Ramchandra Yepre School The Ramchandra Yepre Prathmik Vidyalaya is a small school located on the fringes of Pune. If you know a little about Pune and are familiar with Undri village, this nondescript primary school lies somewhere on the road that goes from Undri to Katraj Naka.The school building consists of just four rooms on the ground floor. It is named, justifiably, after the farmer, Mr. Ramchandra Yepre, who has donated 2 acres of land to the school. The school does not have a grant from the government and thus, faces some severe problems. The students who attend this school are mainly from the nearby homes. Most of the parents do not want to send them, but the teachers canvass door-to-door and get them to the school. The fees are kept low at Rs. 100 for Marathi medium and Rs. 150 for English medium. But most families cannot even afford this. The Marathi and the English medium teachers are paid just Rs. 1500 and Rs. 2000 per month, respectively. But even then, these teachers are willing to dedicate themselves and work without any expectations. The children need notebooks, textbooks, pencils, erasers etc. at the beginning of every academic year. We have already organised the notebooks, pencils and erasers for the 100 odd schoolchildren, for the year 2010. But several other challenges remain. The school does not have electricity. The windows of the classrooms lack glass panes. The school does not have a toilet. Due to this, children are forced to go out in the open and the teachers have to go to the nearby houses and request them. The outer wall at the back of the school has not been plastered. As the walls are not plastered, snakes get in to the classrooms during the monsoons and it becomes very dangerous for the children. The school was built and is being supported and managed by the Sambhaji Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, an NGO based in Hadapsar, Pune. Since 2005 the NGO has been going through challenging times and thus external support has become imperative. Starting from August 2010 when I first met the school authorities, Commit Cares has been supporting this school for almost seven years and a lot has been achieved. You can read all about the achievements in the Events page. It has been a great journey and many of my dear friends have helped me in this endeavour. This is the list of assistance provided to schoolchildren at Ramchandra Yepre Prathmik Vidyalaya by various people over the years. The list is proof of the passionate involvement of so many people who have reached out to me and happily 'given'.
This is the list of the economically challenged children for whom we tried to sponsor everything for the entire year. The list given below shows the details of the children and the corresponding donor. I have added some of their pictures here for your reference. 
Epilogue We supported this school from August 2010 till Feb 2017. In February 2017, we got to know that there was some change in priorities of the trust that ran the Yepre school and differences had cropped up between the management of the school and the trust. Realising that maybe our help is not going anywhere, we decided to stop all donations to the school with immediate effect. I communicated this to all my friends and relatives who have been helping us out all these years. I thank all of you for the great support we have received. We are in search of another deserving school/institution/NGO so that we can continue out altruistic goals. If you have any suggestions, kindly write to me at k.narssimhan@commit.in. Project CrayonsProject Crayons (Child Rehabilitation And Youth Oriented Nationwide Services) is a charitable trust started by Smt. Devika Kulavoor, an educationist, working nationwide with the help of well wishers and volunteers for the cause and care of the underprivileged section of the society with a mission to impact the lives of less privileged children, and physically challenged orphan children, enabling them to maximize their potential and change their lives towards a better tomorrow. They seek to assure the all round development and well being of children, by offering them a substantial opportunity towards growing up into complete, independent and contributing citizens. They also provide emergency relief to help children, their families, and communities to be self-sufficient. Over the years, prominent persons from all walks of life have contributed towards fulfillment of these goals. Commit has sponsored the yearly expenses of several school-going children in the past. For those interested in knowing more, log on to www.projectcrayons.org. Tsunami: Wave of DestructionDECEMBER 26, 2004, will be forever etched in the collective consciousness of humanity when a titanic tsunami swept away lives in excess of 150000 in South Asia and left as many as five million families homeless. The waves were a result of a massive earthquake that had its epicenter in the seabed, near Aceh, on the coast off Sumatra. While Aceh was partially washed away, the tectonic shifting sent a ripple effect along the ocean floor and wave upon wave of destruction slammed the Southern coast of India…leaving behind a trail of ghastly devastation. Thousands perished, tens of thousands were displaced, their homes destroyed, and their livelihood lost. Their peace, confidence and their very spirit - utterly shattered! As an instantaneous reaction, Commitians across the country responded to the SOS and contributed a sizeable amount to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. That was our immediate response. Our understanding of the situation has led us to believe that the affected communities require our empathy, not pity. They require help, not donations and charity. These are people who don't want to exist... but want to start living. And we shall do all we can to rebuild their lives. Blood Donation CampA voluntary Blood Donation Camp was conducted on 23rd July, 2005 at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore. The camp was very successful with most of the members of the Commit® team participating wholeheartedly. The Commit®team was also joined by a few friends, who readily consented to donate blood. It was a learning session for us at the lab, as the lab assistant gave a brief overview about the transfusions that can be done from one unit of blood donated by a donor. The blood donated is separated into different components like the RBC, WBC, Platelets and the Plasma and given to 3 different patients. Yes, we were told that one donor’s blood could save 3 lives. Financial Help for EducationMrs. A is the lady who cleans our Bangalore office. She needed our help to pay the school fees for her two children. We have been supporting her by paying the school fees for the past three years. The older child is going to the 8th standard and the younger child is going to the 6th standard this year. We have sponsored the entire amount for the school fees and uniform expenses for both the children. |
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