mahindra Trust, ICARE and our individual sponsors, for their contributions to help us to run the school.
OBSERVATION HOME :-
Ashraya, one of the members of the Home Committee, continues to play an important role towards improving the quality of life of the boys, at the Observation Home. It co-ordinates its activities along with ECHO and BOSCO,
who are also a part of the Home Committee. Presently there are 35 boys at the Observation Home.
This year there have been a lot of events at the Home. On November 15, 2001, a nice lunch was organized for the boys. The Secretary, Department of Women and Child Development, Mrs. Sobha Nambisan, and the Director, Smt. Vidyawati also came for the lunch, to make it a special event.
A function was organized on June 24th 2002, to inaugurate the use of the beds, T.V. and computer for the boys, for which we got donations from Mr. and Mrs. Vikram and Abhishekh Jalan. This function was graced by the Honourable Minister for Women and Child Welfare, Ms. Motamma and the Director, Department of Women and Child Welfare, Mr. B.R. Jayaramaraj Urs, who were very impressed to see significant changes for the better, in the Observation Home.
On August 15th, 2002, a very lively function was organized by the boys, there was music, dancing and bursting of balloons and the boys enjoyed themselves.
The Elfun Group from GE who volunteer at the Observation Home, is also actively involved in conducting computer classes and games , which the boys find very absorbing.
Besides the teachers, who are conducting the Non-Formal Education classes, a Social Worker has been appointed by Ashraya. She is involved in Individual and Group Counselling. She also does Home-Visits and Family Counselling, to assess and facilitate future planning for the child. Home Visits are being conducted in co-ordination with the Probation Officer.
Group Counselling is also done in association with Vishwas., which is a Professional Counselling Organisation, which has been working in the Observation Home for several months. They were brought in by Ashraya, as many children required in-depth counselling.
The efforts made by Ashraya in various ways, is improving the status of the children and the conditions in the Observation Home. The Home Committee meets once a month.
ASHRAYA VOLUNTEERS :-
Ashraya has been very fortunate to have a group of regular volunteers. These people give freely of their time and special skills, and contribute greatly to the children’s over-all development and sense of well - being.
At the Children’s Home, we have Karen Mehta , who works with the toddlers. Sujatha, Barbara, and Smitha help with the older children’s lessons and computer work. Sigfrid does craft, Sheila teaches singing, Linda and Sylvia familiarize some of the children with Spanish and Italian. Monica and Kala help with the pre -schoolers. The Elfun Club members, of General Electric, liven up the weekend for the children both at Ashraya and the Government Observation Home for Boys .
In addition, several people come in from time to time to play games, sing or dance with the children. Volunteers organize outings and birthday parties as special treats.
CONCLUSION :-
We have had a lot of activities during the year and we are grateful to the Ashraya Members and Staff for putting in a great deal of effort into seeing that the organization runs smoothly and we have been able to resolve all the problems that came our way, in a professional manner. The work remains interesting and challenging and we are sure that the next year will be one of further growth for the organization. Our special thanks to our Auditors, Panth & Co., and to our Lawyer , Mr. G. Vishwanath for their help.
Nomita Chandy
Secretary, Ashraya.
BANGALORE
OCTOBER 2002