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Victoria Armstrong Memorial School, Nilgris, India
Although the government of India does provide some schools for tribal children in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, they are mostly of poor quality, the education they give is insufficient to enable the children to proceed to the mainstream schools in the area. As a result very few tribal people get entry to secondary schools or beyond.
Victoria Armstrong Memorial School (VAMS) project established in 2003 by Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association in Nilgiris, India, in order to provide a good educational background for the tribal children of Nilgiris Hill in Tamil Nadu, India.
The last three years have seen growth at a phenomenal pace. The children have become more confident, communicative and began to evolve creatively. As non tribal children have also been accepted the effort to integrate tribal and non tribal children has worked well and serve as a preparation for tribal children to enter into the mainstream of education when they leave the VAMS.
The school started with standard I, Lower and Upper Kindergartens. A new standard was added every year in order to provide continuing education for the children already in the school. The running cost is covered by charging fees. Most tribal children seem able to meet these, but if they cannot NAWA gives them a bursary. There are now 62 tribal and 53 non tribal children. The standard I-IV are housed in VAMS and Kindergartens are in rooms in the NAWA administrative building. Accommodation is extremely tight and in some cases there are two classes in one room. To improve the situation, and accommodate children up to standard VII, 9 additional classrooms and a staff room, which does not at present exist will be required. . ASHRAM International is participating in the extension of VAMS.
This year the school has constructed a two storey building with 4 class rooms in each floor. The ground floor has completed. The construction of the second floor is in progress. The school is searching funds to complete the construction and furnish it.
The building of the school is in progress
compelted projects:
Chennai, India
Self Help Housing Programme
Building houses for poor slum families using low cost technological alternatives
History
This project began in 1999, where we partnered with Murugappa Shelter Trust (MST). We sponsored a low cost housing project using various alternative construction techniques. We built 15 houses for 15 families, who originally lived in leaky mud thatched houses, without toilets.
They are now housed in build-up one room houses with toilets and running water.
The houses consist of one living hall 120 sq ft, kitchen 80 sq ft and bath/toilet of 20 sq ft. Each plot has an 80 sq ft front garden space and a 60 sq ft rear garden space, and a septic tank of 3' diameter.
Completion of the first houses
Since 1999, the revolving fund scheme has enabled an additional 10 families to build their houses. |
This encouraged us to continue partnering MST, and we built another 14 houses which have now been completed, and named them, the "George Joseph Housing Colony", after our founder. The beneficiaries are proud for the first time to live in their own newly built concrete houses.
The second batch of houses
This encouraged us to continue partnering MST, and we built another 14 houses which have now been completed, and named them, the "George Joseph Housing Colony", after our founder. The beneficiaries are proud for the first time to live in their own newly built concrete houses.
2) Women's empowerment by employment generation in Chennai, India
 
Women in Women Cottage Unit during production of eco-friendly paper cups
We established a Women’s Cottage Unit in partnership with MST in Thirumullaivoyal Village.
The aim of the project was to train and employ 25 women in bio-degradable eco-friendly disposable paper cups production. We supplied machineries for the production of eco-friendly paper cups. There was one disabled man employed too. The women were able to produce about 10,000 cups every day.
Employment generation programme for poor families in Nalgonda, India
This project was aimed to stop the inhuman trade of selling new born female babies, which have been practiced in Nalgonda due to grind poverty. In partnership with the Nalgonda YMCA, we developed an alternate employment generation activities. 34 families have participated in our “livelihood approach” with
- Livestock farming (sheep and goat Units),
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- Photo-cum-video business
- Vegetable store
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We have provided soft loans to those families to run income generating programmes. Loan repayments are lodged in their Community Revolving Fund, which generates more loans for more families in their community. The beneficiaries are happy that they generate income. Our support has ceased and now the project is self-supporting.
Empowerment of women through their children in Shimoga, India
This project is with the Shimoga YMCA. The project operates at 3 children’s welfare centres that provide free food, milk, non formal education, functional literacy, hygiene and free health care to abandoned street children. A training unit on nutrition food, sanitation, parental behaviour, and child’s health and behaviour problems has also been provided, for the mothers. The project also runs Vocational Training courses such as: Tailoring, Beautician & Mehandi, Screen Printing, Fabric Painting, Soft Toys, Painting and Colour Mixing, Rexine Purse & Bags and Thermocol Cuttings.
Under the “Saving and Loan“scheme, ASHRAM and the YMCA provided micro-credit to women. The women have undertaken income generating activities such as home products of masala powder, chilli powder, ragi flour, and also the running of small retail shops.
The project still needs financial assistance from ASHRAM for the running of the street children welfare Centre for the next year. |
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