Category: Asia

All the boys in the VIth to XIIth Standards returned to Boys Town in the last week of January. There have been no new admissions due to the pandemic and so the enrolment number at Boys Town for the current academic year remains at 51. We expect the number to go up substantially in the academic year 2022-23. Final board examinations for XIIth Std. students are scheduled for May 2022. The state government permitted schools to restart physical education classes from 1^st February 2022 and all the regular activities at Boys Town resumed e.g. sport, yoga, bi-weekly music lessons and evening tuition sessions. All the essential COVID related safety protocols continue to be followed when students return from school and by anyone visiting Boys Town. 

Two technologically enhanced classrooms are now ready for additional classes, especially for the boys from the IXth to XIIth Standards.

Twelve boys have joined the ‘Interact Club’ under the aegis of the Rotary Club of Madras and Rotary International. This club aims to inspire and energise young people between the ages of 12 – 18 years through service and encouragement to become responsible global citizens.

In December 2021, a special two day camp for both mental and physical health check-ups  was organised for all the students and carried out by health professionals. In January, the harvest festival of ‘Pongal’ was celebrated by the boys with great enthusiasm.

This year, an external agency will be conducting a social impact assessment study of the  Boys Town Society.

With the support of their families, all twenty children on the project are currently attending school regularly as well as visiting our education centre for two hours a week extra tuition to enhance their learning and increase their commitment to education. On International Women’s Day, the children and their families attended an event around  the rights of the child, with a special focus on girls. Our guest speakers were Prof. Dinesh Kumar Singh and Ms. Meena Kumari, a worker at a government funded rural childcare centre. In the speeches there were many references to eminent women who are or who have been beacons for development and change in male-dominated societies. 

At the same time, we celebrated the inauguration of the SARTHI Training Centre which has been provided by the community. With support from the International Children’s Trust and the  Rotary Club of Coventry, SARTHI has been able to purchase two sewing machines for use in the training centre. Women and adolescent girls in the community have been asking for these for a long time and are delighted. An additional benefit is that the adolescent girls we have targeted are also on our education programme so they will receive training as well as their regular education.

It is our pleasure to announce that at the end of the academic year 2020-2021, eleven students  of the Rotary Club of Madras Boys Town Project progressed to university and college, some with support from the Rotary Club of Madras for their initial admission and tuition fees.

The subjects that they are studying are as follows: BSc in Computer Science (3), BSc in Computing (1), B.Commerce (2), BE in Agricultural Engineering (1), BE in Engineering (1), BE in Mechanical Engineering (1), Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (2nd Year) (1) and BSc in Chemistry (1).

After studying from home with support from their teachers for much of 2020-2021, all the remaining boys at Boys Town were able to progress to the next level for the academic year 2021-2022. 

This was scheduled to start in July 2021 but due to the pandemic was postponed until 15^th September for boys in the IX^th – XII^th Stds. Subsequently, the government gave permission for those in the VI^th – VIII^th Stds. to return on November 1^st. In total, 46 students have remained at Boys Town from the VI^th – XII^th Stds and we are waiting approval from the government to admit new students (especially in the VI^th and VII^th Stds. ) as soon as possible.

In the past year, the overall structure and facilities at Boys Town have been renovated and the main building has been freshly painted. In addition, two technology-enhanced learning classrooms for online studying (especially for students in the X^th – XII^th Stds) are currently being installed.
On the 19^th October, a group of students planted 118 saplings in the grounds of Boys Town, in honour of the ‘virtual’ visit of the Rotary International President Nominee (RIPN) Rtn. Gordon R. McInally.

In July 2021 schools had to close again due to Covid-19 and the children were once more supported at home by their teacher and staff from SARTHI. Twenty children remain involved in the reintegration into education project in Bihar. The three main subjects that they have been studying are Hindi, English and Maths and since schools re-opened on October 1^st their progress over the previous three months has been assessed through the use of comprehension exercises and quizzes. The children should be ready to move to the next academic level in January 2022.

On October 24^th, a long awaited programme for the children turned into a reality when we combined our orientation programme with a special excursion for them over the weekend. They visited Patna to see the famous Golghar and the Srikrishna Science Centre. The children enjoyed the day a lot as well as the lunch that was provided.

Finally, in the late afternoon, the children also participated in a discussion with a Child Protection Officer and a social activist, who had both been invited to speak to them on the subject of ‘Children’s Rights and Education’. The children enjoyed participating in the discussion and then returned home safely.