OPEN continued to fund Siragu’s monthly operating expenses including tuition fees, boarding and lodging expenses.
OPEN funded the purchase of cloth and the stitching for two sets of uniforms for 392 kids at a cost of $6,000.
Siragu’s Uma and Muthuram visited various cities in the US to create awareness about Siragu and to raise funds. OPEN organized a small gathering in Northern Virginia to facilitate that. In all Siragu was able to raise $5800 through OPEN and some more through other organizations from Connecticut, Cleveland, etc.
Ganapathy Iyer Girls’ High School
OPEN continued its support for scholarships and after-school programs at this school at a cost of $3,933. We increased the number of girls supported through this program from 90 to 150. We have started classes in spoken English, Dance, Yoga and Karate.
Jaigopal Garodia Schools
We are happy to announce a new partner - the Jaigopal Rashtrotthana Vidya Kendra, Bangalore. This school obtained land from the Government in a middle-class neighborhood and has about 570 students from classes 1-9. The first batch of students enters Class 10 this year and the school is expanding. Most of the children’s parents are lower middle class. Some are migrant laborers. Though the school charges a nominal fee, they have never turned a child away for lack of money. OPEN donated $7,778 for construction of a classroom.
Our support of infrastructure at the Jaigopal Garodia schools continues. We have built toilets at the Girls' schools at Villivakkam and Saidapet for a total of $8,700.
We continued our effort to move children from the floor to something more comfortable with 150 bench and desk sets for $9,000.
IGNITE
Our flagship program continued with support for more students in Polytechnic and Engineering colleges. We increased the number of students funded to 34 in Polytechnic, 11 in 3 year degree and 7 in Engineering.
Somasundaram Middle School
We started supporting the Somasundaram Middle School, in Pillayarpatti, with funds for basic infrastructure. This rural school - which was started in 1947 - has been supported by the family of one of our classmates. OPEN helped this school with renovation of the school lunch kitchen, roofing, plumbing, clearing and laying of a playground, and with conversion of one classroom to a computer room.
Deepam
Deepam organizes after-school programs for poor children. We helped with 6 Netbooks for their classes, for a total of $2000. Deepam teaches children computer skills, spoken English, and personality development through arts and music classes. The confidence in 10 year old children who ask an adult what they do for a living, and what they need to do to pursue such a career, is amazing.
Changers
OPEN, looking to extend its support to rural education, was impressed by the concept, "Teach from anywhere" and decided to support for the infrastructure needs in G R Matriculation School, Omalur, near Salem district, a model school for this project. They have implemented the project and its already showing a huge sign of success. They have published a schedule for weekend classes in their forum for people to volunteer.
