Pardada Pardadi Educational Society

A tête-à-tête with the Toilet Guy!

2011-03-09T14:59:00.003+05:30

At Pardada Pardadi, Mr. Ron Fuchs’ name is synonymous with that of a toilet’s. You think of a toilet, you think of Ron, and when you think of Ron, you immediately think of a toilet.

Ron makes sure his commitment brings him to Anoopshahr from Baltimore, USA at least once every year. Before he took off his flight back to the US on March 3, he completed the inspection and jump started the construction of a community toilet in one of the most marginalized communities in Anoopshahr. There is so much that a PPES toilet is connected to: Health and Hygiene, Employment, the cause of a Green Environment, and much much more. And, it’s not just in the mind anymore, it’s in the process where people are teaming up in innovative ways and bringing in great IDEAS! We’re sure you have something too, get in touch with us on info@pardadapardadi.org

A tête-à-tête with Mr. Ron Fuchs as we know him

81 toilets in 12 villages in one year. How do you see
this outcome/achievement?

It’s a good start. I would like to have at least one toilet built in every village that sends girls to PPES. The idea is to set an example, to show what can be done with a little effort.

Why and how did you think of gifting a toilet to the families in villages? There are open fields where people poop lavishly.

The idea originated during a visit to China. China has made great strides in both rural and urban sanitation. I originally suggested a community toilet for Sam’s village, Bichola, but Sam thought we should try individual toilets first. We developed a model based on World Bank experience with slight modification for the Indian culture and environment. A toilet is an alternative to the open fields which provides privacy, safety and sanitization not available in a field.

Do you think the concept of hygiene standard is overblown to suit the western standards? Is a toilet all about a matter of accessibility?

I believe that health and hygiene standards are universal, not Western or Eastern. Dignity, privacy, safety and health don’t recognize political or cultural divides.Our toilets are the “squat pan”type, very foreign to Westerners, but just if not more functional.

What is the value of a toilet in your life?

In life there are certain basic needs, the most basic being food, clothing and shelter. Shelter is more than a roof over your head. A toilet to me is in that basic need category, though once acquired; it’s certainly taken for granted.

Can you recall a particular incident or a story when you felt ‘why don’t we have something as basic as a toilet in Anoopshahr?

Yea, on my first visit to Anoopshahar, jet lag had me awake at 5:00 AM so I went for a walk and initially could not figure out why there were women alone in the fields at that hour. That’s when the China experience gave me the idea.

Could you share some of the setbacks, especially the ones that made you frown?

I had hoped to train a local team to build our model toilet and be available for private engagement. So far we haven’t been able to make that work. I still have difficulty with the Indian male who has no interest in working but will sit around a work site all day and offer advice. I am also frustrated by the large number of village kids who should be in school but are not.

Can we put your story simply as’ I want to construct toilets, and I am going to Anoopshahr?’

No, it’s a story that begins with an inspiration from seeing hundreds of girls at school, looking you in the eye and saying, “Good morning Sir.” The story continues with Sam willing to try out an idea if he thinks it will benefit his India. I just had the luck to be in the right place at the right time.

Where do you and the toilet project go from here?

Back to the first idea, ‘Community toilets’. More “bang for the buck”. One seat in a community toilet can be used by a hundred or so customers ever day, verses the 5-10 family members who will use an individual family toilet. In the smaller villages we will continue with the original model. Me, I love India and just about everything about it, so I’ll be using the “toilet project” as an excuse to return again and again.

Giving back always has a future

2011-02-10T10:49:00.005+05:30

How often are we reminded of the fact that we are better placed than others..and some others are better placed than us?

This is the real story of a man Mr. Jatinder Nath Kapur whose passion to do something for the people in need has been intact even after his death in 2009. Rare isn’t it?? Or should we say mysterious??Well, not really.

Ms. Parul Kapur Hinzen, who is the daughter of Mr. Jatinder Kapur, donated US $ 11,001 to Pardada Pardadi on November 2010. This donation is in the name of her father for building a classroom in the new school for 200 girls from most marginalized and discriminated against communities across Anoopshahr. The classroom will have a plaque in the name of Mr. Kapur. The idea is to have not just the classroom but his thought transcend through the years and forever.

Clearly, philanthropy is not an art that needs to be honed with a kind heart. Who would say that I have not so kind a heart?? All of us do.

Mr. Kapur has a tale to tell. He was born in Lahore in 1933. This was the pre independence time in India. He began his career with the Burmah Oil Company in Assam. He immigrated to the US in 1969 with his wife and two children, and was a senior financial manager with Richardson-Vicks, a consumer products company, in Wilton, Connecticut.

Though Jatinder Kapur lived in Wilton for 35 years, he never lost his strong attachment to India. After his retirement, he enjoyed spending his winters in New Delhi and playing the course at the Delhi Golf Club. He also made a special effort to help the domestic workers in his home in Delhi by educating their children. Although the value of education was not always trickled down to these families, Mr. Kapur wanted to ensure that even those children who dropped out of school could advance. Thus, he paid for their vocational training, such as sending one boy to driving school to learn a marketable skill.

That can conclude that charity may not begin at home but at heart. Isn’t it? And Mr. Kapur had one of gold.

So, let our hearts do something special today!

The PPES' Wedding Diary!!

2011-01-12T12:10:00.008+05:30

So what comes to our minds when we think of an Indian wedding? Marigold garlands, the bride’s wedding trousseau in the color vermilion, the groom riding a horse carriage, loud Bollywood music…. and sacred revolutions around the fire to name a few.

This and more is all that attracted Sarah and Lorenzo to have an Indian wedding at the PPES on 12 Nov 2010. What started it off was both Sarah and Lorenzo’s commitment and dedication to the PPES work. Based in the UK, the couple has been volunteering with PPES since 2009. Sarah works with the non-profit iPartner India and Lorenzo works in DNV as a management consultant. The couple first had a Christian wedding in Knokke (Belgium) on Nov 6.

Eager to share their happiest day with the PPES, they decided on putting up an Indian wedding at the PPES.PPES’ old time volunteer Mr. Krishan Kumar Mehra and his wife Mrs. Rekha Mehra played the part of groom’s parents on the day. The holy ‘Kanyadaan’ (where the bride’s parents commit to giving their daughter to the groom) was acted on by Sam (Founder President of PPES) and volunteer Judith Hunger on Sarah’s part. The wedding hosted the 1100 PPES students and its staff who played every bit of a loud Indian guest. And, where the brouhaha seemed a little fazed off to that of a typical Indian wedding’s, the local band with its drum and trumpet followed in.

Moments like these, take what PPES means for its friends to another level altogether. Sarah and Lorenzo’s was not just any ordinary Indian wedding but one that celebrated every small and big moment of joy with the PPES girls. The wedding was a show of love for PPES- all the way from the PPES embroidered return gifts that were presented to the wedding guests by the couple, to a donation of 7000 GPB towards the PPES scholarship fund that the couple raised by requesting their wedding guests to gifting a donation on PPES’ name. They are also adding on 2000 GPB to the amount as a personal donation.

If one talks of ‘wedding for a cause’, Sarah and Lorenzo’s would remain the epitome of it all.PPES has stashed away the lovely moments of the day forever in its memory. Here’s wishing a happy married life to both Sarah and Lorenzo.

2010-06-30T11:27:00.006+05:30

Melanie Closs, a theatre artist by profession, is an American who is globetrotting & exploring the themes of cultural understanding & displaying them through creative media. She spent a full month of June developing and honing the theatrical skills of the girls at Pardada Pardadi. On her first ever visit to India, she has so much to share:

“Rural India is the twilight of a sunset, a lavendar and periwinkle blanket that covers the world in a hum and a smell of an open fire and the taste of the spiced chai, the peacocks meowing and the ticking of generators, motorbikes, and crickets, a distant wedding blasting Indian Bollywood love songs and fireworks.

Day one of my drama class begun with meeting the teachers, understanding the way of the village life, getting my stomach used to the food, drenching myself in bug repellent every night with no apparent effect, visiting homes of teachers & students in the villages, feeling lost and frustrated with my drama class, but finally finding a way to have the kids think of their own stories around one simple “other” tableaux that finally brought a possible show into light, and attending a village wedding.

We bonded with classes on yoga, Bob Dylan, and American culture. I learned more about arranged marriages and love marriages from open English conversations with the teachers.

My drama team, all rehearsed by now, put up their two performances- one in the school and one in the street of a village.

Exploring the country and having explored a part of the village life by now, the city life and the urban modern culture of the capital city Delhi came as a shock. Wow.. what a huge difference!

One of the interesting getaways of my one month was the Pardada Pardadi teachers’ vacation trip to the hills of Dehradun, Mussouri,and Rishikesh. During this trip, I developed more of an obsession with the blaring gender inequalities of the culture. The men on the bus could blast music, dance around, make loud noises and take up all the seats, while the women were squished together trying to sleep, making no efforts to quiet the men.

China, Thailand, Japan- yes, these places were entirely different culturally than what I’m used to. It was fun and interesting to explore competency in these cultures. Rural India- I had the hardest time. My morals, my iceberg (the part of one's culture that each person has deep beneath the surface that defines who we are)- for the first time- did not allow for me to want to gain competency with their iceberg morals: The gender inequality, the accepted idea that 'girls do not ever think for themselves & men get away with anything.'

There is no freedom of love or opinions. Here, I am at a school that is trying to change that.

The goodbyes were teary and full of many jeweled and Indian gifts. I think I now own 10 rings, 2 bracelets, and 3 necklaces from PPES girls.

Volunteer Kevin's encounter with a Fat Indian Buffalo & PPES!

2010-05-03T11:28:00.006+05:30

The favorite part of my volunteer experience has been getting to know many of the students and teachers from the Anupshahar area.

They come to school to learn, to make friends, to chase each other around the school’s campus, and to escape the harsh reality that is their everyday lives. The students are really intelligent, but they just need to be given a chance to develop their intellectual capacities.

I can tell they are fascinated by digital cameras and laptop computers and express curiosity over my style of dress or the color of my hair. I think I’ve learned just as much from these students as they’ve learned from me. I’ve learned about their families, their villages, what sports they like, and even some basic Hindi phrases.

Some of these students can crush a softball or cricket ball, and I've had a few close calls with nearly having my head taken off! If anything, I’ve learned how much entertainment you can provide by just being here and being in the presence of these kids.

What was really eye opening to me is that for every student PPES educates, there are probably 10 kids in the area that aren’t so fortunate.

I visited some of the surrounding villages during the day, and there are groups of kids running around the fields or through the streets instead of being in school. They all come out to see the Western visitor…first it’s a group of 5 to 10 but before you know it there are 25 or 30 kids following you through the streets, and the number just grows.

I told myself that in the states all these kids would be in elementary or pre-K schools. However, what’s even more striking is the hospitality from many of these villagers. Sure, many live on less than $2 a day, but they want you to come see their homes, their cows, have tea, and engage them in some form of communication.

In fact, the first village experience I had involved getting a bit too close to a buffalo, as in 6 inches from its face. I didn’t expect to turn a corner and walk head-first into a grazing buffalo.

At the school, I wrote and taught a class to the students on banking, providing a high overview of why we have banks and how they function.

This was essential for students to understand since they will be graduating with 30,000 rupees in a fixed deposit account. I alsohelped teach a few English classes as well as directed games class while the usual teacher was on leave for exams.

I’ve really enjoyed my experience here, and I hope to stay involved as much as possible upon my return to Boston. There’s so much potential to grow this organization and so many great ideas that are floating around, such as a micro-lending program. I encourage everyone to get involved, become a volunteer, sponsor one of our students, or donate to any of our initiatives.

Kevin Dziubek is a Management Consultant at the L.E.K Consulting in Boston, U.S.A. He volunteered with PPES from March-April 2010.

The little Girl riding the Bicycle

2010-03-30T10:19:00.008+05:30

She is more than a little Girl. She is learning to be empowered.

This is the picture on the pack of the ‘Laadli' translated into English as 'most loving & pampered': Sanitary Napkins manufactured by a team of 4 diligent and smart girl graduates of PPES.

The colors are synonymous with the uniform that every PPES girl wears to school. Why Yellow and Green??

This is a thought running through your mind when you know that Pardada Pardadi has reasons and good ones too behind every goal it takes up.

Sam, PPES founder, says that the seeds when sown develop into green plants, they turn yellow when ripe. Drawing from the analogy, PPES girls come as little ones and pass out as empowered ones.

The girl riding the bicycle knows where she is heading. A world free from Gender inequality & one where she has a ‘say’, where her dreams are realized………….

Let’s buck her up!!!

PPES and Spirituality meet at the river Ganges!

2010-03-19T11:01:00.005+05:30

The serene view of the river Ganges is just a km away from the school.This part of the Ganges is one of the very few that’s untouched by religious commercialization.

So, you get to feel the tranquility of the Holy view without being pressed by touts or overwhelmed by the crowd.

When you take a Boat ride, you have just a couple more boats on the river with you. You got to experience the beauty still preserved by the locals there.

In evenings, local women circle around the bay and chant hymns and lit the holy flame. The gongs from the nearby temples orchestrate their songs.
If you are coming to meet the PPES girls, the Holy Ganges is one of the places where we take our visitors to.

Some things are best left untold: the visit to the Ganges is just one of them. You get to experience it with your eyes to indulge in the ineffable ride to a deeply enriching spiritual experience.

So when are you coming??

Woman Woman Woman it was on March 8!

2010-03-17T11:12:00.005+05:30

The Women’s Day was a house full of activities!

March 8 every year holds a special meaning for PPES. Our girls were happily summoning the day as “The Mahila Diwas” in Hindi and English too.

Ms. Poonam Natarajan, Chairperson, National Trust, was the chief guest for the event.

Sandhya, the woman behind Dismania and Chitra, the social activist added more meaning by being there with the girls.

So, what did the girls have in store for us?

Well, there were field games, dance show, a song especially penned down for PPES by the girls, and folk anecdotes.

The men teachers took charge of the kitchen and catering. And they proved equally good at that with the nice meals they brought from the hot kitchen. Just that the tea had salt instead of sugar for an unusual change.

The girls listened rivetingly to Ms. Natrajan’s speech. She told personal stories of courage and inspiration.

What an amazing and fun packed day the PPES students had for us.Hurray!!

First time ever School-Goers at Pardada Pardadi!

2010-02-15T14:58:00.006+05:30

On Sunday January 31st, teachers were scrambling, schedules were being finalized and buses were roaring. The staff for Pardada Pardadi’s new school was conducting a drill run for the first day of school.

Two hundred new female students, born into the poorest of poor families of the area, and many of which are from Muslim households, would be stepping through the front doors of PPES’ new school.

PPES’ team of 6 teachers headed out door to door on the narrow alleys of Anupshahr on a 1-month drive. They mobilized the village families from most undeserved communities to send their girls to PPES assuring that PPES would be a guardian to their girls. In one month, about 200 families were guided to ensure a better future for their girls.

The kids between 4-12 yrs, are all first time ever school goers. They had never known what a school looked like before joining PPES.

‘Sam’ as Mr. Virendra Sam Singh is famously and lovingly called, decided to launch the initiative when he realized Muslim girls were grossly underrepresented in academic/vocational schools across Anupshahr.

With a goal to transform the community as a whole, Sam was dedicated to ensuring this truly meant greater opportunity for the girls. About half the girls are coming to the school from the most downtrodden Muslim tribes. These communities are segregated in terms of their perceived menial job, caste, and low socio-economic status among others.

This school is a step forward to transform the current hierarchical strata of society by ensuring inclusivity of these girls.

On Monday February 1st 2010, the girls were thrilled to pull up to their new school, where fresh paint had been applied to a brand new set of swings and slides. They literally sprinted off the bus, racing towards a delightful morning in their new playground.

During the school day, girls are immersed in a world of rhymes, numbers, letters, dance, prayer, cartoon movie and Hindi, English and Urdu languages.

Two weeks after their first day, students cry out answers to teachers’ questions, competing to demonstrate their newly acquired knowledge. It is evident that they are learning more than the curriculum, they are learning that education is both fun and stimulating.

Another great aspect of the school is the new leadership. A group of PPES girls from class IX are training as teachers at the new school. Alongside professional trained teachers, they are kept very busy, tending to the needs of these new learners and leading classes themselves. One can say the student has become the teacher. These leaders are easily identifiable, clad in a new uniform- bright yellow shirts with an important statement strewn across the front – “We are the change”.

These new leaders and students are the change-the change that will transform the society, by blooming into socially and financially independent beautiful young ladies.

Learning is so much more fun with our new Volunteer Marie!!

2010-01-12T11:09:00.007+05:30

Marie-Louise became part of Pardada Pardadi last December. She is from Washington, D.C, U.S.A.

How excited was Marie to be at Pardada Pardadi??

Well very as she also volunteered to spend her Christmas with the girls breaking literally the custom of celebrating it with her family that she’s been doing so ritualistically since a little child in the U.S. And she has no regrets as last Christmas with PPES was one of her best!

This is Marie’s story so far…..

“Having lived in the U.S and other parts of the West since birth, it always fascinated me how learning took place in parts of the world remarkably different from mine. My last educational program at Honduras, Central America guided me to do similar work at a rural setting and Pardada Pardadi was no doubt one stop!!

I was clear to be part of academic training of the Pardada Pardadi kids and teachers in English language. I was keen to start my lessons with the youngest students (the Prep class at Pardada Pardadi) as their minds are still untouched by traditional ways of teaching.

On the first day of my class I was waiting eagerly to take the kids through a joy ride of learning… and the results were obvious in the most glittering smiles the kids had on their faces when we started jumping and circling around the class.

I have taught the “prep” class at PPES for about two weeks.

My approach in the classes has been to lead a Student Centered Lesson. Children are constantly asked to act things out, repeat words, sing songs, and problem solve. Children at this age are very active and learn best by getting up and doing things.

For instance, when taught the word “circle”, students were asked to form circles with their hands. They were also asked to create a circle themselves by holding hands with all of their friends.

Songs are always an excellent method of teaching children. It captures their attention, makes the lesson fun, and ensures greater results. The students have been learning the days of the week through a song. During the song they are asked to stand up and clap their hands. They are very responsive to this method.

It’s been an amazing experience so far. The kids look so eager to learn a new concept each day as they associate it with fun and play. This is one of the best motivators for little kids to learn. Learning is another exercise of game that they thoroughly enjoy.

I can readily gauge the excitement in their eyes when I enter the class. The students at Pardada Pardadi are an amazing bunch of kids. It didn’t take them long to include me as part of their class… I think the ice breaker has been the fact that they relate me more to someone who is there to play with them then teach A, B, C, D….

I am having a great time at Pardada Pardadi surrounded by the kids I adore so much!

Lindsay's Year with Pardada Pardadi!

2009-12-28T09:33:00.007+05:30

Lindsay Johnson volunteered with PPES since January 2009. In the one year, not only did she teach English to the girls but became such an integral part of the school and the girls’ lives that the girls just don’t want her to leave..

But as the saying goes: ‘All good things come to an end’. Not only is this end most productive as the girls have become such amazing English speakers and learners but Lindsay now calls PPES her second home.One can't miss to read her experiences in her own words:

"For the past year I’ve been teaching English and working in the library at Pardada Pardadi School. My girls and I have learned a lot this year. This is a school that teaches not only academics and vocational skills, but also life lessons. The students learn confidence and independence. I have seen the huge difference this school makes in the lives of its girls. The girls at PPES are self-assured, happy and proud of themselves. They are shy, but they are not afraid. I think that is more important than anything else they learn. The knowledge that they can play a part in their own futures, that they don’t have to always depend on others, that they can change their world for the better. They are eager to learn about the world around them and to find their place in it. These girls have amazed me with their enthusiasm and determination. So many of them have difficult home lives and little support from their families but they still come to school each day bright and ready to learn.

I am especially proud of one of my English classes that advanced more than any other. The five girls in this class are all exceptionally smart and dedicated to learning. They formed a team and helped each other out. The girls come from different villages and different family backgrounds: one girl rides her bicycle alone 16 kilometers to and from school every day, another comes from a polygamous family, one has an older sister who was nearly sold to a money-lender to repay a debt, one has a father who is the only resident of his village to attend college and the last has a father who is an abusive alcoholic. These kinds of stories are not unusual for our students. But seeing these girls at school, watching them laugh with their friends, study for a test or play cricket, you would never know any of those things. These five girls have nearly perfect attendance and make every effort not to miss class. They have progressed more than any other class and it’s all because of their own effort and dedication.

This year I’ve seen the great changes that can come about because one person cared enough to change the world. The school that Sam started nine years ago with only 45 girls has grown to house almost 900 students in three buildings. It has affected the town of Anupshahr and changed the lives of the girls for the better. My time as part of this community has been difficult and rewarding and I wouldn’t change it for anything."

West and East wed together!

2009-12-21T10:55:00.006+05:30

Amidst the ever increasing hoopla of interdependence between world economies, ours is a slightly different story where the West met East at Pardada Pardadi!

Wendi is one of our volunteers from Iowa, USA who joined Pardada Pardadi in 2006 and worked extensively at the Anupshahr village for six months. Since then, Wendi has remained associated with PPES with literally everything.

It seems that she has committed her life to the cause she so passionately advocates. She closely observes every new initiative of PPES. She is currently the force for extending international volunteer support for Pardada Pardadi. She not only gets volunteers to work with the girls at the school but also offers support system to them as they commit themselves for a year or so.

Wendi got married to a German Alex in Hamburg, Germany. She is currently based in Munich, Germany now and pursuing her PhD in Pedagogy. However, she is technically with Pardada Pardadi almost every day through emails and Skype.

Arti is a young and vivacious girl from a small village in Anupshahr. She joined Pardada Pardadi in 2000 as one of the first among 45 other girls of the first ever class of the school. She passed her 10th grade in 2009. In 9 years, she has literally grown with the school and vice-versa.

In 2006, she was chosen for a trip to the US because of her excellent attendance and academic record. She was also made the leader of the vocation she trained in since class 6th.

After 10th Class, Arti decided to work with PPES in its ‘Rags to Pads’ manufacturing unit to support her home and family. She is the first woman financial supporter of her family. Her mother sells milk given by their 2 buffaloes to a local dairy. She also did a course in computers and is still pursuing higher studies.

Soon, talks started in the family on getting Arti married. Arti was however determined to marry only a boy who supported her decision of working after marriage and studying further.She found this boy in Sunil who is originally from Anupshahr and works between Delhi and the village. Arti is now happily married to him and has also rejoined work at school after marriage.

Wendi and Arti have known each other because of their common link-PPES. The big fan that Wendi is of an Indian wedding, she always dreamt of having one. The Indian wedding trousseau, the procession, Mehendi…. All fascinated her.

So November 22nd 2009 was decided and the venue was the school. The USP of the day was that both Wendi and Arti decided to get married on the same day and the same venue…

Guess what! Also the same time (the only thing different was that they were getting married to different boys)

So, the guests who blessed the couples were seen excitingly juggling between the two weddings, dancing and singing for both. The grooms took parallel chariot rides and Alex (Wendi’s groom) settling in to an Indian wedding was shying like an Indian bride (a role reversal for a refreshing change).

The day is one of PPES’ most memorable ones.

What a truly innovative meeting of the West and the East it was!!!!

Check out the School's Library!!

2009-12-14T11:36:00.014+05:30

PPES’ library has an all new face!

The Library Now!!

It can easily be awarded as one of the most famous sites with its students. Students throng at the library whenever they get a chance other than their designated library hrs (One class per week).

The library is a store house of about 735 English and 235 Hindi books, with a few that are bilingual. They stand neatly stacked in purple, yellow, green and blue book shelves. The books are on different genres from story books on favorite cartoon characters to encyclopedias. We’ll soon have books in Urdu as well for students who learn Urdu language at school. Students identify with it as a personal space that they get to explore each moment they spend there. They discover and read books on their own or choose one for our librarian to read aloud.

It is very rewarding to see the students rushing to the shelves to choose books they want. They are eager to read and read more!

However, the library wasn’t the same a few months ago. It has recently been expanded and renovated. Earlier it used to be a tiny room with just 30 books on one book shelf. Now, it is a large spacious hall. There is also a computer to keep track of catalogue and check out books taken by students to home. The library just got a conference table that is used for reading the newspapers and magazines. It has a colorful cabinet of board games that girls love to play during breaks.
The Library then!

Jacobi Wade, the volunteer from Florida, USA has been the face behind the new library. She joined PPES in 2008 and took up the task of organizing the then small library.. Since then we have been receiving several donations of books, DVDs and games which made our library grow bigger.

The Volunteer Jacobi!

Another volunteer Lindsay from Tennessee, USA has been associated with PPES since January 2009. Her ideas contributed amazingly to making the library a colorful and vibrant space with the students. She also teaches English to the girls. Every day, girls in groups of 8-10 surround her in the library and start their lessons.

When you go there, you’ll realize just how much energy is dispersed around the hall. You’ll see girls who are quietly reading a magazine (Yes! there are so many magazines on famous women too) or revising for a test. Little ones form a small group and play scrabbles, Pictionary and other board games. If you are someone who is strolling around the library, this group will always invite you to join them. That’s just how amazingly gregarious they are.

Our Girls enjoy reading so much. Isn't it!

The library also houses sessions of storytelling with the little ones. They listen to stories of the ‘Lion King’, ‘Nemo’ and other characters and then come up with names for their pets. On one of the storytelling sessions, they wanted to give their fish (from one of the stories) the name of their English teacher. Upon asking, they said that the teacher is one of their favorites and not the other way around. The library is a cauldron of activities that allow children to live their childhood like a child.

Soni, a PPES graduate is the in charge of the library. Not only does she takes care of the books and feeds data on the computer but also guides little girls as to which book to read and take home.

We are now studying a yearly budget to make the library grow bigger next year: more shelves for more books and a cozy reading area with cushions.

The PPES library is a little world of colors and adventure to our girls……….

Come share a lesson with them some day!

Aashish Chandna, volunteer - October 2009

2009-12-02T11:32:00.008+05:30

Aashish volunteered with PPES in October 2009. After two weeks, his eyes and gigantic smile were the proof that he enjoyed his time at the school! We asked him to write about his experience. Here is the e-mail he sent us:

<< Volunteering was something I had been thinking about for a while but somehow never got around to doing it – there were always excuses of long working hours, not finding enough time etc. However, I knew I unless I took a week or two off work I wouldn’t be able to start and get involved. I had been researching about the volunteering programmes for a while and heard about PPES in India through a friend of mine and about Sam Singh who had started this education program.

First port of call was to “google” Sam and PPES. Endless articles flooded the page and I got to read more about Sam and the wonderful project he had started for the girls in Bichola village. That was it – I had decided that this is what I wanted to do and meet this inspirational human being who was putting so much effort into the cause.

Having never seen village life in India, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect! I met Sam Renuka And Shanti ji in Bichola. We visited the school on Sunday when it was closed! Stepping into the school when it was packed with more than 900 school kids was a different experience altogether. The school was alive and kicking, it was full of life! I met with all the teachers who were very friendly and very accommodating with my questions and introductions! It was like being a part of the family. Some school kids giggled, some smiled, some shied away but all of them had one thing in common – they were all smiling, proud to be attending school with books in their hands! "Good morning Sir" or "Bhaiya" were only said the next day when they knew I had been around for a day!

I helped out with computer classes with Mehmood Bhaiya and spent time with all teachers. A few days at the school were not enough, however in the limited time I was there it was enough time to make friends with the students and teachers especially with Mehmood bhaiya and Neetu. I still remember them fondly and am in touch with them via email which we had set up together!

Watching kids brush their teeth in the morning (the tooth brush programme for primary kids school), I never thought could be so fascinating. Watching them from upstairs, while they all giggled as I took their photos whilst brushing used to bring a smile to my face!

The food at the school was amazing – to cook over 2000 chapattis daily is not for the faint hearted! But the kids all helped out and the “loki” cooked by them was spicy and delicious! All kids gathering in the auditorium and sitting in line for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks were truly Kodak moments!

At the school, I also met with Lindsay and Ron who had been volunteers at the school and had a long association with Sam. Seeing Lindsay help out with the classes and kids running up to her and Ron’s determination to increase the number of toilets in the villages made me think that Sam’s message was spreading. He had volunteers from abroad who had heard about this and were helping him make this difference.

It was sad saying goodbye to all the kids on my last day. I genuinely had the most amazing time there. The PPES is a wonderful cause. With the primary school initiative, they are laying down the basic foundation which is fundamental to their growth and prosperity. The girls want to learn, be more independent and it’s the education, the vocational skills that they are being taught is going to help them succeed in their life – a fine example is Asha’s story!

The team in the Delhi office – Nat, Preeti, Renuka, Eshant and Shrijna are all so committed to the cause and proudly say “our” school and “our” school kids. It is after all - their school, their efforts, their determination that is helping the school with its success but any help for the school no matter how small is a big stepping stone for the school’s future. I genuinely wish them all the very best and Sam with this mission. I would love to go back to the school and meet them all again and spend time with them.

This experience has left me with fond memories and made me realise that education is so important, something that we take for granted here but not every child in India has the privilege of!

The Pardada Pardadi school kids are fortunate to have this access to this and are determined to make their stories a success with PPES! >>

Thank you Aashish! It was great to have you and we hope to see you soon!!!

Meet Priyanka, 10th grade

2009-11-30T14:54:00.005+05:30

If you have been to our school, you definitely know Priyanka. No doubt that our little 14 years old student is one of the most talkative and curious students. Her smile shines from miles away! Priyanka joined PPES when she was 10 years old. At the time, she was a very shy little girl. Today, she's become a teenager, confident and healthy, preparing for the 10th grade Board Exams.

Not only Priyanka never misses school, but also, she loves it! Her favorite subject is English. She wants to speak fluent English and that's one of the reasons why she always welcomes our international guests. That... and... because she is just curious to know from which country they are from.

At school, Priyanka is known for her perfect attendance. Last June, she was awarded with a school trip to Amritsar and to the India-Pakistan border for her perfect attendance. "It was the best award ever because I love traveling! But traveling in India takes too long. That's why I have decided that I will become a pilot to fly fast". She just needs to decide which country to visit first!

Priyanka is full of dreams for her family. She has 2 little sisters who also go to school at Pardada Pardadi and a younger brother. They live with their mum - Nemvati, dad - Dhaniram and grandmother - Ganga Devi.

They live in a small house. There are 2 bedrooms. Life is not always easy at home, but "I will buy them a big house with my salary". Her dad works at a sugar mill between November and March. The rest of the year, if he doesn't find a job he stays at home. Her mother takes care of the house and the buffaloes. And after school, Priyanka and her sisters take care of the cooking.

Priyanka's dreams are high but not impossible! And it's our mission at PPES not only let her dream, but also that if she believes in herself, she can make her dreams come true.

Some changes coming...

2009-11-10T00:45:00.003+05:30

Dear Readers,

We are preparing some changes in the layout of our blog. If in the following days, you see strange things out of place... please bare with us!

Thank you for understanding!

Regards,
PPES team

Women: Our Greatest Unexploited Resource

2009-09-06T08:43:00.002+05:30

“In many poor countries, the greatest unexploited resource isn’t oil fields or veins of gold; it is the women and girls who aren’t educated and never become a major presence in the formal economy.”

The New York Times devoted a recent issue of its magazine to women’s rights, calling them “the cause of our time”. The lead article, titled “The Women’s Crusade” and written by Nicholas D. Kristof and Cheryl WuDunn, explores some of the ways in which helping women benefits everyone, regardless of gender. The authors note that “There’s a growing recognition among everyone from the World Bank to the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff to aid organizations like CARE that focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism.” Furthermore numerous studies show that “women hold assets or gain incomes, family money is more likely to be spent on nutrition, medicine and housing, and consequently children are healthier.”

The article continues to say that “aid appears to work best when it is focused on health, education and microfinance”. At PPES we agree completely! Obviously, women’s education is at the heart of our mission, but through projects like Rags to Pads we also help promote women’s health. Even that project has an educational benefit, as Kristof and WuDunn note, menstruation is a major cause of absenteeism among girls in the developing world so by providing low-cost sanitary napkins Rags to Pads helps the girls make the most of their education.

And as if women’s rights needed any more of a boost, their promotion even makes sense economically. To find out why Bill Gates agrees, check out the article, “The Women’s Crusade”, here, and read the rest of the issue, here.

Meet Shivani

2009-09-01T12:58:00.004+05:30

Shivani is a beautiful 12-years-old girl with big brown eyes and a contagious smile. She joined PPGVS in 2005 and is now in the 9th grade. She likes coming to school and comes everyday! “I only miss school if I am sick. I don’t want to miss school because I want to go to high school and work with computers.” Although Shivani will only graduate in 2 years, she is already dreaming about more studies after completing her education at Pardada Pardadi. Her favorite subjects are English and Machine Embroidery - one of her strengths is vocational training.

Shivani comes from a small village called Garahara, 7km away from PPGVS. Our little student loves her village but she is sad to see how dirty it has become. It is known as one of the dirtiest of the district. When asked about things that she could do, Shivani positively explained that she wants to spread awareness on hygiene as she has been learning at school. For that she is counting on the help of her neighbour, Mr. Sukhveer Singh, who she admires for “helping everyone and encouraging people to keep the village clean”.

She lives in a small house with her grandmother, her mother and her two younger brothers. In Shivani’s father works as a construction laborer out of the village and comes only once a month.

Shivani's buffalo just had a baby so she wanted to show us how cute he was. When we asked what his name was, Shivani realized she hadn't named it yet. Any suggestion?

Support us on Global Giving!

2009-08-29T12:15:00.004+05:30

We have secured our permanent spot on Global Giving! The amazing support we have received so far will allow us to continue posting projects on Global Giving website and reach new friends!

Thank you for all of you who have been supporting us! We now are in the 5th position of the competition. If we win the 1st position, we will receive an extra $3000, which means that more students will be fully sponsored this year!

We will need you help again! Please, spread the word and raise funds for us! Tell about us to your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues. Tell them we need their help! It is simple, click here to donate! Every donation matters!!!

Thank you in advance for all your efforts!

Paper Preeti - Who wants to participate?

2009-08-23T12:29:00.004+05:30

Our first Paper Preeti dolls have been traveling all around the world... USA, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark! Amazing!!! In the pictures, Munne went to Chicago and met Elaine and Anne.

While those students will keep traveling, we would like to give the same opportunity to other students.

We are now preparing the next dolls with our students. If you want to participate and show your world to our little girls in Anupshahar, send us an e-mail to info@pardadapardadi.org. Don't forget to mention your name and address!

The PPES family!

First International Humanitarian Day

2009-08-19T11:04:00.006+05:30

Today is the time to remember the tireless efforts of the humanitarians and keepers of global Peace.

The United Nations wanted to mark the bombing of the U.N Headquarters in Baghdad in 2003. Twenty two lives were lost. Through this day, we as supporters of peace, get to honor their cause: saving humanity.

Let us contribute to the memory of all those who lost their lives in their struggle to maintain human dignity.

Be the first to donate for our Global Giving Challenge!

2009-08-18T14:46:00.006+05:30

Global Giving Challenge starts today! From today until September, 18th we need to raise $4000 from at least 50 unique donors.

Join Pardada Pardadi efforts and help us improving the lives of rural girls in India. Having a permanent spot on the Global Giving website will help us to raise awareness for our efforts.

Every donation helps and no donation is too small. You can support as little as $10 and make an impact!

How will you donation make an impact?
$10 - provides 1 nutritious meal a day to 10 girls
$20 - provides stationery/books for a girl for 6 months
$60 - funds 1 girl's vocational training material for 1 year
$80 - pays a month salary to 1 teacher

Tomorrow is the big day!!!

2009-08-17T17:52:00.003+05:30

Tomorrow, our Global Giving challenge begins! We know we can do it but not without your support!

As Global Giving Challenge participants, Pardada Pardadi needs to raise funds through GlobalGiving.com from August 18th –September 18th. The three projects that raise the most will receive awards of $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000, respectively; the project receiving the most individual donations will receive an additional $3,000.

We need to raise $4000 from 50 unique donors! Be one of them!

Which picture should represent PPES for the Global Giving Challenge??

2009-08-08T10:00:00.004+05:30

For the Global Giving Challenge, help us choosing the picture that will represent Pardada Pardadi. Look at the pictures below and vote for the one you prefer!

Picture 1 - Our youngest girls in the classroom

Picture 2 - Learning the alphabet

Picture 3 - Morning Mathematic class

Picture 4 - Lunch time at Pardada Pardadi

Picture 5 - Vocational Training - Machine embroidery

Picture 6 - Learning Hand Embroidery

Picture 7 - Back home... a different reality

Picture 8 - Our curious students

Picture 9 - Happy to be at Pardada Pardadi!

Pardada Pardadi is getting ready for the Global Giving Challenge!

2009-08-07T10:25:00.000+05:30

Pardada Pardadi is eligible for a permanent spot on Global Giving website – www.globalgiving.com, the internationally recognized marketplace that connects donors to the causes they believe in.

From August, 18th until September 18th Pardada Pardadi needs to raise $4000 and have at least 50 unique donors। Be one of them and help increasing the awareness for our efforts towards the empowerment of our girls!

For more information, check our website or contact us

Some numbers ...

2009-07-27T15:21:00.006+05:30

- In India, the declining number of girls in the 0-6 age-group is cause for alarm. For every 1,000 boys there are only 927 females -- even less in some places.

- India introduced laws against child marriage in 1929 and set the legal age for marriage at 12 years. The legal age for marriage was increased to 18 years in 1978.

- 44.5 % of women ages 22 to 24 were married before age 18. More than one in five – 22.6 % – were married before age 16, while 2.6 % married before age 13.

- Of every 100 children who enroll in school, 70 drop out by the time they reach the secondary level and of every 100 children who drop out of school, 66 are girls.

- India is home to the highest number of child laborers in the world. Census reports clearly point to an increase in the number of child laborers in the country, from 11.28 million in 1991 to 12.59 million in 2001.

*source: InfoChange and Reuters

No Bathing for Boys??

2009-05-13T11:03:00.002+05:30

If ever there was an argument for why Pardada Pardadi should teach the importance of equality among all people, regardless of gender (or race or caste or socio-economic level), it's this guy:
http://tinyurl.com/okt9vv

This 63-year-old man, Kalau, has opted out of bathing for 35 years, some say because “A seer once told Kalau that if he does not take a bath, he’ll be blessed with a son,”

His poor seven daughters have to live with a man who only takes 'fire baths', which involve lighting a bonfire, smoking marijuna and standing on a leg praying to Lord Shiva.

If only Kalau knew that he was already blessed to have seven daughers and didn't need to stink out the world to get a son.

Blogging Pays. . . Well, at least until June 6

2009-05-12T16:49:00.002+05:30

Zemanta is all about blogs, and they've started encouraging others to love blogs as much as they do. They've agreed to give $6,000 (well, $3K from them and $3K from a partner) to the top five NGO's that are mentioned the most on unique blogs. $6K!! That covers the education of 13 girls for one year!

All you have to do is discuss Pardada Pardadi and include the following link:

This blog post is part of Zemanta's "Blogging For a Cause" campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.

Then Zemanta will know, and we'll know. It's a cheap, easy way to make a difference in the lives of our girls. If you haven't started a blog yet, what better time to do so? It's easy and addictive!

So, if you have a blog, or were thinking of starting one, Pardada Pardadi encourages you to do so, and share some blogging love!

Want to Meet Our Students? Participate in Paper Preeti and Show them the World!

2009-04-27T10:52:00.000+05:30

Have you heard of Flat Stanley? Well, we would like to have a 'Paper Preeti', and we'd love to have you involved! Here are the steps:

1. Our students will create a 'Paper Preeti' (a paper doll) of themselves, along with a letter allowing the reader to learn more about their lives.

2. They will send their letters to you, requesting you to take pictures with 'Paper Preeti'.

3. You will then upload the picture and email it to our designated website (http://www.flickr.com/photos/37706901@N05/3470674762/). Include a brief description of the name of the student and the location of the picture in the subject line.

4. Forward 'Paper Preeti' on to a friend or family member, so that 'Paper Preeti' can see more of the world.

You'll be able to track Paper Preeti through our website.

Want to participate? Email sally@pardadapardadi.org with your name, email address and mailing address. Want more info? Email or call me at +91 11-4650-2631

Rags to Pads is Up and Running!

2009-04-17T01:49:00.003+05:30

Rags to Pads, our project to provide hygienic sanitary napkins to women, has made strides forward this year. On February 7th, Mr. and MRs. Balvinder Singh Kalsi (Mr. Kalsi is the President of Dupont South Asia), cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Rags to Pads project (named Ladli, which means "Beloved"). Through the generous contributions of Dupont and its employees, PPES set up a small manufacturing site to create low-cost sanitary pads for the women of PPES and the local villages. PPES graduates Soni, Pravesh and Jagnesh will manufacture and sell the sanitary pads.

Mr. Anand of Jayaashree Industries (Coimbatore) installed the machinery in which wood pulp is packed into fabric pads, creating a sanitary napkin. The sanitary napkins are then packaged into a monthly supply and sold for Rs. 25 ($0.50). Each packet will also contain instructions for use as well as proper disposal. The wood pulp and the wrapper are biodegradable to maintain an environmentally friendly endeavor.

For more information regarding Rags to Pads, please visit www.ragstopads.com or check out our video.

*Pictured (Above): Mr. and Mrs. Balvinder Singh Kalsi at the unveiling of the Rags to Pads project.

Pictured (Below): The Rags to Pads team with the new manufacturing equipment.

PPES Celebrates International Women's Day

2009-04-17T01:44:00.004+05:30

For the very first time, PPES celebrated International Women's Day on March 7th with speeches, dancing, and a presentation by gynecologist Dr. Alka Dhall from Delhi.

All women and girls gathered in the main hall, and the program began with a welcome speech from PPES volunteer Judy Hunger, who reminded the audience of their right to equality not only in their village, but also in the greater world outside.

Class IX then presented the lives of two women who exemplify the values promoted by PPES - Hillary Rodham Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, and Smtr. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the President of India.

After these introductions and presentations, Class VII and Class VIII students sang two American songs taught to them by volunteers Lindsay Johnson and Emma O'Hagan. Under the coordination of music teacher Angeli Sharma, the girls then performed a traditional dance and song in honor of the upcoming Holi holiday.

Then it was time for the main presentation by Dr. Alka Dhall, who addressed the health issues surrounding menstruation. Dr. Dhall first explained the biology of menstruation with diagrams. She then gave all women the opportunity to ask any questions. With humor but clear instruction, PPES CEO Renuka followed by explaining how to use sanitary napkins (created by Rags to Pads - see the next section) as well as how to dispose of the used product.

During all of the presentations, the men had been busy making a meal for the celebration, which included over 1,500 puri! The ladies helped out, and everyone enjoyed the meal. From start to finish, it was a wonderful day of celebrating women.

*Pictured (Above): Teacher Lindsay Johnson with her students, performing some American music.

Pictured (Below): Students performing in anticipation of Holi.

The Pardada Pardadi Message in other Parts of India

2009-04-13T10:22:00.006+05:30

Rehka Kalindi is a girl who lives in Bengal, but her story is quite similar to those of the girls of Pardada Pardadi. While only 12, Rehka scorns play ("Little children in nursery play") and has worked gathering and selling firewood for years now. Her home has no electricity, running water or toilet.

When her parents told her she was to be married, however, Rehka fought back. She refused, saying she wanted to get an education and wait until she was 18. Her parents tried to starve her into submission, but they finally relented, and girls in her village now follow Rehka's trend.

The girls at Pardada Pardadi face the exact same situation as Rehka does. While not easy, some manage to stand strong and fight against child marriages, but it's never easy. We're happy that the message is being transmitted throughout other parts of India as well, and hope this trend continues throughout!

Click here for the article in full.

Rags to Pads Continues On

2009-04-08T16:23:00.004+05:30

As you may know, Pardada Pardadi started the Rags to Pads program in order provide sanitary pads to the students of PPGVS and the women in the community.

Well, we're in production! We have installed our new manufacturing machine, trained four women to run the machine and even created one batch of sanitary pads. We've also submitted a proposal to Designing for Better Health, so please check it out! Should our proposal win, we will get $5,000 to reinvest in the process and grow the business.

Here's a video that describes more about the Rags to Pads program:

Shopping for new fashions and designs? Keep an eye out for Kusum's latest designs!

2009-04-08T16:20:00.005+05:30

With a father who sold produce in the village and a mother who stayed home with the kids, Kusum didn't have much glamour in her life. In fact, when she looked around at the other families in her village, she was pretty depressed: fathers working long hours for little pay, mothers taking care of the family, both powerless to change the course of their lives.

However, in 2000, Kusum and her family found a glimmer of hope - Pardada Pardadi Girls Vocational School. There, as she learned English, math and science, she also learned self-confidence, empowerment and the value of social and financial independence.

While at school, Kusum began to sketch, and the school manager quickly noticed her talent, encouraging her to take a fashion design course. Just like that, Kusum's interest was sparked, and she had a new dream to follow.

Kusum is now living a transformed life in a city almost 400 km away from her village. After completing her 12th standards, Kusum was accepted into a fashion design course at the Rai Foundation near Jaipur, with all expenses sponsored by PPES. There, her life has completely changed from what it was. Instead of spending her days in the field, Kusum now is learning the glamorous and exciting work of fashion design.

In just three years, when her courses are complete, Kusum hopes to continue her professional development by working in a renowned fashion house in Delhi. She also can't wait for the chance to give back to PPES by contributing to the marketing department as a designer.

Kusum's experience has been a wonderful one, and now her dream (well, one of many!) is that even more girls from her village will follow her lead to become socially and financially independent women.

For this and other success stories, please check out our website.

Pardada Pardadi isn't the only group that's Pro-Toilet

2009-04-08T16:01:00.003+05:30

The Times of India recently published the article titled "No Toilet, No Bride" . According to the article, women in Haryana are now requiring a toilet in the home of any potential mate. As the slogan implies, if there's no toilet, there's no marriage.

While the slogan is really funny and catchy (when isn't an article about a toilet funny??), it brings to light a very real issue -- hygiene and sanitation.

Can you imagine not having a toilet? I can't. Frankly, I struggle during the longer road trip, so the thought of no toilet ever is pretty terrible. Sadly, women tend to have it even worse than men, for social constraints require them to wait until it's dark to go to the bathroom. So now, not only do they have to use the field down the road as their bathroom, but they have to worry about wandering around at odd hours of the night.

That's why it's great that these women are pushing back. Instead of accepting it, they are requiring their potential suitors to install a toilet before they'll get married.

As some of our followers may recall, Pardada Pardadi is also trying to increase the number of toilets in the villages. Over the past year, we've managed to get funding for over 50 toilets in students' houses. Our hope is to put a toilet in every student's house, allowing them better hygiene and the freedom to go when they want to.

The girls who have never played anything

2009-02-23T21:14:00.003+05:30

Did you know that when we first started the school and asked the students to play, they wouldn't? Because they didn't know how to play. It's heartbreaking to think that these children never had a childhood of laughter, creativity, and fun.

We have entered a fundraising contest to establish a sports program at our school in the hopes that we can give back the childhood lost to all our students. When our students grow up and start families of their own, we hope their children won't need to have their childhood given back to them.

In order for our proposal to be shortlisted, please register and leave a positive comment in support of our proposal.

Watch the video for the proposal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGofjUuOwGc

Register and leave a positive comment here:
http://sportforchange.changemakers.net/en-us/node/18850

If our idea gets shortlisted, you'll have a chance to vote for it!

Work for PPES!

2009-01-18T05:42:00.003+05:30

PPES is looking for a new Communications Manager to be based in Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi. If you are interested in joining the PPES team and working in a small, energetic office, send your CV and cover letter to Ms. Renuka Manav (renuka (at) pardadapardadi.org) or Ms. Wendi Boxx (wendi (at) pardadapardadi.org). The details of the job are given below.

Responsibilities

Write and edit all organizational materials with assistance from other staff as needed.
Manage website content ensuring timeliness of updated material; use and expand social networking sites.
Gather information for newsletter, write and execute.
Create and execute eCRM strategy.
Draft press releases when necessary, maintain PR boilerplate, and work with staff to build human interest stories.
Oversee integration of electronic media into our communications and fundraising efforts
Assist with projects as they arise.

Qualifications

Software savvy.
Familiarity with Internet, particularly Web 2.0 and social networking environments. Familiarity with web and design fundamentals preferred.
Ability to multi-task and troubleshoot in a busy environment.
Organized, with the ability to meet overlapping deadlines.
Independent team player with respect for co-workers and colleagues.
Strong writing, interpersonal, and communication skills.
Creativity and entrepreneurship essential.
Bachelor's degree required.

Salary
approximately $800 (paid in local Rs)

Housing is NOT included.

October and November updates

2008-12-13T05:27:00.009+05:30

School Events in October and November

Annual Day: Tumbling, singing, dancing and performances - that was the scene for the biggest event of the year: Annual Day. The weather was sunny and pleasant, and guests from India and abroad were greeted by hundreds of students and presented with a busy schedule of events, tours of the school and a delicious lunch. Suzanne Schwartz of New York City was very impressed with the school. "I have worked as a volunteer for schools in Delhi, but I was surprised by how large Pardada Pardadi Girls Vocational School was, yet it was much more organized and the students were intelligent and fun to be with."

The chief guest, Andrew Horne, the South Asia head of Xerox, and his wife, distributed prizes to the top students in the school. These include girls with the best grades and with maximum attendance. Dave Prager, of New York, most enjoyed the reception he received when he first arrived. "We were each assigned a student as our guide. My guide spoke English, and she gave me a tour of the school. The students were unfazed by our attention and were very confident."

Diwali: the biggest Hindu festival of the year, fell on October 28th. The students decorated the school with rangoli and lit up diyas and feasted on some yummy sweets.

Volunteer Update

Recently, we've had the honor of having two volunteers at the school. Elissa, of New York, came 4 months ago to shoot footage for a documentary, and is also teaching English and compiled profiles for our students which record information students and their family. As she prepares to go home, Elissa reflected on her time at PPES, "As I wrap up my projects, I realize I'm learning more from the girls who I had originally come to teach."

Jacobi Wade (pictured), of Florida, came for 6 weeks and in between teaching English, she organized a library in which students can check out books to take home. Basic Hindi books are very popular, as well as Dr. Seuss books because they use very simple words and the illustrations help you understand the meaning of the words (for example, you see that a cat is indeed "in the hat").

If you would like to help stock up our library with books or other educational materials, please contact Jenny Steeves at jenny (at) pardadapardadi.org.

Mela in Delhi

On Saturday, October 11th, we held a benefit mela event in Delhi. It was a unique opportunity for us to sell our home-furnishing items, as well as get out the word about what we do. We were joined by over thirty exclusive and export quality vendors, so it was a big shopping opportunity for all the invitees. Many thanks to Ellen Schwartz for hosting and organizing.

On this day, we were raising money specifically for our Residence Complex project. Though there is no shortage of eager students for our school, PPES is struggling to find well-trained teachers. Because of the poverty and lack of good education in this district, it's necessary to recruit teachers from outside Bulandshahr. But because the villages nearby the school do not offer any rental accommodation, the girls are missing out on the opportunity to get the best possible education.

The school is located in a remote part of Bulandshahar with the nearest hotel located two hours away. When volunteers or visitors come, they stay at Sam Singh's (President/Founder of PPES) home. Since he can accommodate only two people at a time, so there is a tremendous need to find additional housing. Click here to contribute. Many thanks to Sherry Fuchs and Ernst & Young for their contributions.

A visit by Axis Bank Foundation

We were recently visited by Mr. MV.Subramanian and Ms. Shubhanjali Roye from Axis Bank Foundation. Impressed by our work, they have decided to renew their commitment to PPES and sponsor students for a second year, and have even increased their support to a total of three hundred students.

We are thankful for their support, and encouraged by their continued commitment towards rural girl child education.

PPES Peace Quilt at Godwin-Ternbach Museum

2008-12-07T22:32:00.007+05:30

In June we wrote about Dr. Rikki Asher, Director of Art Education at CUNY at Queens College and PPES volunteer, and her Peace Quilt project. (You can view the post here.) The PPES peace quilt will go on display next week as Dr. Asher curates an exhibit called Power to the Peaceful: Peace Quilts from Around the World at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum . Dr. Asher's Peace Quilt project begun several years ago at PPES has since grown and now includes the Human Rights and Social Justice Quilt and the Mandala Peace Quilt, among others.

The exhibit at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum opens on December 15th (this Monday!) with a reception that features a gallery talk by Dr. Asher followed by traditional Indian music at 6-7:30pm.

For the full article, visit the CUNY News Wire, here. The museum website can be found here.

We hope to see you at the Museum!

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In related news, Wellesley College has a podcast of Economist Ann Velenchik's talk on "Girls' Schooling in the Developing World." With an economist's eye, Professor Velenchik examines the question "Why do girls get less schooling?", concluding that while it may be economically rational for individual families to keep their daughters at home, as a society it is a socially disastrous decision that negatively impacts not only this generation of women, but also future generations of children of both genders.

The podcast may be found through Wellesley's Itunes U frontpage at http://itunes.wellesley.edu/. The link will take you to the Itunes store; once there, the Professor Velenchik's lecture can be found in the Talks subcategory of the Faculty Presentations section.

A selection of Professor Velenchik's arguments are reproduced below:

On why daughters are kept home:

To the extent that daughters are better substitutes for their mothers ...than sons are for their fathers in labor market activity, we'll see girls in school less. And since in agricultural activity men's activities depend on physical strength in a way women's activities do not - so if you have a farm household and it's his job, the husband's job, to plow and clear and the wife's job to weed, the daughter can fill in for her mother in a way the son cannot fill in for his father. So little girls' time is valuable inside the household and little boys' time not so much.

On the immediate economic benefits (or lack thereof) of educating a daughter:

Another thing it depends on is the number of years the returns are earned by the household and that often brings us to patterns of behavior post-marriage. If you have a daughter and you educate her and she gets married and she goes to live with her husband's family and her income accrues to her husband's family, you have basically invested in nothing. ... If you invest in your son and he gets married and stays with you and takes care of you in your old age...then you have invested in social security, in essence. And so, to the extent that women provide income back to their families for shorter periods than men, because they move in with their husband's families, because they leave the labor force when they have children ... women's education may be a less good bet than men's. That has nothing to do with parents' affection for their children, it has nothing to do with social discrimination against women, it has to do with the reality of the way women behave and how that different from men behave.

On the flaw of rational and purely economic considerations in educating women:

And that, therefore, a rational decision process leads you to have more education for your sons than for your daughter's. The problem, as an economist, is that those rational, individual household level decisions lead to an outcome that we thing quite clearly is socially bad. That is, each parent rationally deciding to send his son to four more years of school than his daughter accumulates a process where women on average are much less educated than men, which makes it harder for them to compete and participate in the labor market, which produces higher rates of infant mortality and poorer maternal health than we would want as a society, so the question is how do we intervene? What do we do to alter that decision pattern? And the answer turns out to be really quite easy.

... If you think about girls' schooling as being the result of an economic decision, then the answer is an economic policy. We want mom's to send their kids to school, we have to make sending your kid to school cheaper or more beneficial. You have to change balance of cost and benefits. If you think about girls' schooling as a values issue, then we tend to come up with policies about requiring girls to go to school. Well, you know, if you can barely enforce any of the rest of your laws, you're not enforcing girls' truancy laws either.

Kumkum and Sarita visit The Hamlin School

2008-11-05T02:07:00.017+05:30

Kumkum and Sarita were again featured on the news. This time NBC Bay Area News filmed a story about their visit to The Hamlin School in San Francisco.

To see the video, please click here.

The Hamlin School has also posted some pictures from Kumkum and Sarita's visit (the picture above is one of them). To see more photos, please click here.

The two young women have recently returned to India after a whirlwind tour of California. Check back soon for Kumkum and Sarita's reactions to their trip!

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The good news doesn't stop there!

Eileen Mills, a PPES volunteer from Australia, has published an op-ed about the organization in her local newspaper. In the article she reminisces about her "large family" at the school and her "memories of warm hospitality, chai drinking and home-cooked 'alu paratha'."

Her article, "Flushed with pride by Indian experience", which originally appeared in the Tweed Daily News, is transcribed below.

"Flushed with pride by Indian experience" by Eileen Mills
Tweed Daily News

Sanitation, or the lack of it, is not a sexy issue. It's not something you want to think about unless you have to, say, when your neighbour's septic tank is malfunctioning. However, in this United Nations International Year of Sanitation, the UN is acknowledging that it is vital for human health (1.8 million children die of diarrheal disease each year) and dignity; it contributes to social development, protects the environment and generates economic benefits.
It has been calculated that every dollar invested in sanitation yields nine dollars in economic benefits. Its importance to the health and dignity of rural women in countries such as India is paramount, something I witnessed at first-hand last year when I worked as a volunteer at a girl's vocational school in Uttar Pradesh.
The village women there avoid prying eyes by going out to the fields soon after dawn to defecate. Ignorance of hygiene and bacteriology, as well as poverty and lack of choice all help to sustain this practice.
The school where I worked is based on what Sam (Virendra) Singh, the school's founder, calls a "roti (bread) driven model". Low-caste village girls are provided with a free education that includes academic skills, health and hygiene, money management, legal awareness and textile skills. The schools textiles are marketed in India and the US.
Incentives to stay at school include a small amount of money deposited into each girl's bank account weekly, which add up to US$750 upon graduation – a vast amount for families whose monthly income is around US$10. Sam Singh, a former CEO of Dupont in the US, returned to his native village and decided to help his community by transforming the lives of village girls. Educating women has been shown to empower whole families and bring about social change. Sam's model also creates employment locally, raises the skill level of India's rural poor and helps stop the drift to India's huge, already overburdened cities.
Rural families are reluctant to let girl children attend school as they are expected to support the family by working until they marry. After they take up residence in their husband's family home, continue to work hard and produce children – preferably boys. Sam's initial efforts were viewed with suspicion but eight years on, the school has 700 students from 43 villages and applicants have to be turned away.
As a teacher it was great to see the girls transformed from underfed, disheveled children into healthy, well-groomed, educated and confident young women. Warm, enthusiastic and curious girls would frequently bombard me with questions. Unforgettable was the look on their faces when they discovered I was childless – a look of concern verging on pity. My response to them, "Bhagwan ki marzi hai" (It is god's will) stopped the questioning, but it was always followed by a warm smile and the assertion "We are your children now".
One way I keep in touch with my large family is to read their blog at www.pardada-pardadi.blogspot.com. Last week I was inspired to make a donation after reading about a fundraising drive to build toilets. The first village targeted, Karanpur, held memories of warm hospitality chai drinking and home-cooked "alu-parantha". Providing composting toilets to the girls' families not only helps them in terms of health, hygiene and dignity, it also promotes the school's values. On a personal level it is great to see an immediate concrete use made of my donation.
My name may never appear up in lights but somewhere in a small village in rural India, Sam Singh is inscribing it on a composting toilet, and I feel pretty good about that. Wouldn't you?

PPES wishes you a happy Diwali

2008-10-24T22:26:00.008+05:30

Our New Online Boutique

2008-10-15T05:17:00.003+05:30

From the Village to the World (http://www.fromvillagetoworld.com/) is an online boutique for the the beautiful Indian home decorations and gifts made by students at Pardada Pardadi Educational Society, Inc (PPES).

PPES students, as part of their vocational training, make beautiful hand embroidered Indian home decorations such as cushion covers, table cloths, place mats, napkins, serving trays, duvet covers along with gift items such as wine bottle covers, gift bags, calendars and much more!

Check it out!

In other marketing news, we had the pleasure of providing interior products for the M.P. Tourism Hotel in Khajurao. We are now also selling ladies' tops with matching scarves as well as mobile phone covers. Our Meerut store has shifted to 169/ 10 Abu Lane, Meerut Cantt, and our Gurgaon store has closed due to high rent.

We need help selling our beautiful handmade products. If you have ideas on how we can better sell our products in India and elsewhere, please contact us at info@pardadapardadi.org.

PPES Students in California!

2008-10-10T03:03:00.007+05:30

Two Pardada Pardadi students, Kumkum and Sarita, have gone to California on an exchange trip to visit schools throughout the state.

The first leg of their trip takes the young women to Watsonville and their visit is featured in the local paper, the Register Pajaronian. For the full article, please click here.

Kumkum and Sarita have also been featured on the local news!
To see the video, please click here.

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Update, 14 October 2008:

For more on Kumkum and Sarita's adventures in California, check out this more recent article in The Oakland Tribune. The young women have traveled north to the San Francisco Bay area and to Head-Royce High School.

September Update

2008-10-10T02:58:00.004+05:30

Dear Friends,

I want to introduce you to Neetu Tomar. This month, at the age of 21, Neetu will be doing something she would never have dreamed growing in the small village of Karanpur, miles away from the nearest Indian Railways station: she'll be flying to London.

Neetu is a true success story for PPES. Since graduating she has been teaching at the school, helping educate a new generation of girls coming from the same situation she transcended. Neetu was chosen by Sahara Means Support, a London-based NGO, for a 3-month intensive course in English. The skills she'll learn over the next three months will help her better pass her knowledge on to other students. She will see and experience things she never expected (in fact, she tried McDonalds in Delhi for the first time ever last week! She liked the fries, but the McAloo Tikki? Not so much.)

Neetu is very excited about this opportunity to see the world outside of India and to improve her English skills, and so are we. We wish her the best of luck.

UPDATE: Due to last-minute visa problems, Neetu is not going to London this year. We are hopefully she will get the opportunity again next year.

Independence Day Celebrations

August 15th was Indian Independence Day and we had great fun despite a huge rain downpour. Select students performed for a packed room of parents, teachers and students.

Notice how some of the children in the photo aren't wearing uniforms? We don't issue issue uniforms to new students until they have been at the school for two months. At this time, all students have uniforms.

High School students visit from California

We were delighted to have five students and one teacher from the Head-Royce School located in Oakland, California spend a week at our school (PPGVS). The high school students spent time with individual girls of PPGVS, going to their homes and spending the whole day with them in order to better understand the plight of girls in rural

India

. They also played games with our students, taught computer skills, participated in the Independence Day celebrations and even squeezed in some sightseeing in Agra, Jaipur and Delhi.

Special thanks to Paul Chapman and Ms. Carmen for making this possible!

We're coming to San Francisco

From October 5th to October 25th our Director, Mrs. Renuka, will be in San Francisco along with two Pardada Pardadi Girls Vocational School graduates to visit high schools and speak about PPES's efforts to improve the lives of disadvantaged girls in rural India.

If you would like to host a fundraiser for PPES during this time or would like Mrs. Renuka and the graduates to speak at any functions, please contact Renuka at: renuka@pardadapardadi.org.

We're growing!

With more students than ever, it was time to expand. We have recruited new teachers, a new School Director, Mrs. Rana, and also added people to our administrative office. Poonam Sharma will be heading up fundraising efforts, Jenny Steeves to manage communications, and Vinod Kumartewari to handle billing.

To accommodate this growth, we have shifted to a new office (pictured) in Delhi located at: A-47 Lajpat Nagar - 1, New Delhi - 110024. Our phone number is: 91- 011- 46502621/31.

Rice donation

We received a very generous donation of five tons of rice from Mr. V.K. Arora from LT Overseas. This is enough rice to last the school for eight months. We are extremely grateful!

Boys vocational school

PPES has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Builders Congress to open a vocational school for boys. PPES is providing local contacts and land; Indian Builders Congress brings technical expertise and financial backing. This project will be jointly managed by both organizations.

Why boys? The girls who graduate from our school are better educated and have more skills than most boys in their villages. But because we want to create a gender-sensitive society, we need to educate and empower both sexes with good values and good skills.

With kind regards,
Sam

"Poop is Funny, But Fatal"

2008-08-21T20:51:00.011+05:30

2008 is the International Year of Sanitation. The designation represents UNICEF's effort to further one of the Millennium Development Goals: to cut in half by 2015 the number of people without access to toilet facilities.

"Poop is Funny, but Fatal" is a recent documentary short produced by UNICEF about the importance of good sanitation. According to the documentary, over 2.5 billion people live without access to safe toilets, and that results in "200 million tons of untreated human waste a year." With untreated waste come disease and absences from school and from work. The benefits of proper sanitation and proper toilets are many: "Yes, toilets are about health, but also about dignity, safety, and even money. It's believed that every dollar invested in sanitation results in a ten-fold return in increased productivity and tourism."

Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF's Chief, Water and Environmental Sanitation, concludes, "Sanitation is about isolating human feces, taking it (sic) out of the environment so that it doesn't cause disease and the way that you do that is with toilets, - safe toilets, hygienic toilets - and with good sewage disposal and treatment." (For the full video, click here.)

UNICEF's effort make PPES' toilet initiative all the more timely. We may not be able to build any sizeable percentage of the billions of needed toilets, but we can make a big difference in our corner of the world, building toilets in and around Anoopshahr. For more information on PPES' toilet project, visit the Poop Report.

To learn more about UNICEF's International Year of Sanitation, check out the UNICEF website, here, or the New York Times "Dot Earth" blog, here.

PPES featured in The Yomiuri Shimbun

2008-08-19T20:46:00.008+05:30

Sam has been featured in the 29 July edition of the Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun. In the article, Kazuo Nagata describes Sam's motivation and vision for the school.

The original article, in Japanese, can be viewed by clicking the image above or by visiting The Yomiuri Shimbun's website, here. An English translation of the article can be found below.

"Social change by educating the girls"
The Yomiuri Shibmun, 29 th July 2008

It takes five hours by car from New Delhi. Amidst open agricultural field surrounded by rural environment is the modern looking school building, founded by a native of the place who worked for the American giant company, Dupont, as the South Asian head, Virender Singh (68), and named as Pardada Pardadi vocational school for girls.

From Kindergarten to vocational learning, the single school caters to children from 3 to 21 years of age group and has approximately 1000 students. Apart from learning academic lessons, they are also taught about computer and sewing/tailoring. After attending classes, those interested even play softball, but whatever they do, the confidence is clearly visible on their faces.

Eight years ago when the school was established with his retirement money, there were only 45 students. For parents sending girls to school was impossible to think of. Therefore, as an incentive, girls are given Rs. 10/- for each day's attendance which they can withdraw at the time of graduating from the school. This is a unique system in itself. As a result, the number of students attending school has increased.

He decided to change the image of India 20 years ago when in the US he saw a newspaper picture of children rag picking in the slum areas in India. The answer to his thought was- educating the girls in India. Even if one girl is given enough education, in future she will be able to bring up her children with a better vision.

From his years in the company, he had been working to collect resources both from India and America. The dream he saw as a young man, his plan to change India, is beginning to come true gradually.

India has been sending large number of talented people to overseas to work in sectors like IT. Perhaps, 'reverse brain drain' in the form of senior and powerful people like Mr. Singh will lead the social change from grass roots level.

July Update

2008-08-17T23:12:00.015+05:30

Dear Friends,

July saw new students settling in at Pardada Pardadi School and entering our educational philosophy.

At the beginning of the month, Amarpur Village enrolled 20 students at the school for the first time. Within a week 16 of these students had dropped out. When parents were questioned about why their students were pulled out of school, they replied, “Our kids will not eat with the same utensils as the kids from lower castes.” Repeated meetings were held with the villagers. In the end, 10 families agreed to reconsider their decision and their daughters have returned to the school.

The parents who agreed to send their daughters to the school are true change-makers and a ray of hope for the future. PPES believes that one day villages like Amarpur will be more concerned about their development, quality of education, and quality of human life than about the caste of their daughters' classmates. However, this can only happen with consistent interventions from all of us to work for the development of underdeveloped.

Activities at the School

On an exposure trip thirty students and five teachers visited the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). The students learned about power generation. It was a good learning experience and picnic for everyone. We are very thankful to NTPC for providing this wonderful opportunity.

On 25^th July a cultural program was held at the school. Parents of new students were invited to join the student audience for this program. Through this program, we welcomed new parents and students to PPES family. At the same time, the program was an opportunity for the students to show off their talents and for PPES to tell parents more about the school's vision.

The summer months also saw many school-wide competitions in disciplines ranging from debate to drawing to sports. The best students in each area received prizes for their efforts.

US Visit

Ms. Suman Tomar student of class XI was selected to visit the US for five weeks. Members of the Bitiya Organsiation (Ms.Vinita Garg, Ms. Sandhya) were kind enough to host her for two weeks, followed by Mrs. & Mr. Javid Sonde. Suman was able to visit many places in Washington D.C. and New York. PPES expresses its heartfelt gratitude to all the hosts for hosting Suman and providing her with such a fulfilling experience.

I also had a fruitful visit to the Unitied States. In Chicago I attended a fundraising party organized by Mr. Kush Agarwal. It was really nice to interact with such a diverse group of people. On behalf of PPES I would like to thank him for all his support and guidance.

Volunteers and Visitors

Ms. Elissa Desani came to volunteer at the school for two and a half months. She is going to make a documentary on PPES. Along with this she is teaching spoken English to the students of class VI. She is also developing profiles of the students.

Ms. Teresa Kozakova visited Pardada Pardadi School. She has agreed to help us in recruitment of volunteers.

Mr. Rohit Gandhi along with his colleagues came back to the school to take shorts to update the present file on Pardada Pardadi. PPES is very thankful to Rohit for his voluntary contribution on making the film “ Pardada Pardadi”.

Trainings

Beginning this year PPES will be paying extra attention to developing its staff. As a part of this initiative, teacher training sessions were conducted by faculty from K.R. Manglam School, Digantar and the Bharti Foundation.

PPES is very thankful to K. R. Manglam School for offering their technical expertise to train PPES teachers in teaching science and maths to students from class VI to VIII.

Digantar has been one PPES longest partners and PPES has benefited a lot from this association. The organization conducted a week-long training session on issues related to 'the role of teachers and the community'.

The Bharti Foundation conducted a two-day training session with Primary School teachers.

Rags to Pads Fundraiser

Rags-to-Pads is an initiative to provide safe sanitary napkins and employment opportunities for rural girls. We have received very encouraging response. For further information on and to donate to this project please visit www.RagstoPads.com.

I would also like to thank Mr. Ron Fuchs and Ms. Sherry Fuchs for their continued support. I am also thankful to Mrs. & Mr. William Smith for showing me such beautiful handicrafts and giving us an inspiration to reach up to that level. I also gave a presentation about PPES at Chan Meditation Center in Elmhurst, New York. I am very thankful to Prof. Rikki Asher for organizing this event.

And finally, I would to thank all of you for your continued interest and commitment. PPES is continually searching for new ways to spread the word about the organization and the school. Most recently, PPES has joined Facebook! Now you can also spread messages about PPES through www.facebook.com by adding Pardada Pardadi ( vsingh00@hotmail.com ) as your friend and sharing its profile with others.

With Kind Regards,
Sam

Rags to Pads: A Fundraiser for Women's Menstrual Health

2008-07-30T23:44:00.009+05:30

Consider this: In rural India, the cost of your box of Stayfree can be three full days' salary. With tampons and pads out of the question, many rural Indian women control their flows by stuffing dirty rags up inside of them.

Not only is that pretty gross, but very dangerous - women risk vaginal and urinary tract infections and, at worst, infertility.

To address this problem, Pardada Pardadi is seeking to raise funds for a maxipad business. Our business hopes to both provide extremely low-cost pads and, in the process, to create employment opportunities for women in Anupshahr.

The money we raise will:

Buy a machine that makes sanitary napkins
Buy a year's worth of raw materials
Support two graduates' efforts to make the business profitable

In total, we hope to raise $5,000 seed money for the project.

For more information on this fundraising effort, please visit ragstopads.com. Email inquiries can be directed to ragstopads (at) gmail.com.

June Update

2008-07-22T20:18:00.012+05:30

Dear Friends,

June has been a very busy month for our organization. Pardada Pardadi has progressed a great deal through the constant support and encouragement from you all. I feel very happy to share the PPES news with all of you.

Toilet Project
www.poopreport.com/village

Through the initiative of Mr. Dave Praeger, PPES has been able to raise $15,000 from 166 donors. PPES welcomes all these members to the family and thanks once again for your kind donations. With this donation PPES will be able to make at least 60 toilets in the homes of its students.

Examinations

May was a month of examinations for all PPES students. Group Counseling sessions were held with students appearing for class Xth and XII Board examination. There were 17 students appearing for class Xth Board exams and, for the first time, all took Maths as one of their subjects. Unfortunately, the results for class Xth were not very encouraging, as only five students passed their exams. PPES is reconsidering its education programme to improve future exam results.

Happily, 100% of the students who appeared for class V and VIII Board examinations passed!

New School Session

There was a huge demand for admission to the school for the coming year. So much, in fact, that PPES had to refuse many students. Currently, enrollment tops one thousand students! New teaching staff has been recruited, and PPES hopes that they will join the school with strong commitment and fresh ideas.

Admission to Other Institutions

Two students have been admitted to Rockwood School in Noida, an English medium Private School. There they will complete classes XI & XII. The students received this opportunity through the generous sponsorship of Mr. Badri Agarwal and Mr. Ramesh Bajpai. PPES would like to express its gratitude to both of them.

Two students have been admitted to the Rai Foundation to their graduation program, one student in fashion design and the other in hospitality. We are very thankful to the Rai Foundation for admitting our students and providing them with scholarships.

PPES is hopeful that this kind of exposure will help the girls develop into smart and strong young women.

Job Opportunities

In line with the school’s expansion, we are also looking to hire a new manager and a fundraiser. We are looking for motivated applicants with a desire to work to help the underprivileged. Please help us find suitable people for the position.

To view the Manager job description, please click here.
To view the Fundraiser job description, please click here.

Visitors and Volunteers

Mr. K. B. Rajoria and Mr. P. B. Vijay from Indian Building Congress visited PPES to do a site survey. PPES and IBC are soon going to launch a vocational training center for boys. This facility will train the boys of the local area in the construction work e.g. masonry, carpentry etc.

Mr. Rambabu Khambapati (Team Leader of Kusuma Foundation) visited Pardada Pardadi to learn about the school’s operations.

Ms. Subha Rajan, CEO of Overseas Indian Facilitation Center also spent one day at the School with two other guests, Mr. Mukul Anand (Director, IMMACULATE) and Ms. Nayantara (A student of Duke University. They all interacted extensively with the students.

Ms. Riti a post-graduate student spent a week at the school, teaching students, computers and dance.

Vocational training cum Production centre

Recently Pardada Pardadi opened a production cum training center. The idea behind this training center is to empower its graduates, senior girls and women of the villages of Anupshahr. Along with training to make home furnishing, participants would also be given training on literacy skills, gender, health & sanitation etc.

During the training period participants are given a stipend of Rs. 250 (USD 6.25) per month as per their attendance in the training center. And after their training is complete they would be able to earn nearly Rs.3,000 (USD 75) per month on the basis of their production.

Marketing initiatives

A summer carnival was organized in Meerut to encourage the sale of PPES products. As part of its commitment to its students, PPES employed two of its graduates in the marketing department. The girls gained valuable first hand experience at the carnival which in turn helps PPES by developing a second line of leadership in marketing.

PPES continues to explore new avenues for marketing its products. As part of this initiative our marketing department secured an order from Mr. V. S. Ramana (Head of Corporate Communications, Larsen & Toubro – Engineering Construction and Contacts division) to make laptop bags for the India-US Global Business and PR Conference to be held in Chennai on 6th June 2008. Mr. Ramana also organized an exhibition of Pardada Pardadi products during this conference. PPES is very thankful to Mr. V. S. Ramana for his support.

Seasons, a large chain of home stores, gave an order to make stuffed toys as a gift for the children visiting their stores. We hope this relationship between Seasons and PPES continues for a long time to come.

Madhya Pradesh Tourism appreciated the products made at PPES and decided to decorate some of its tourist’s bungalows with PPES products. Similarly Reliance also placed the orders with PPES.

As always we look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions for the promotion and marketing of our products.

Capacity Building

DLF Ltd. has been kind enough to give a donation for capacity building of the organization for one year. This has instilled confidence in the team of PPES. It is planning to hire more team members. PPES is very thankful to DLF for the support

US Advisory board

PPES has set up a US Advisory Board. The first meeting of the US board was held on 28th June in US and produced many suggestions and ideas. We are hopeful that the formation of this Board will strengthen and further PPES’s mission.

The board members are:

1. Mr. Bill Snook – Marketing expert and former Dupont employee
2. Mr. Ken Hostelley- Marketing expert and former Dupont employee
3. Mr. G. Irv Lipp- APR, Principal Lipp Services, LLC & Hillis Group
4. Mr. Gene Kreuzberger – Marketing expert and former Dupont employee
5. Mr. Ray Whalen - Businessman
6. Prof. Sunil Chopra- Professor at Kellogg Business School
7. Mr. Kush Agarwal- President & CEO of Vein Clinics of

America

8. Mr. Andrew Webster- Principal, Wardlaw Hartridge School
9. Mr. Paul Chapman – Principal, Head Royce School
10. Dr. Gary Fountain – Principal, Chatham Hall School
11. Ms. Sue Henderson – Vice President, Institutional Advances at Queens College
12. Ms. Sherry Fuchs – MS psychology, MS business, former child development specialist, Grant writer.

Thank you once again for being a part of PPES family.

With kind regards,
Sam

PPES again featured in Times of India

2008-07-10T01:26:00.004+05:30

Pardada Pardadi was again covered by Times of India's Education Times in an article on vocational training. The article, written by Sakshi Khattar, details ways in which several educational institutions, including PPES, work to teach their students employable skills as part of their curriculum. To read the article click the image at left or navigate to p. 8 of 30 June 2008 issue of Education Times in TOI's epaper, which can be found here.

Two Quilts One World: Advocating Global Art Education

2008-07-01T04:45:00.009+05:30

Rikki Asher, Queens College professor and PPES volunteer, has been accepted to present a talk about Pardada Pardadi at the New York City Art Teachers Association in October. She has also submitted a proposal to talk about PPES at a National Art Education Convention in Minnesota in March. Please see the abstract for the talk below:

Two Quilts One World: Advocating Global Art Education
Dr. Rikki Asher
Director Art Education
CUNY at Queens College
Flushing, NY

Session Description:

As the world grows smaller and communication faster, it is of increasing importance that global understanding accompanies globalization. This Peace Quilt project initiated in New York and carried to Uttar Pradesh, India symbolizes the practical effort towards understanding, communication and empathy through art. New York Director of Art Education Dr. Rikki Asher, assisted by High School Art teacher Jane Pinchuck, set up an exchange of skills between the groups. This illustrated account shows how girls on either side of the world rose to the challenge of creating works of art that would communicate their lives to each other. The presentation includes a description of the US/India Peace Quilt exchange with a Bronx school. The purpose is to encourage dialogue among the audience, and offer possibilities for art educators to explore relationships between art, language, and communication through the theme of Peace, and to advocate art education locally and globally.

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Dr. Asher has also written an article, entitled "Books of Hope", in "mindfields", an alternative education journal. "Books of Hope" discusses another project in which she helped the girls in class 5th and 7th make their own books. To read the article click here.

Times of India article on PPES

2008-06-16T23:09:00.008+05:30

The Times of India recently published an article which featured Pardada Pardadi. In the article, entitled "Barefoot Teachers," Sakshi Kattar profiles ten Indian change-makers in the field of education. The original article can be found by navigating to p. 66 of 2 June 2008 issue of Education Times in TOI's epaper, here.

An excerpt of the article is reproduced below:

BAREFOOT TEACHERS

FROM EMPOWERING THE GIRL CHILD TO RECYCLING ITEMS DISCARDED BY URBAN SCHOOLS — THESE ENTERPRISING INDIVIDUALS ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE TO THE LIVES OF MANY.

Educate the girl child and you would educate the whole family. Virender Singh strongly believes that empowering the girl child positively affects the quality of life of the community and ultimately the entire nation. So, in order to improve the future of the rural community, he established the Pardada Pardadi Educational Society (PPES) with the aim to educate the girl child. The Pardada Pardadi Girls Vocational School (PPGVS) situated at Anupshahr in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, is registered under the UP Board and has classes from III to X.

Besides regular studies, girls get training in leadership skills, general knowledge/current affairs, dance, theatre, music, sports, health/hygiene and family life issues as well. The school provides free education, uniforms, books, shoes, three meals-a-day and bicycles.

Singh has also provided for a bank account to be set-up for each student. For every day a student attends school, Rs 10 is deposited into her bank account. Products produced by students, ideally, bring back Rs 35 per-day. From that, Rs 10 goes in their account and the remainder goes towards sustaining the school.

Further, the only way a girl can access her bank account after completing her studies at PPGVS (class X) is on the day of her marriage or her 21st birthday (whichever comes first). And by that time her account should ideally hold Rs 30,000.

May Update

2008-05-30T22:32:00.004+05:30

Dear Friends,

Visitors and Volunteers
Pardada Pardadi School was honored to have many visitors this month.

Mr. V.S. Ramana (Head Corporate communications India, Larsen and Tubros) came to visit and spoke with the graduates about their future plans.

Ms. Mary Anne, Mr. Whit Sears and Ms. DD Sears joined Pardada Pardadi to work as volunteers on the following projects.

· Training of the trainers – for English teaching
· Teaching English to students of Class VI.
· Designing a concept for a Language lab
· Teaching spoken English to a few teachers and senior students
· Developing and training for program auditing system.

Ms. Peggy and Mr. Ray Whalen did a need assessment on health issues and also provided training in first aid. After their visit they have been discussing about various options promoting working of PPES.

Ms. Vinita Garg, a representative of “Bitiya” organization in US visited Pardada Pardadi. We had a very fruitful interaction with her. Bitiya has decided to organize the entire program of Ms. Suman Tomar’s (graduate visiting US this year) stay in US.

As mentioned earlier, the first phase of toilet construction project has been completed. For the next phase of construction, Pardada Pardadi was looking for financial support. We wrote to all the participants of World Toilet Summit 2008. Mr. Dave Praeger responded to the email and visited the school along with his wife.

Mr. Praeger kindly helped raise funds by writing about the toilet project on his website www.poopreport.com/village . The outcome of this initiative will be shared in the next update.

Many volunteers and friends are contributing in different ways to Pardada Pardadi. Last year Class IV students of the Hamlin School in San Francisco, CA decided to help out the cause. By doing various chores at home, the students raised $400 to sponsor a PPES student. Pardada Pardadi was deeply moved by this gesture of such young students.

Natasha Whesker (McDonogh School) and Ms. Garima Kapoor (Wardlaw Hartridge School) also raised donations from their friends and families.

Pardada Pardadi is very thankful to all its friends for their kind gestures, support and time.

Exposure visit
IdiscoverI is a company focusing on child-centered methodology in teaching and learning. Mr. Ashish Rajpal (a partner in company) visited PPES last year. Mr. Rajpal offered to host a group of PPES students and teachers for an adventure camp. Twenty students and three teachers went for an adventure camp to Teerthan Valley, near Manali in Himachal Pradesh, where they were taken for nature walks, trekking, etc. It was the first time that they saw and played in snow!

Pardada Pardadi thanks the entire team at IdiscoverI for making this trip a reality and treating all the participants to such a delightful outing.

PPES has benefited a great deal from trainings conducted by IdiscoverI. Following this trip participants have become ambassadors at the school to promote ideals of cleanliness and time management. We are honored to have this partnership and hope to see it continue for a long time.

Our communication partners: R & PM Edelmen
Mr. Roger Pereira and his team from Edelmen are among the most cherished partners of Pardada Pardadi. They have not only extended financial support, but have always helped us with media contacts and designing and developing communication materials. We salute their sincerity and commitment to Pardada Pardadi. Edelmen has always been more than willing to guide and support us. Whenever approached for help, in his very simple way, Roger always says “We are your media partners, we will be always there to help you.” Thank you, Roger and your team for being with us.

Donation with a difference
Students of Pardada Pardadi have been getting regular donation of rice from two sources: Daawat Basmati Rice and MCKS Food for the Hungry Foundation. This support has enabled PPES to provide a better evening snack to the children. Thank you very much for the kind donation.

With kind regards,
Sam

Pardada Pardadi Educational Society
www.education4change.org
www.pardada-pardadi.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArVz5lM5vQY

PoopReport Charity Drive

2008-05-02T06:13:00.012+05:30

After meeting Sam through the World Toilet Summit, PoopReport editor Dave and his wife accepted an invitation to visit Pardada Pardadi. [see picture of Dave in Karanpur village, left (from PoopReport website)] They were so impressed by the school that they have decided to launch a charity drive to raise funds for the toilet project. The initiative starts with 43 toilets in Karanpur village and eventually expands to one toilet in the home of each PPES student.

As of 2 AM on May 1st, PoopReport and its readers have raised $4,630.75! (That's enough money for 18 toilets!) Thanks PoopReport!

For more information on the PoopReport charity drive and on the toilet project generally, please visit the PoopReport website.

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Update on the fundraiser:
The PoopReport drive officially closed on May 7th having raised over $14,900 - enough for all the toilets in Karanpur and more!

Thank you PoopReport and all those who participated in the fundraiser!

April Update

2008-04-25T07:46:00.011+05:30

Dear Friends,

During February and March many of friends of PPES met each other for the first time and many others came back and revisited the organization.  We are very thankful to all of you for your continued guidance and encouragement.


Volunteers and Friends

Pardada Pardadi bid farewell to Ms. Judith Hunger after her six month stay. Ms. Annabel Ipsen also left for Chille after her two-and-a-half month stay with PPES. Ms. Wendi Boxx and Mr. Alexander Bargstadt revisited Pardada Pardadi. Mr. Royce and Dr. Rikki Asher also spent some time at the school. Pardada Pardadi had a meeting with volunteers to discuss and review the volunteering program.  Pardada Pardadi has benefited a lot from the efforts of numerous volunteers and so I would encourage all of you to help us recruit others to aid PPES (volunteers should be ready to stay at least for six months with PPES).
Ms. Wendi Boxx coordinates recruitment of the volunteers. Please write to her at pardada_pardadi_school(at)yahoo.com with regard to the volunteer program.

New York -Anupshahar Postcard Exchange! 
High School Social Studies Teacher Ms. Alice Braziller and Dr. Rikki Asher introduced Pardada Pardadi School to one of Alice's classes in January in NYC. Alice's class designed beautiful postcards about New York City. Rikki worked with the 6th graders at PPVS last month on postcards about the village and will bring their beautiful cards back to New York City for a postcard swap!  This small project evokes peace and understanding between two groups of teens and young teens through art and writing!


Replication of Model      

On 14th March Mr. K. P. Singh, President and Founder of DLF group of Companies (a construction developer) visited PPES along with a team member. He was very moved by his experience at the school. He has expressed the desire to replicate Pardada Pardadi in his native village of Chola in Bulandshahr District, Uttar Pradesh.


Snehalaya
Snehalaya is a voluntary organization working in the Gwalior area. They have decided to replicate the PPES model. A quote from their newsletter: “We intend following the model of Pardada Pardadi Society's School in Annop Shahar as started by Sam Bhai, which we had an opportunity to see few years before. The girls will be provided with the uniforms, transport, books, food and the parents will be motivated for sending their girls for attending the school as well incentives will be given, which will give them a start in life after finishing the school to become independent.”


Individual Donations

Third Bus
By end of April PPES will have the third bus to bring girls from far away villages. We are very thankful to Mrs. Geeta Malhotra & Mr. Mahinder Malhotra for organizing the donations that went towards purchase of this bus.  PPES would also like to recognize Mr. Vinod Malhotra for donating money towards purchase of this Bus.

Sponsorship
Year after year many friends of Pardada Pardadi have been donating towards the education of PPES students and graduates. It really reflects their commitment to the cause of PPES. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for being a part of PPES family and supporting the students.


Training cum production center for young adult women  

Very soon PPES is going to start training cum production center. We are very thankful to friends like Ms. Geeta Athreya, Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, Mr. P. K. Agarwal, Mr. Vijay Gupta, Mr. T.C. Garg and family for visualizing and actualizing this program.




Board Exams

The first batch of PPES graduates appeared for Board Exams for class XII. 17 students of class X also appeared for Board Exams. For the first time all students in class X will have mathematics as one of their subjects for examination. We wish them all the best on these exams and for all of them to excel in life.


With kind regards,
Sam

India's Growing Gender Imbalance

2008-03-25T20:04:00.003+05:30

Aljazeera has released a short documentary video on India's growing gender imbalance. The incidence of aborting female fetuses is high enough that in some regions there are as few as 800 women per 1000 men. You can watch the video here.

In such an atmosphere, it becomes all the more important to educate young women so that they may educate future generations and put an end to this awful practice.

March Update

2008-03-20T10:25:00.008+05:30

Dear Friends,

January and February were very busy months for production and marketing as we were preparing for several new marketing initiatives. Read on to find out more!

New Shop in Bhopal

Pardada Pardadi opened a new store in Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh, on 19th Feb 2008. The store was inaugurated by Shri Suresh N. Vijayvargia (Chairman People’s Group).

The first days' response was very encouraging. We hope and wish for success of this new store. The photographs included here are from that new location.

Wills India Fashion Week

As a CSR initiative of the Fashion Design Council of India to eradicate child labour, Pardada Pardadi has been invited to participate in Wills India Fashion Week. This is an annual event where all the lead designers are invited to display their products and book orders for the same.

Pardada Pardadi was featured in an article in Thaindian News. The article titled "At fashion fair, small town girls marks a different presence," by Thakur Shweta, gives a description of Pardada Pardadi's products and features an interview with Renuka. To read the full article, please click here.

Volunteers program

Ms. Judith Hunger (Encore volunteer) has been teaching English to VI grade as well as to the teachers for the past five months.
She has become very much a part of Pardada Pardadi School. PPES has benefited a great deal from Judy’s presence. She has not only served PPES as an English teacher, but has also helped us put many systems in place.

Ms. Annabel Ipsen (Encore volunteer) is working with Pardada Pardadi to develop a fund-raising strategy. She is also doing socio-economic research on the students of PPES. The research will help us in determining the socio-economic details of the families of students PPES works with.

At the School

Soccer, volleyball, and badminton have been introduced as new sports. School and children have livened up because of sports activities.

Mr. K.P. Singh, Chairperson of DLF Groups, (the world’s wealthiest construction developer) has agreed to visit the school on 14th March. Mr. K. P. Singh originally belongs to Bulandhshahr. PPES is keen on developing some kind of partnership with his organization.

Thank you for your encouraging response to the monthly updates. In order to improve them we welcome your feedback and suggestions.

With kind regards,
Sam
Pardada Pardadi Educational Society

February Update

2008-02-18T21:10:00.003+05:30

Dear Friends

Visitors at the school
January has been a happy and busy month for Pardada Pardadi. We had many friends visiting us - Lake’s family, Ms. Laura Livingston, Ms. Rikki Asher, Mrs. and Mr. Srivastava, Mrs. Anand, Mrs. Malhotra and Mrs. Narang, to name a few. All of them have been associated with Pardada Pardadi in different ways; the Lake’s, for example, have taught students to play softball. They host the students in US and also make generous donations to the school.

Ms. Laura Livingston is a prolific writer who uses her skills to best promote PPES. She is also trying to register the school with ‘International Fair Trade Organization’ and sponsors one of the PPES student's education. Ms. Rikki Asher is working with teachers and students on different projects like sewing a quilt for the peace and enhancing the beautification of the school with creative paintings.

Mrs. Anand, Mrs. Malhotra and Mrs. Narang were very effective with senior students. While helping them to identify their strengths and weaknesses and to evaluate their abilities in general, they also started training of two teachers in counseling techniques and conducted classes on Yoga.

Pardada Pardadi is always thankful to all its supporters and friends who have given us constant encouragement, support, guidance, time and resources.
We invite all of you to come and visit us at Pardada Pardadi. Our students and teachers alike have much to gain by interacting with you.

Activities
On 26th January students of Pardada Pardadi played a friendly match with students of American Embassy School at American Embassy Club lawns. Pardada Pardadi would like to thank Mr. Joel Ehrendreich and Ms Lori Anderson for organizing this game. The students had a great time and enjoyed pizza and chocolate cake for first time in their lives.

The primary school students from Bichola recently visited the Delhi Zoo. When I went to visit them at school, I was greated with a chorus of animal sounds in the place out shouting children. The zoo made quite an impression on them and I think it was great picnic for them.

Toilet Project Update
Mr. Ron Fuchs has come back to construct the second phase of toilets in Karanpur - home to more PPES students than any other village. When we decided to start the village development work, the first project was construction of toilets. This project will not improve health, hygiene and sanitation, but will also help restore the dignity of women. As toilets will only be builts in the homes of PPES students, this project has been a good motivator for the parents to send their daughters to school. To date, 12 toilets have been built.

We have decided on selling naming rights to the individual toilets for $250.
That amount very nearly covers that cost of a 2 pit, pour flush toilet in a brick enclosure. The purchaser will receive a digital picture with his or her name displayed on the enclosure and a photo of the family and PPES school student who will use the facility. If you go to the village we can show you the 12 toilets completed to date.

If interested please contact Mr. Ron Fuchs at rsandgate@comcast.net or by phone in the US 410 886 2955.

With kind regards,
Sam
Pardada Pardadi Educational Society

partnership with Encore

2008-01-22T03:49:00.000+05:30

PPES has an ongoing partnership with Encore! a nonprofit organization affiliated with returned Peace Corps volunteers that specializes in developing, managing and measuring social impact projects around the world. To date, three former Peace Corps volunteers/staff members have been deployed to Pardada Pardadi on short-term assignments lasting 2-6 months in their areas of professional expertise.

WHY JOIN US NOW?

The social needs of PPES continue to grow and expand. Dedicated people with specific expertise are always in short supply. Former Peace Corps volunteers and staff members collectively possess a wide variety of skills and experience that can aid PPES as it continues its mission to bring education and gender development to the community. These men and women still want to make a difference and are searching for practical ways to do so with PPES.

PAST ENCORE VOLUNTEER PROJECTS AT PPES

Training programs for teachers
Educational development for staff and students
English, as second language program development
Organizational development programs
Capacity building for the business enterprise, Business development programs
Fundraising
(Coming soon) Computer training courses for students

For more information on the organization, please visit http://www.encoreservicecorps.org

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PPES will shortly announce the launch of a German-language website for the charity. Check back here soon for details of the site and its url!

IDEALIST.ORG

2008-01-21T01:03:00.000+05:30

Pardada Pardadi Educational Society has a page on IDEALIST.ORG (an international volunteering website) where you can find details of current volunteering opportunities with the organisation.

Please click here to view PPES' listing on idealist.org.

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PPES is looking for a TEFL volunteer starting May 2008. A partial description of the position is included below, more information can be found here or by emailing pardada_pardadi_school@yahoo.com.

Description:
A life changing opportunity: Volunteers teach English as a second language at our vocational school for girls, creating opportunities for students and local teachers to contribute to their country's development. In addition to classroom teaching, Volunteers share resources, develop teaching materials with local teachers, and become involved in community- and school-based projects.

Requirements:
Native or fluent English speaker. BA or MA degree with 6+ months experience abroad.
Former Peace Corp volunteers are encouraged to apply.
Hindi language skills are not required but useful.
Minimum commitment: 3 months

How to Apply:
Please send 1) your CV / resume, 2) one page essay of intent (optional, but appreciated), 3) list of 3 references and their contact information (incl. email if available) to pardada_pardadi_school@yahoo.com.

Again, questions and inquiries are always welcome.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Mint Article on Sam Singh and PPES

2008-01-19T07:21:00.000+05:30

Pardada Pardadi founder Sam Singh was recently featured in Mint, the Wall Street Journal's Indian outfit. The article, titled "Virendra (Sam) Singh | Turning young rural girls into assertive, articulate women", completes Mint's series commemorating 60 years of India's independence by featuring "60 Indians who, in myriad quiet ways, are contributing to making their country, and in some cases the world, a better place." Author Raju Narisetti details the history of PPES from Sam's initial idea to the present and PPES' expansion to serve more girls within the school proper and the organization's management of two new elementary schools.

To see the full article, click here.

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Also of interest is yesterday's New York Times article on education in India. Titled "Education Push Yields Little for India’s Poor", the article describes how government schools often fail India's poor and discusses some of the measures being taken to overcome this problem.

For the full article, click here.

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Finally, please note that Renuka's email address has changed. Address all future emails to renukamanav@gmail.com.

December Update

2007-12-08T04:40:00.002+05:30



Dear Friends,

Greetings from Pardada Pardadi Educational Society (PPES)!

Thanks for believing in the cause of Pardada Pardadi. Owing to your support and blessings we have 730 students in Pardada Pardadi today.
It is a real pleasure to see the little girls coming to the PPES School in the morning. We now have extended the facilities at the school and have classes from pre Nursery to class XII. Children are coming from 43 villages. Many of them are commuting to the school by PPES buses.

Our graduates are now ready to take on the work for community development. We have launched the first rural development programme (construction of toilets). Highest number of students comes from Karanpur village to PPES, hence it has been selected for the rural development work.

We are going to interact with you on monthly basis now. Your suggestions are more than welcome to enhance the quality of work at PPES.

With kind regards
PPES

If you would like to receive monthly updates about PPES directly to your inbox please email renukamanav@gmail.com

A Bollywood Evening

2007-09-22T05:18:00.001+05:30

This summer rural England became involved in the Pardada Pardadi cause when Mrs. Kate Bedford, mother of Izzy, one of the PPES volunteers, and her friends organized a fundraising event for the school.

left: the fundraiser invitation

Here is what Mrs. Bedford had to say about "A Bollywood Evening":

I thought it would be a nice idea to have a fundraising evening for PPES while my daughter Isabel was working at PP School. Along with my friends, Emma and Helen, and their husbands, Brian and Eddie, we organised a “Bollywood Evening” in our local village hall in Oldbury, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, U.K., on 29th June 2007.
We screened “Bride and Prejudice” and served Indian snacks and drinks to about 75 friends and members of the local community. We managed to raise £650 at this very successful and enjoyable evening.
Kate Bedford.





A picture of the organizing team. 









PPES deeply thanks Mrs. Bedford and her friends for all their help!


If you too are interested in helping the school or simply learning more about the organization please send us an email.  (See the sidebar for contact information.)

9 Ways You Can Get Involved

2007-09-22T04:32:00.001+05:30

1. Educate.

Volunteers can help us by teaching classes, particularly English, computers or art. Those with strong backgrounds in education can work with the current teachers to introduce innovative teaching methods.

2. Volunteer.

We also welcome those with backgrounds outside of education. Doctors can provide the girls with health check-ups or educate them about proper hygiene; lawyers can talk to the girls and their families about their legal rights.

3. Sponsor a Student.

For 14,000 INR per year you can sponsor one of our students. Sponsors will be provided with a photo of the girl as well as progress reports about her education and her life and are encouraged to interact with their student.

4. Place an Order.

Home furnishings like bed sheets, table cloths and cushion covers; hand-made greeting cards; and other hand-made articles are available online or at one of the school shops (located in Gurgaon and Meerut).

5. Donate Supplies.

We welcome donations of uniforms and shoes; food; class textbooks and library books; machines for vocational work; building materials, etc.

6. Donate to the Corpus Fund.

PPES hopes to raise Rs. 1 crore within a year. If 1,000 individuals each contribute Rs. 1 lakh we will have met our target. The school has 80 G exemption, and your contribution is tax deductible.

7. Develop a Marketing Plan.

We welcome marketing professionals to help draw up a marketing plan or to help draw up a ten-year business plan for the school as we move towards self-sustainability.

8. Spread the Word.

Organize a meeting or fundraising event on the school’s behalf. Arrange for PPES directors to make presentations about the organization.

9. Contact Us.

Please contact us with any further questions you may have or to arrange a visit to the school in Anoopshahr.

Namaste!

2007-07-26T17:51:00.001+05:30

Namaste and welcome to the newly inaugurated weblog of the Pardada Pardadi Educational Society (PPES) and the Pardada Pardadi Girls Vocational School (PPGVS).

Based in Anupshahar, Uttar Pradesh, PPES strives to improve the lives of girls in this deprived region of India where only 43% of women are literate. The organization's mission is to uplift and empower girls from the poorest section of society by providing them with a free education and vocational training, thus allowing the girls to become self-reliant and educated individuals.

The school serves area villages, admitting girls who come from extremely poor families – generally those who earn less than 600 rupees per household per month (approx. US $14.90). In the mornings the girls attend academic classes in subjects including History, Mathematics, English, Music and Computing - the school curriculum follows that set by the U.P. Board. Their afternoons are spent in vocational classes where they are trained in highly marketable textile arts like hand embroidery or stitching. Their value-based education also includes lessons on leadership and personality development, health and hygiene, legal awareness, and ethics.

In their vocational classes, the girls produce fine hand embroidered linen appliqué work and block printing as well as table cloths, luncheon sets, bed covers and sheets, curtains, and cushion covers. The sale of these products funds the running of the school and provides the girls with such benefits are free uniforms, textbooks, bicycles and meals.

I hope you enjoyed this very brief introduction to the organization and its mission. Stay tuned for future updates! We will be adding more information about the school as well as PPES’ initiatives, volunteer projects, student profiles, and, most importantly, how you can get involved in furthering the school’s mission.

In the meantime, please take a look at the school website or peruse the linked news articles and blog entries about the school. If you have any questions please contact Renuka Gupta at renukamanav@yahoo.com; inquiries about orders and product information should be directed to Surekha Kashyap at surekhakashyap05@yahoo.com.

We would love to hear from you!!!

2006-12-12T02:35:00.001+05:30

Dear friend,

Please, do not hesitate to contact us! We would be happy to know more about you!

In India
A-47 Lajpat Nagar - 1
New Delhi 110024
Phone: +91 11 4650 2631
Fax: +91 11 4650 2621
info@pardadapardadi.org

In America
9219 Briary Lane
Fairfax, VA 22031
Phone: 703-426-5753

Visit us!

Meet our team - small team with big hearts

2006-12-12T01:56:00.000+05:30

Meet Shrijna

"SH-RI-J-NA" - yes, it is hard to pronounce! We all had the same problem at the beginning! She joined our team as an intern in August 2009 and already has a lot of work!

Contact Shrijna by e-mail:
shrijna[at]pardadapardadi.org

Meet our team - Small team with big hearts

2006-12-12T01:26:00.002+05:30

Meet Naterce

We call her "Nat" - easier and shorter!

Since July 2009, Nat is the Senior Project Manager for the communication. She is behind Twitter, Facebook, and many e-mails.

To contact her, send an e-mail:
naterce[at]pardadapardadi.org

Meet our team - Small team with big hearts

2006-10-12T02:58:00.004+05:30

Meet Preeti

Preeti joined Pardada Pardadi in February 2009. You might be thinking about it so here is the answer... "Yes, her name inspired our Paper Preeti Program!" :) Preeti loves dancing with the girls and teaching them steps from the latest Bollywood movies!

Contact Preeti by e-mail:
preeti[at]pardadapardadi.org

Meet our team - small team with big hearts

2006-09-12T02:58:00.002+05:30

Meet Eshant

Eshant is the one who takes care of the money! He joined PPES in October 2008. When he is not buried in his excel sheets, he loves playing cricket with the girls!

Contact Eshant by e-mail:
eshant[at]pardadapardadi.org