Help poor girls receive an education & overcome poverty

According to an ILO report, the extent of bonded child labour estimates from various social activist groups range up to 350,000 in 2001. Kasuva Village, where the Sevalaya campus is located, was plagued by child labour, 30 years ago. Children were not given education, especially the girl child in villages surrounding Sevalaya.

Children worked in brick kilns as bonded labourers. The importance of education was not known to villagers. Also; for students who went to school, the quality of education offered was not encouraging them to continue schooling. Hence; the dropout rates in schools went 25%.

Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School at Kasuva Village, provides high quality education, completely free of cost for the past 30 years, to more than 2000 poor and destitute children in the neighbourhood. The school provides education from Pre-KG (Balwadi) to 12th standard in 40 neighboring villages.

In addition; text books, note books, uniforms for the entire school and transport facility for primary children are provided for free. The school provides value-based education with special emphasis on co-curricular and life skill activities to enable children to become self-reliant.

Eradicated child labour in 40 villages around Sevalaya. Approximately, 50% of our students are girl child. The drop out ratio is just 1.5%. More than 1000 students have completed their education and are employed.

Sevalaya through free education has helped so many families to come out of the vicious circle of poverty and has made it possible for them to be self-reliant.

To mention a few, 72 of our students have completed a bachelor degree in engineering, 370 have completed a bachelor degree courses in science/commerce/arts and 37 have completed bachelor degree in agriculture. It is a matter of pride that none of our alumni are unemployed.