Visit to SODEWS-- http://www.sodews.com/whoweare.html
We were invited to visit the above NGO by the Founder who
had so much energy , zeal , enthusiasm .
When he met us in Chennai in mid of June , we were floored by his energy and his
vision of what he wanted to do. So , over this Saturday ( 8th July )
,decided to do a day trip to the area , where this NGO operates and which is at
the foothills of the Yelagiri hills.. Strangely, decided to take the train
rather than the car drive and found it most comfortable The Founder indicated
that he will pick us at the Jolarpettai stations but we decline politely and
said we will come to the small village where his office was.
The hostel and the office of the NGO is located at Mullai village , Nimmiyampet ,in
Vanniyambadi around 200 Kms away from Chennai on the Chennai – Bangalore Highway.
We were greeted by
this person with warmth and love and he had driven all by himself to get to the
village from his home which is on top of the Yelagiri hills.
I offered to drive and we reached the first of the five
schools that we were to visit and open up Computer labs .This town although
small has two higher secondary schools very close to each other . Both schools
lack the right infrastructure but with the Computers from Ford a beginning can be made or continued --- they can
start the computer classes for the
students of class XI and class XII ( practical’s ). When I asked the question
as to how the students moved from Class XI to XII without using the computers ,
I got a very strange look from the teachers of both the schools .. We all knew
what the answer was ! Worrying state of
affairs .
We then moved on to the hostel premises of SODEWS , which
hosts about 150+ children who stay there , are provided food and clothes and
then go to the schools nearby – Children
are from varied standards( Elementary to Higher Secondary ) but all of them go
to the school . And the kids walk the distance to school , some bike and some
get lifts ( 3-5 kms ) . The reason I mentioned this is about them having this
hardship to walk on difficult terrain. The hostel area is pretty big , neat
clean with playground etc. – Two Red Cross students from Germany are spending
their time with the kids here teaching them arts and Science and sports. All of
them sleep on the floor , eat sitting on the floor . Each of them have different
ambitions – and their eyes sparkle when they talk about what they want to do in
the future and also about our young friend who takes care of them . So much
respect they have for him.
We had a great interaction with around 45 women staff of the NGO. This was something
that really stunned me . These women
have been hired by this NGO to intervene in schools , PHC ( public health
Centers ) and in the villages spreading around the importance of Education (
send kids to school ) , hygiene habits to women and adolescent girls , advising expectant mothers and so on. They
cover around 100 schools in this area and over time they have become an
important part of the village community . it was great to listen to them talk
of their work ( they are so proud of what they do , highly motivated by this
dynamic leader ) We discussed some of their challenges in terms of technology ,
mobility etc.--
Post lunch we had a very nice function to give away
certificates to around 25 of the kids who completed a diploma course in
Computers . With the Computers from Ford , the Founder of the NGO found a local
resource that was willing to teach computers for free to the students during
the summer vacation . And this course was a government approved course to boot
– Super benefit to the kids
We visited three more schools in the afternoon . In fact
attended a PTA meeting at one of the schools – All through our friend was very
active and involved and moving from one school to another with ease and mixing
well with everyone. Finally at around 4:30, we agreed to visit the last school
with one of his staff and let him go back to his residence in the hills
We got dropped off at the Jolarpet station by around 6 for
us to catch a train back to Chennai—As me and my colleague sat in the waiting room
, we just thought about the day and its impact and reflected .
1.
So much work being done in the rural area by
this NGO, very quietly and in a manner that will bring the right change
2.
The intervention through the Women team – was a
great concept—The dedication of this team was just unbelievable – Mind you they
get paid but that is not for what they are working.
3.
To take care of 150 kids in the best way, they
can and support them with their daily needs – Amazed
4.
The support to Higher Secondary schools –
identifying needs and getting them Computers through Ford was very nice
5.
Improving infrastructure in the schools through
their own means and also using the Govt support was wonderful
6.
The summer camp for Computer courses was a great
hit – Just leveraging hardware available and then finding a person to teach
free !
7.
Amount of Goodwill and respect that this person
has got with everyone in the villages, the parents , the school teachers , the kids was
just unbelievable
8.
The entire trip took our motivation levels to a
different level—We can do more than what we do today
Ok—the Founder and this person whom I am referring to Mr.
Ramamurthy is all of young – he is just
84 years and running
Great visit
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