Support transporting poor children in Vatsalya, Jaipur

Vatsalya society (located in Jaipur) runs a school up to 10th class for children coming from marginalized communities. Since the children come from very poor families, the onus remains on us to bring them to school (full-time and part-time) as the parents generally lack long-term vision and often don't understand the value of attending school. Given a choice, they would rather use them to generate some extra income, either directly or indirectly for immediate support of the family by any means. We see clear evidence of it when we compare the children being picked up by Vatsalya transport with the children coming on their own. The rate of absenteeism is much higher in children not coming by school transport, and so is the rate of dropout in the same group.

Vatsalya has one bus and one jeep that ferries children to and fro from the school. Looking at the strength of the school (100 children in total), another vehicle would most certainly help in transporting children comfortably and in time to and from school. In the absence of proper transport for the children, we will either have to reduce the number of children or let their education remain uncertain and at the mercy of the circumstances.

Vatsalya was started in 2000 with a vision and mission to create a model village for marginalized children. Vatsalya campus has four major functions: providing safe, healthy, and nurturing living space, providing education up to 10th, providing ample opportunity for excellence in sports and cultural sphere, and providing varied skill-building options. Vatsalya School formally registered as Vatsalya Shiksha Niketan uses unique and innovative ways to educate children. “Smart Classrooms” equipped with LCD projectors are used for showing educational documentaries in partnership with Bayjus to cover part of their syllabus and also for interactive learning through Skype. Learning through educational excursions and outdoor projects is another very important part of our education.