Education
Timeless Changes Foundation considers education to be a cornerstone for a positive change in lives of individuals, families and their succeeding generations. There are three major projects under the umbrella of Education:
1. Supporting the school, tuition and fees of twelve children in slum areas in Malkajgiri, Hyderabad, India. Working with DHAN Foundation.
2. Buying books for children in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, Africa under the project called "Kitabu for Children" with Louie Foundation and DTF
3. Training the teachers in rural India with Sodhana.
We are always looking for education projects that we could support. Please contact us to explore ideas.
Education of Malkajgiri School children
we support the education of six school children in Malkajgiri. On this project, we collaborate with Ms. Shakuntala, who helps pay the fees and buy the books and clothes needed by these schoolchildren.Ms. K. Shakuntala is a social worker in the slums of Malkajgiri near the city of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Ms. Shakuntala Prasad came to our attention back in June 2007 through our Director, Mr. Narender Kande. She wrote to us that she is part of a reputed not-for-profit organization called DHAN (http://www.dhan.org/aboutdhan/index.php). You will note on their website that Ford Foundation, United Nations' UNDP, Novib from the Netherlands and other reputed
organizations are partners of DHAN.
Over the past few years we supported 5 children of which 4 were in VMR school and the one in another school (Heena Parveen).
The five children supported in 2010 are listed below. [Where available, photos and information were used with permission].
1. Reshma
Student Name: ReshmaFather: Hazar Khan
Occupation: Fruit Seller
Address: 43-372, Krishnanagar Near RTC Colony, Hyderabad, India
Income: Rs. 2,500 per month
Family Background: Reshma is the fourth girl child in a poor family. She is very bright at her studies. She is the only girl studying in their family. Her parents could not afford to pay for her education, but she is at the top in her class.
Fees needed:
School Fees: Rs. 600 x 12 = Rs. 7,200
Exam Fees: Rs. 800
Books: Rs. 1,000
Total: Rs. 9,000 (approx USD 200)
School: VMR
Grade: 6th standard
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2. Ibrahim
Student Name:Father: Osman
Occupation: Day Laborer
Address: Hanuman Nagar, Moula-Ali, Hyderabad
Income: Rs. 2,000 per month (approx USD 40)
Family Background: The family migrated from Warangal district. Ibrahim and his elder brother are both studying at the DHAN school since the past three years. For grade 6, Ibrahim needed to go to a private school and his family could not afford it. Ibrahim's teachers consider him to be a bright and intelligent student.
Fees needed:
School Fees: Rs. 600 x 12 = Rs. 7,200
Exam Fees: Rs. 800
Books: Rs. 1,000
Total: Rs. 9,000 (approx USD 200)
School: VMR
Grade: 6th standard
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3. Sajeeda
Student Name: Sajeeda BegumFather: Md. Nizamuddin
Occupation: Bangle seller (hawker)
Address: 43-425/1 Krishna Nagar, Moula-Ali, Hyderabad, AP, India
Income: Rs. 1,500 per month (approx USD 30)
Family Background: Sajeeda comes from a very poor family. Her strong desire to study prompted her parents to send her to the DHAN school, although their other children work (and do not attend school). Sajeeda's mother makes beedi (a form of rolled cigarette from dried green tobacco leaves), which affected her health. The glass bangles that her father sells are fragile and frequently gets damaged as he moves them around to sell them. As a result, the family income varies considerably and at times, the family starves for food. We visited Sajeeda's home that her mother keeps in an immaculate condition. Her mother is clearly dedicated to keep Sajeeda's education going as long as she wants to study. Grade 6 at VMR school costs money that the family cannot afford, which is why the Foundation stepped in to pay for the following fees.
Fees needed:
School Fees: Rs. 600 x 12 = Rs. 7,200
Exam Fees: Rs. 800
Books: Rs. 1,000
Total: Rs. 9,000 (approx USD 200)
School: VMR
Grade: 6th standard
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4. Raheem
Student Name: RaheemFather: Osman
Occupation: Day Laborer
Address: Hanuman Nagar, Moula-Ali, Hyderabad, AP, India
Income: Rs. 2,000 per month (approx USD 40)
Family Background: Raheem was taken out of school after his 1st grade and sent to work in a Tea shop. DHAN Foundation volunteers found and rescued him. Interestingly, Raheem studied by himself at the home of his employer (as a child laborer). Raheem re-joined the school at an age-appropriate 3rd grade and started to learn his alphabet there. He is an above average student and actively participates in academic and cultural activities.
Fees needed:
School Fees: Rs. 600 x 12 = Rs. 7,200
Exam Fees: Rs. 800
Books: Rs. 1,000
Total: Rs. 9,000 (approx USD 200)
School: VMR
Grade: 6th standard
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5. Heena
Student Name: Heena ParveenFather:
Occupation:
Address:
Income:
Family Background: Heena is the daughter of the school ayah (custodian) at the DHAN Foundation's primary school. She graduated primary school and could not afford to go to the private school for her 6th grade. In our meeting, she proved to be a shy but bright individual that showed curiosity and expressed very strongly that she would like to continue her education.
Fees needed:
School Fees: Rs. 600 x 12 = Rs. 7,200
Exam Fees: Rs. 800
Books: Rs. 1,000
Total: Rs. 9,000 (approx USD 200)
School: VMR
Grade: 6th standard
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Hussain
Student Name: Md. Saddam HussainFather: Mahaboob Sab
Occupation:
Address:
Income:
Family Background: Saddam is the youngest among seven children. He's the only one who went to school in his family. It was reported (not confirmed independently) that he comes from a family with a history of alcoholism. There's no income from his father. His mother sells "mutton boti" as an employee at a local vendor stall. Saddam's teachers are so very excited to talk about him, as he consistently topped his class. He did not let his hearing impairment keep him from excelling at school. We'd helped fund Saddam's education since 2007, but when we visited the school in 2010, we found out that his mother had recently decided she needed the income he would generate if he were employed rather than if he went to school. As a result, he was out working at a bakery during our visit to the school. We are working with the local team to get him back in school.
Fees needed:
Total: Rs. 4,000 (approx USD 80)
School: VMR
Grade: 7th standard (dropped out)
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Seven additional children that we started to fund in 2011 are at VMR school are :
1.Sohail s/o Taheer: Father is auto driver and mother works as servant maid and cook. Father is a alcoholic and at present is not going for work regularly due to ill health. Joined class 6 at VMR and the family income is about Rs 1200 per month. Has 2 siblings and sister Nasreen is also studying at VMR.
2. Noruddin s/o Nizamuddin joined class 6 at VMR this year. Mother is a beedi roller and earn about Rs 40-50 a day, the income depends on the number of beedies she rolls in a day. His father is not working and supporting the family at present.
3. Nasreen D/o Taheer:She is the sister off Sohail and joined VMR school.
4.Sadiya Begum d/o Yousuf: Father is an auto driver and mother is not employed and takes care of family and home. Earn an income of about Rs 2500-3000 (approx USD 50) a month.joined at VMR
5.Shagutta d/o Moiz: Fater is an auti driver and mother is a house wife earn an income of Rs2500-3000 a month, joined at VMR
6. Meharunnisa d/o Mustafa: Mother works as tailor and father is seasonal fruit vendor and sells on a push cart. The income is not regular due to seasonality. An income of Rs 3000 a month.
7. Poornima d/o Kumar: Kumar works in a factory as wage earner but due to recent accident is not going for work and his wife works as aya at kalanjiam vidya nilayam and seeking support for her daughter's education. Pornima is in class 8th at VMR.Aya gets an income of Rs 1500 per month.
The details of fee contribution is as below:
1. For the six new children at VMR the fee per child is Rs 7000 of which VMR contribution is Rs 3300 per child and own contribution is Rs1200 and seeking a support of Rs 2500 per child from TCF which is *Rs 15,000*
2. For Poornima: *Rs 6000* from TCF and rest of the Rs 2000 from own
3. 4 old children at VMR out of Rs 10500 per child Rs 8000 from TCF and rest by own which is *Rs 32,000*
4. Heena parveen seeking a help of* Rs 2500* from TCF and rest of the Rs 6000 own.( It was informed that Heena's mother joined a new work and can contribute higher compared to last year)
The total contribution from TCF is *Rs 55,500*(1+2+3+4) and so far we have made a payment of USD 250 about Rs 11,250, the next installment can be sent directly to VMR school.
"Kitabu for Kids" Project to supply text books to school children in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, Africa
In partnership with the Louie Foundation in the US and DTF in Africa, we have provided one hundred text books to children in fourth and seventh grades. We are currently gratefully accepting donations for this project. Read more on this project here. Receipt for Textbooks purchased from Oxford University Press. [When we receive permission, we will post photographs and more details on this website].
Teaching the Teachers
Sodhana – A 30-year not-for-profit organization is unique in that it is focused on the education of pre-school children in slums and poorer sections of remote towns – with songs, fun and games but absolutely without books!! They choose to be low-tech, since they found that approach to be sustainable and a good fit to the locations where they work. This novel approach is so successful that it is now being studied and mimicked in several districts within India and in several developing countries. Mr. P.D.K. Rao, Sodhana’s founder and Chairman, is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of CCN. In addition, he is a house-hold name in parts of India for how after a successful Academic career in the US, he gave away all his accumulated wealth, walked into a poor village as a stranger, won the trust of the folks that were traditionally in the lowest rungs of the society and for how he has helped empower them – all without big grants from any government. Sodhana is actually very selective, reportedly turning away offers of funds when it means either abandoning its principles or spreading itself too thin. The other funding organizations were often interested in sponsoring students or programs – but none were willing to fund the education of the educators – the volunteer teachers. Timeless Changes Foundation funded the training of Primary School Volunteer Teachers. The picture below shows a few teachers learning how to use low-tech props (flash cards with letters from the alphabet of the Telugu language), with the arrow pointing to the part of the banner that acknowledges the sponsorship by Timeless Changes Foundation. Please note: Timeless Changes Foundation makes a clear effort to not seek credit or publicity for the work that we do, so this banner is an exception to the rule. Exhibit 1 shows acknowledgement from Sodhana and an accounting of the monies that Timeless Changes Foundation donated toward this activity.
