We hope everyone in the OPEN community is doing well as we fight to get through the Covid-19 pandemic. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people who are affected. As an organization devoted to education, we will not directly raise monies for pandemic shutdown relief, but we encourage our community to donate to organizations that are providing supplies to families and to first-line responders in India and in the US.
Most schools and colleges in India have been closed for the last 3 months and our programs are on hold, so some sections of this update will be shorter than usual.
Post-secondary education: Ignite scholarship program
Most colleges and polytechnics are closed, and we are awaiting word from these institutions regarding semester exams. We supported 110 students through this scholarship program for academic year 2019-20. In partnership with the IRT (Institute of Road Transport) Polytechnic College,we inducted a fresh batch of 16 students in addition to the normal students who responded to our applications process.
Supplemental education: English classes by Vidyarambam
We continue working with Vidyarambam Trust to bring their Easy Learning English supplemental program to partner schools in Chennai. 1075 students from 9 schools were coached in English during academic year 2019-20, with most of them in classes 6-8. We are piloting English classes for students in grades 1-5 at Chennai Middle School, Gandhigramam. Mid-year tests show that the youngest children appear to be making good progress! The final exams could not be held due to the pandemic.
Keeping slum children in school: After-school center run by Turning Point Trust
The Turning Point Trust aims to keep children of slum dwellers in Rotary Nagar, Chennai, in school. A new after-school center for 60 children is being supported by OPEN. Students come to the center for help with academics, and are also coached on their civic responsibilities. The Trust raised funds to provide relief supplies for families affected in the pandemic shutdown, and several members of the OPEN community donated in their private capacities.
Ongoing projects
We continue our support of Ganapathy Iyer Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Gopalapuram, Chennai, with tuition scholarships for poor children, and operating expenses for after-school classes (chess, karate) and breakfast/evening snacks. This program benefits 170 children. We continue our support for 10 children from the Malleswaram Shishu Vihar, Bangalore. We are also sponsoring the school education of 7 children, selected by Samridhdhi, an NGO that focuses on educating migrant laborers' children inBangalore.
OPEN key statistics, 2003 - June 2020
The OPEN community has supported over 36,000 students in the past 15 years with over $1,000,000 in grants. As always, our ability to fund these projects depends on your generosity.
Supplemental education: Ashraya libraries, Book of the Month, Arts and Science, Computer clubs
The Ashraya Foundation runs libraries and Science and Arts clubs, Computer clubs, and Drama clubs at 9 schools in rural Karnataka. We support librarian salaries and salaries for Arts and Science teachers at 6 of these schools. Most components of the Ashraya program were completed before the pandemic-induced shutdown. A synopsis of the Ashraya program is shown below, and the final report for 2019-2020 and proposal for 2020-21 is at this link.
This video shows the Science Club competition for this academic year.
OPEN needs you
OPEN is a non-profit charitable foundation in India and in the U.S. Contributions in both countries are tax-deductible.
Contributions in USD may be made online or by check.
Checks payable to OPEN Inc. may be sent to one of:
Kumar Thiagarajan, 25470 Gimbel Dr, South Riding, VA 20152
Rajesh Ramadoss, 21 South Mountain Rd, Millburn, NJ 07041
Cheques in INR may be sent in favor of:
Open India Charitable Trust # 26/91, 3rd Street, Karpagam Avenue, R.A.Puram, Chennai - 600028 Phone : +91 77086-79797.
You may also donate online in INR thru NEFT/IMPS:
Bank: Canara Bank Branch: St. Mary’s Road, Chennai Account Number: 1 2871 01 01 8901 MICR Number: 60001 5037 IFSC Code Number: CNRB0001287
Please consider investing in India's future. To delay may mean to forget.
