Support us in Rehabilitating two flood-affected government schools in Kerala

The recent floods in Kerala have displaced more than 8 lakh people in the state. The infrastructural loss the state has suffered is estimated to be around Rs. 21.7 billion. It may take many years to bring the devastated state back to its pristine glory.

Chendamangalam, popularly known as the “Handloom Capital of Kerala," is one of the many areas in Kerala where people have lost their livelihood due to the recent floods: so much so that the unemployed weavers of this region are now trying to find alternative jobs. Their children study in two government schools, namely, the Government Lower Primary School and the Government Upper Primary School located in Chendamanglam in Ernakulam district of Kerala.

Notably, these are the only schools in the vicinity where the poor children can get primary education. Given the fact that the teachers and the students have equally suffered from the floods and the nearby people are not in a position to earn their own livelihood, the schools were facing an uncertain fate in the post-flood period.

Deepalaya attempts to restore the infrastructure facilities of the two above mentioned schools to their original condition over the next two months. Owing to the floods, the schools had lost in the past months many valuables including computers, public address system, records, furniture, library books, laboratory equipment, etc. All of these will be rehabilitated and replaced by Deepalaya. The parts of the buildings that require repairing will be repaired, new doors and windows will be installed in the parts that have been flushed away by floods, and every effort will be made to restore the schools to their original pristine condition.

The assistant education officer of the district, Smt. Latha Nair, has given permission to Deepalaya to go ahead with the noble initiative of rebuilding two schools. A two-member team from Deepalaya recently visited the two flood-affected schools and interacted with their staff members and parents. They also met some officials from local administrative bodies such as the Chendamangalam Gram Panchayat. One of the existing employees of Deepalaya has been already deployed on-site in Kerala, and will be staying there for around two months for project coordination.

Deepalaya’s decision to rehabilitate these two government schools has come as a blessing to the students, parents, and teachers. This project will benefit at least 400 students (253 students enrolled in the Government Lower Primary School and 147 students from the Upper Primary School) from the two schools. Once the rehabilitation work is done, it will also surely benefit the future generations in the years to come.