Brief History & Background

The school was set up by a British citizen called Phil Adams in 2004. He was living in the village at the time and saw children hanging around everyday, with nothing to do, when they should have been in school. He asked local people why they did not go to the nearest free government schools. There were a number of reasons. Some had to walk too far on dangerous ground, made slippery by landslides or monsoon rains. One bridge across the mountain range had gone. Some teachers didn’t turn up; others used corporal punishment regularly. Some students’ parents could not afford the uniforms and books they needed to provide themselves, or home made lunches for their children every day. After making enquiries, and asking for help from the local Rotary Club, Phil Adams got enough backing to rent a very small building. The school started with 45 children, in 3 small rooms, with lunch provided on the roof top each day. It proved a success; more teachers were employed as more students kept arriving. Word spread that there was free education, with uniform and books provided and a nutritious lunch. Soon the school was a victim of its own success and a bigger building needed to be found.

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Many of the students who attend the school come from the poorest regions of India (Bihar and Chattisgarh). Their parents are often completely illiterate migrant workers, who come to Dharamshala due to the permanent need for road building and repairs due to the damage caused every year in monsoon. It is steady work. Around half of the students are actually from the village itself, or come from neighbouring local villages. A very few come from better backgrounds (parents are local shop owners or salesmen etc) and their parents have chosen to put them in this school because they recognize the dedication of the teachers and the good teaching standards and level of care given. This mix of backgrounds helps eradicate the stigma of caste, as all are equal here.

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The school also tries to take in students who have further barriers to education; severe cerebral palsy and deafness, prior leprosy (therefore stigmatized elsewhere), those from lower castes, and one boy (Chotu) has only half a normal face, one eye and ear and needs major attention and surgery when he is older. Now he is studying in 9th standard and had two operation. He need to operate atleast 5 time.

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In 2005 the school moved to a bigger building, which is the current location. The landlord kindly allowed them to build another 2 small rooms on the upper level, but now he has refused to let the school expand the building in anyway at all. The classrooms are already very cramped. The children have to clamber over the desks to get out, there is virtually no room for the teacher to stand at the boards! Space is precious. And he has just put up the rent by another 3,000 rupees a month, which contravenes the contractual agreement.

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There is no covered area for 150 children to sit and eat lunch, and in monsoon it becomes a health hazard for all children to try and eat together on the lower level where there is no space. In the nursery room alone (approx. 4m x 3m) 38 children are taught!

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The school would ideally love to provide education until 10th standard. Due to the lack of space students have to leave after 8th standard and go to one of the local government schools. Not only are they very upset and reluctant to leave (they love their school – it’s like an extended family) they also then have to find money for fees for certain courses and it is difficult for them.

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The school presently has 9 teachers (8 full-time, 1 part-time to help with the nursery students in the morning). There are two ladies working non teaching staff.one is cook and other one is Peon (She somehow provides rice, vegetables and dhal everyday to 150 people in a 1.5 x 1.5m kitchen with 2 gas rings and 3 cooking pots!)

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Until 2008, all students sat on the floor on rush mats. Teachers had a stool and no whiteboards. They would have a small wipe board they used in their hands (very impractical) Only the oldest (8th class) had small stools to sit on for their studies Fortunately, the local Rotary Club and Phil managed to secure a matching grant from Rotary International, and a man from the U.S called Philippe Lamose donated 700,000 rupees worth of materials and resources. So, now the school has proper desks, chairs, stools, whiteboards, a stereo/speakers, a laptop, 2 computers and a printer, a semi-decent library, storage space and some play materials. But of course, with all these resources the school is now cluttered!

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The problem we have is not materials, we have enough. The problem we have is lack of space and funding; for everyday things such as salaries, rent and food, and to buy the land behind the school to build a better, safer building for them all, with better facilities. At present it is very rocky, hilly, there are unsafe areas with metal pipes sticking up out of the ground, it gets slippy and muddy in monsoon and there is no cover from sun or rain. The Rotary club is not allowed to give us money for land or building projects. They are only allowed to give materials as donations. Hence our problem. Big improvement project, no potential donors.