Funded by: TFWA CARE
Cost: £35,000
The Lotus Flower Trust was approached late last year by the Mar Thomas Mission School, one kilometre beyond the very small and remote town of Munsiari, Uttrakhand. One of the school’s recently constructed buildings has been demolished by the Border Roads Organisation to make way for a road travelling north up to the Tibetan/China border. The other buildings are in very poor order indeed, one of which is made out of crinkly tin which is freezing in the winter, boiling hot in the summer and very noisy during monsoon.
Dominated by the five peaks of the Himalayan Mountain known as Panchanchuli, the school was built in 1997 to fulfil the need for a low-cost school to teach English Medium education. It has been a real struggle to maintain since then because of its remote location with resources being very scarce. Whilst an exciting and beautiful drive it took Lotus Flower Trust three days to reach from Ramnagar.
There are currently 260 children at the school, from Anganwadi/Kindergarten age to 14 years. Most of the children come from schedule castes and tribes with their parents being either farm or road labourers. At least 40% of the school population are girls. There is an urgent demand for many more places but no space to fill them.
