Arun Shanbhag (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} arunshanbhag) wrote,@ 2008-08-18 12:47:00 |
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| Entry tags: | education, kumta, rural india, scholarships |
Scholarships for the Needy
| I have previously written about the Shanbhag School, an academic beacon in Kumta and surrounding villages. The Shanbhag High School, managed by the Konkan Education Trust does not receive any governmental aid. But it follows the state determined academic syllabus and guidelines. While we attract many students who can afford fees, our family wanted to make good education particularly accessible to the poor. Thus last year we gave 16 scholarships to very needy students to attend either the Shanbhag High School, or the affiliated primary school, Saraswati Vidya Kendra. At a new site dedicated to our Scholarship activities, (Shikshan.org), you can browse the list of Scholarship Recipients for 2007-2008. You can also read about my personal challenges in identifying needy girls: Where are all the needy girls? We did not rest, last December (2007) during my travels to Kumta I visited most of the scholarship recipients in their homes. The visit served two purposes: (a) to meet the families and convince them of our commitment to support their child's education ~ and in turn expect them to make education a priority; and (b) to ensure that these were indeed needy families, which I could determine from their living conditions. They lived in simple 1 or 2 room homes, or with relatives, and it was emotionally overwhelming to experience the gratitude of these families. Below, I share with you some of the scholarship recipients in their home settings. Appropriately I have omitted their names. See pics of Scholarship recipients |
