Just 100 yards further down stream from the house seen in the last post, two of the three schools in Chandripuri were washed away. Both are operating again in temporary metal buildings.

There is no heat anywhere here, so all buildings are cold and damp in winter. At any school, the day begins on the sports field or a rooftop, in the warmth of the sun. They march around, sing songs, and do other formal activities. Then with everyone warmed up, they will move into the classrooms. So for now, the tin buildings you see warm up quickly and are not that bad. In just a few months, the summer heat will turn them into ovens.

Two schools were washed away here

Saraswati Shisu Mandir is Level 1 to 8. Originally they had 210 students in a 10 room school. They are now down to 150 as families have migrated away. Twenty of the current students have lost homes to the flood. The temporary metal buildings were provided by a school in Dehradun for one year. Two NGO’s have started construction of a new school.

Beginning the day at Saraswati Shisu Mandir

To avoid confusion, duplication, and find the best matches, it is the government who assigns each NGO, including MAM, to specific villages and projects within those villages. That is why we are building houses here, but others are doing school reconstruction. In the next village, it could be quite different.

Class at Bright Light International School

As a part of the Amrita RITE program, we have launched after school tuition (tutoring) classes from 4:00 to 5:30 pm in Batwadi Sonar. These classes are available to any student in these two schools who needs extra assistance to succeed.

– Scotti