The Navadha School, Kalagachhia, West Bengal

Kalagacchia is a coastal village in Purba Medinipore, West Bengal. The community here is largely reliant on seasonal fishing related activities. Lack of basic infrastructure like roads and water, and lack of alternate employment opportunities force the villagers, during non-fishing seasons to migrate to nearby towns to take up jobs in factories. This directly impacts the education of the children and most often, it is education, especially of the girl child, which is severely compromised. 

The community, of approximately 110 families, are witnessing a school in the village for the first time. As construction gains momentum, the community has responded with enthusiasm and hope. With the goal to making it a ‘Model Gaon’, some community development programs are underway. 

Only recently, we successfully started a free, fully equipped Dental Clinic for the villagers, based on our discussions and needs of the villagers. We hope for a cascading effect on improvement in infrastructural development in terms of roads, electricity, water and broadband connections and encourage children from neighbouring villages to enrol in Navadha School too. 

Construction of the school started on December 15, 2020, on a plot of land officially gifted to Building Dreams Foundation. The land has been surveyed, requisite permits have been obtained and currently utilising two rooms in an adjacent house as premises for the school. Initially enrolling 45 children in 2020, we now have a student strength of 120 children in the pre-primary section. Most of the children are first generation learners.  The Navadha School is an inclusive school catering to children with special needs as well. We have enabled a few students to attend school on wheelchairs, thanks to some of our generous donors. 

Since inception, we have successfully built a community centre, toilets for the children and access to drinking water. Mid-day meals are provided to the children. A broadband connection and laptops provide the thrust of digital education to the children. 

Much has been achieved in these two years, but financial assistance is required for continued construction, sponsoring mid-day meals and salaries for our dedicated teachers and staff. 

The Navadha School, Dehradun

The existing Navadha School in Dehradun, provides comprehensive academic education to 250 full-time students under the age of 18 years. These children have previously never attended school or have dropped out due to economic hardships and the migratory nature of their parents’ occupation. 

Additionally, the Kaizen club was set up to educate the students about child rights and look for solutions to problems within their community.

With a holistic approach to education, the Navadha school lays emphasis on art, craft, physical activities, instilling values, morals, etiquettes, computer skills including coding, environmental consciousness and other activities, going beyond the academic syllabi. Nutritional needs are taken care of through the mid-day meals provided to the students. 

With a timely donation of a Television, projector, a mobile phone and a desktop, the school encourages the children to express themselves through photography/cinematography classes and editing software made available to them. 

Another donation put to great use at the center is the Desk cum Bags given by Wockhardt Limited. A hundred pieces were provided so that the children can use them since we have few benches available and many children sat on the floor to do their work.  

 In Dehradun, Building Dreams Foundation runs key education-related programs alongside the Navadha Day School, like the ‘Bridge the Gap” program. We have successfully helped integrate children from the slum areas into formal schooling, helping them to catch up with the classes they have skipped and enrolling them in government schools. Subjects in which they face difficulty are addressed and they are brought up to speed with the classes they are admitted to.