The Centauri School Build Blog
Rosebud Academy Blog
February 21st – Up-date
Since the school is opening halfway during a school year (July projected), one of my goals before leaving was to create a feasible plan for the transition into the new school building as certainly it is easier to begin a fresh school year but I did not want to wait that long nor leaving the building vacant. This is what I came up with.
School Sign
Firstly we audited the number of children we were currently helping and realized there would not be enough to warrant opening the school just for them that were ready for grade 6 that year. We have only a couple of kids starting the grade 6 level from our list of 100+ sponsored kids in the village. One of our partner schools, Rosebud Academy (also the land donor for this school) has 5 kids that transferred out of that school because they were too poor to afford the fees. They were grade 5 students.
School Build at 11 weeks
So what I decided to do was re-sponsor all of those 5 kids back into Rosebud Academy. We talked to their parents and let them know that we would sponsor those kids for the duration of their schooling and that they would be invited to attend the new school for their high school. They were obviously thrilled. That grade 5 class that they belong to will be the first class of kids attending the new building. The whole class including sponsored kids, the teacher, and Rosebud kids will move to the new building for the duration of the year. The following year, the Rosebud teacher will return to Rosebud Academy (regular), the 5 kids will remain for starting in the Centauri Grade 6 class and by that time a few more of our already sponsored kids will be ready to join the class. We already have the teacher hired to teach this group. If there are any remaining spots in the class (to a class size of 18) we will open the spots up to other poor children in the area. Then subsequent years we will add one teacher and one class per year all the way to grade 12.
As well, one of the rooms in the new school as soon as it is ready will be the new office of the Elephant Thoughts Child Social Welfare Officer. A position we created and that is already operating to look after all the social work related to the sponsored children (for instance we are in the middle of various medical procedures with some of the kids like getting one child eye surgery etc.). This person is crucial to the success of this school since all of these kids are so far below the poverty line. One room will also be a computer room and library.
Those will be the first three rooms completed along with washrooms. The next room will be the kitchen, then they will start building the second story.
We expect to be another few weeks before they start to poor the foundation as we wait on the excavation to be complete.
January 8th – Build starts
Local Laborers starting the build
ET Volunteer Carrying First Basket
January 8th – Ground Breaking Ceremony
Ground Breaking Ceremony
Monk Blessing of Build Site
January 3rd-Engineering and Design
School Site
An engineer was selected to help design the school. We visited the site with the Engineer taking measurements and discussing the unique needs of the site. One of the biggest issues is because the land in a small pocket (approximately 1/3 acre) right in the middle of Mirik Bazaar on very sloped land, that the land will have to be cut away levelled, stabilized with the support of large retaining walls both at the back of the grounds, the high side, and the front of the grounds, to prevent erosion and land slides.
January 2nd-Elephant Thoughts Committee Meeting-Approval of Rosebud Academy
//new School Land at 2 weeks
A meeting of the Mirik Elephant Thoughts Committee was called to vote on the proposed project changes, both to discuss the proposal of the Rosebud Academy for ET sponsored children and to approve building that project before Bunkulung. The Mirik committee, it should be noted is made up of a group of local school principals and business people. The committee is comprised of some of the most respected individuals in the community. Approval of the Rosebud School would in some ways work against the individual benefit of the committee members as building a school for our sponsored children would mean that many of the children would not end up in their own schools to bolster enrolment. The decision to move ahead with this project was passed unanimously and enthusiastically, once again reconfirming the incredible dedication these committee members have to the underprivileged children of the area.
New School Land at 2 weeks
January 1st-Arrival-Update on Bungkulung Build, Rosebud Academy Idea
Our first day in Mirik. Everyone quite exhausted after 48 hours of airport delays. If this trip is indicative of Air France they are highly not recommended.
Upon arrival we were briefed by Mandy and Palsang Daaju as to the status of the Bungkulung school build. Despite assurances from locals of progress through the Federal and Local governmental red tape, we are barely any further towards being able to build this school than we were 2 years ago. The locals are definitely saddened by all of this and praying daily to their respective Gods for quick resolution. We will be setting up a meeting this week with the local tribal association to receive their blessing. A letter of no objection is necessary to go forth. As of yet the progress on FCRA is non-existent. Aswini, the committee member who originally filed the document arrives in Mirik in a couple of days. We are hopeful that with him directly in front of us instead of relying on inconsistent India email servers, that we will finally get to the bottom of whether the document has even in fact been filed and what is the status of the application. Following these two steps we will still need the land deeded to the Mirik Committee, the building permits issued, and all the contractors hired before we can finally start to build this school. Our fear is that even by conservative guess this process that in Canada would take less than a month, will be at least 6 months to actually complete.
Recognizing this, before coming to India, I had sent a letter to the Mirik Committee asking them to evaluate other school building opportunities for less fortunate children that might be more easily accomplished than the Bungkulung build. For 3 years now we have been accepting donations to educate the children of Bungkulung. We have certainly had some good successes and the funds were used very well especially in starting and maintaining an ET ran kindergarten and a library, and creating and delivering a teaching assistance program to the Bungkulung Government Primary School. However the Middle School building has remained elusive only due to Government Process, not because of the desire of the Bungkulung people to see the project realized. The biggest hold up on the project has long been the tribal, unregistered status of Bungkulung lands. The idea would be to use the money that we have been holding from donations to build a school for other local children who are as much in need while we still continue the mandatory processes needed to begin Bungkulung.
My request for alternatives was met with a few very good suggestions, all of which we will be continuing to investigate and initiate for future projects. We are learning that in India, these projects can take many years to accomplish all due to the very inefficient permitting processes. One concept came forward from Mandy and Mani Raj seemed like the most viable option.
Concern has been expressed about the fact the number of children from our fledgling sponsorship program is increasing and as it does, so does the need for us to provide higher education for these students. The costs however of schools Grade 7 and up is often double or triple that of the primary schools. Hence the costs of these child sponsorships is likewise going to have to increase with each child. It was suggested that as these children represent the absolute poorest children in the Mirik area including the villages of Nigalay, Bunkulung, and others, that we build a school for a select number of these students that will continue after Class 5 all the way up to class 12. Because the children will be coming from some of the neighbouring villages we will have to provide accommodation for them as well. It was discussed that rather than a traditional boarding school situation that few of the Canadian teachers endorsed, we would create a series of billets. The children would be paying guests in local homes hence giving them a more structured, loving environment while at the same time reducing the operating costs of the school and providing a small auxiliary income to some local families. The boarding fees will of course be paid by the school.
New School Land at 2 weeks
Mani Raj, one of Elephant Thoughts most trusted, reliable, and selfless allies offered to donate a piece of his own private land for the project. Furthermore we could operate as a sister school to his Rosebud Academy. Using private land and basically building an addition to, (although on a separate plot of land) the existing Rosebud Academy, circumvents all of the red tape that we are experiencing in Bunkulung. When asked what compensation Mani Raj would need for the land and the service, he, to no surprise of the Elephant Thoughts crew based on the history of this incredibly sincere, gentle, and compassionate individual, said absolutely none, it is his ultimate pleasure to be helping the poor of Mirik.
