Vision for Asia Rupamari School project helping 30 children

In January 2016, Vision for Asia helped set up a school on an island in the Sundarbans area of West Bengal for 30 children, using the newly built sewing hut. The aim being, to help children of this island village break the cycle of poverty. There are currently 83 children enrolled at the school.

Life on the island is not easy. There is little access to clean drinking water and a lack of food, resulting in poor nutrition. The parents are either farmers or fishermen, who have learned skills only to fit their environment and these have been passed down through the generations. We believe that the only way out of poverty is through education, which is why this project is so vital.

At this school, children from 4 years of age are being provided with a basic education in three core subjects: Bengali, Maths and English. The children’s educational progress is determined by examinations which are held in December. For the successful children aged 8+ years, this will enable them to progress to the state school on the island. Access to the state school can only be gained by obtaining this level of education, which is why it is so important to lay the foundations at this critical stage.

Attending the state school will provide each child with the necessary skills to make them more employable once they graduate, in turn creating a better life for themselves. It is so exciting to be able to report that, since the start of this project, 54 children have succeeded in passing their exams and are now continuing their education at the state school.

How your money is spent

Three full-time and two part-time teachers’ salaries (£20 per month)
Resources for the 83 children (£40 per month)
A midday meal for each child (£200 per month)

This is a short-term sponsorship programme where you can sponsor a child to go to school for just £5 a month… until he/she is accepted into the state school.

I am so happy to send my children to the school. My daughter is improving in her reading and writing, and in spirituality also.
Parent

We have been very blessed because this is a very needy area. We are very poor people and the mission came to start this school. We are very grateful to everyone who is helping to give our children an education.
Parent

My son is very good at studying, and he wants to go to school every day and do the lessons. I can see that all the school children are happier now and more polite and helpful at home.
Parent