Vidya Vanam

Vidya Vanam is a school located along the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, in southern India. Vidya Vanam aims to provide education to the most underserved populations of India: tribal and underprivileged children. In Tamil, Vidya Vanam means "Forest...

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Today, we celebrate #EarthDay2015. This year's #EarthDay theme is "It's our turn to lead." At Vidya Vanam, we believe that environmental leadership begins with educating, and empowering our students with the tools to make a sustainable difference. This year, our students participated in workshops on preventing human-elephant conflict, the production of chemical free bio-products, and debates about the effects of GMOs on the environment. They participated in a clean-up initiative of the local village, encouraging community members to be more aware of their actions on the natural world. And they joined national movements geared at protecting endangered species and preserving the environment.

To our faculty, staff, and students, environmental protection is at the core of education. Together, we can change the world. Will you join us? #EarthDay2015 #ItsOurTurnToLead

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Closing with the bang!! Today 18 April was the last day of the academic year 2014-15 for Vidya Vanam as the progress report were handed over to the parents. The day started with the school-wide cricket match between students and teachers, mediated with Vidya Vanam director Prema Rangachary's (Patti's) meeting with the parents and culminated in the report-giving. Patti updated the parents with changes to come about. However, the higher two classes,i.e. Nilgiri-2 and Nilgiri-1 will be coming for more two weeks for extra classes and office will be open throughout the vacation. School will reopen on 8 June 2015. Happy holidays!!!

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Yesterday, November 14th, was Children's Day in India. Throughout the country, most schools celebrate Children's Day with a performance by the teachers. Not at Vidya Vanam! Yesterday, the Vidya Vanam students partnered with the students at the local government school to clean up Anaikatti, the small village that the tribal school is located in.

The two schools participated in the clean-up as part of the government's Clean India Movement. The children eagerly picked up garbage from the streets of Anaikatti to help clean up the village, and protect the surrounding environment from contamination. 

Vidya Vanam teaches its students to be passionate about the environment they live in, and promote awareness about the importance of conservation. School director Prema Rangachary was interviewed by the local news about the event, and explained that any celebration, especially one by children, needs to have a clear message to the community. We think this message was definitely clear, and we're proud to have such passionate & dedicated students attending Vidya Vanam. 

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Join us for a musical evening featuring Sangeetha Sivakumar from South India. We are hosting a fundraiser for Vidya Vanam, an elementary school that provides education to the children of the Irula Tribe in Tamil Nadu. 

The recommended donation for a ticket is US $100. It costs just US $360 per year to support one child's education. That's just a dollar a day!

Tickets are available online at: www.vidyavanam.org. 

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Vidya Vanam celebrated Independence Day on 15th August with its annual sports day. All of the 300 plus children at the school participated and they put on a wonderful show for all the parents and our chief guest Mr R. P. Durai who is the president of the Coimbatore District Football Association. As always there was a innovative display of games and exercises!

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Today Vidya Vanam hosted India's Public Service Broadcaster - Doordarshan who along with 75 children were busy filming for our showcase on the TV channel for a special feature for Independence Day. Don't forget to tune in on 15th August!

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Vidya Vanam students proudly show off their tree saplings which they received as part of a tree planting project. Sandhya has been fiercely guarding hers from the family's goats!

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Happy Earth Day from Vidya Vanam! 

In Tamil, 'Vidya Vanam' means 'Forest of Knowledge,' speaking to the true investment that we have in inculcating knowledge about our environment. 

At Vidya Vanam, concepts of sustainability and conservation are integrated into the curriculum, regardless of the academic subject. This year, our students have worked on designing solid waste management plans for Anaikatti; pledged to save the tigers in India; attended a Biodiversity Contest in Chennai; participated in a tree planting project, planting over 275 saplings in nearby villages; and, incorporated themes of sustainability into their artistic and dance performances. 

Vidya Vanam truly is a forest of knowledge, and the community created at the school embraces these crucial concepts of conservation. 

"The Earth does not belong to us. We belong to the Earth." 

-Chief Seattle

Happy Earth Day!

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Students leaned forward on the edge of their chairs while others climbed over one another, trying to get a better glimpse of the small map. I pointed to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. “In the areas where we work, it’s very difficult for children to go to school,” I told them. “Especially for the girls.” The students looked at me wide-eyed as I explained Central Asia Institute’s work. The overhead fan shut off, indicative of another power cut, and the stale heat of India’s spring sunk in to this mixed class of fifth and sixth graders in Anaikatti, India. Read more on the CAI Communique.http://www.ikat.org/2014/04/14/april-14-2014-uniting-behind-education/?fromFrame

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Vidya Vanam joins the Global Chalk Campaign! Read more about the campaign through Central Asia Institute's blog post. We believe that education should be a right for EVERYONE. Tell us why you do too!

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Vidya Vanam recently had two visitors from China spend a day at the school. Naranayan, a good friend and long-time contributor to Vidya Vanam, and his wife, Karpagam, came and spent the day with our students. They taught the students about Chinese culture, habits, food, etc. and the children were so excited to hear their stories! They even taught the students new phrases in Chinese, as well as how to eat with chopsticks! We are very fortunate to have visitors and support from all around the world. Thank you to Karpagam and Naranayan for spending time with us!

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Recently, American volunteer Faith Spencer, started a Student Council at Vidya Vanam. The Student Council will empower the students to have a voice in the happenings at their school. We're excited to see what the students do!

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This past week, Vidya Vanam students traveled to Chennai to participate in a biodiversity in Chennai. The students were excited to travel out of Anaikatti and share their thoughts at the competition. We're proud of them!

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Vidya Vanam students display their model of the solar system during the 2013 Project Day Exhibition at the school. (Photo: Faith Spencer)

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The Vidya Vanam students prepare for a dance performance, with dance teacher Karuna Sagari. (Photo: Faith Spencer)

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Vidya Vanam though initially named as a school for tribal and underprivileged children has gone beyond empowering the children only. It is said that if one woman is empowered in return she empowers the 100 and that if one woman is educated her entire family gets educated too.Believing the same we have also started to empower the women of this area with needed to skills to help them mobilize upward from their penurious situation. For this last year we initiated Vidya Vanam Community College in affiliation with IGNOU and Pratham. These women are taking ECED (Early Childhood Education and Development) course which will help them to be teachers. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is a premier Indian government university for distance learning courses and Pratham (literary means first) is internationally acclaimed non-government organization working towards improving educational skills of marginalized people.

-Written by Rajesh Barasara

(Photo: In the above image, Vidya Vanam Director, Prema Rangachary, inaugurates the second batch of IGNOU students.)

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In October, 2013, Vidya Vanam children participate in a puppetry workshop, led by Dr. Bhanumathi from the Pavai Centre for Puppetry, Chennai. 

Children from both the junior and senior schools were trained on how to make animal and insect puppets from chart paper. First, the children would draw and color the figures on chart paper; then, they would cut out the figures from the paper. They glued the different parts together to create the puppets. 

The children then used the puppets to tell the stories of their lives-- a strategy used to overcome hesitation to using English. Not only were the puppets used to explore the children's creativity and artistic skill, but also, to promote better English understanding. 

In the above photos, the children display their beautiful puppets, and watch as Dr. Bhanumathi shows them how to create the puppets. 

A big thank you to Dr. Bahnumathi for sharing her talents with us!

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