Photo: Gamru village school
Back in 2004 Philip Adams, a far-sighted British national living in Gamru, Dharamshala, noticed that many of the local children were not attending school. He decided to do something about the situation. He started the Gamru Village School “to provide free high-quality education to any children who encounter serious barriers to education and who have a low standard of living.”
Meenakshi Sharma, principal at the school, was part of it from the very beginning. She fondly remembers how she was the only staff member for the first three months. In the beginning she also had to take care of her baby daughter.
The whole school was designed around three perceived needs. Firstly, there was a lack of a reliable local school. Children would have to walk more than an hour to the nearest government school in the heat of summer, the cold of winter and the rains of monsoon. Teachers were often absent and used corporal punishment even though it was prohibited.
Secondly, families had a lack of financial resources. Whilst the government school did not charge fees, the cost of uniforms, books and stationery placed a significant burden on parents who are in the main construction workers. In fact many children were accompanying their parents to work in order to help in making enough money for food.
Thirdly, there was a lack of a safe, structured environment for the children. As there were no day care facilities in Gamru, parents had no choice but to take their infants with them to the construction site. As the children grew older, they would be taken out of school so as to look after their younger siblings.
Mrs Meenakshi Sharma, Principal of Gamru village school
The school addressed these concerns point by point. The ethos of the school was consciously set to one of quality education close to the homes of the students. Students do not just have free classes, but their uniforms, stationery, books and medicine are also free. In addition, all children receive at least one filling meal daily. A nursery school is included to take care of younger children so that older students do not have to drop out to take care of them.
The school has 140 students from Nursery to Class Eight. When students finish Class Eight the school makes every attempt to find sponsors so that they can continue their studies at another school. Learning activities at the school include regular extra-curricular classes covering subjects such as environmental conservation, first-aid and health education, arts and crafts, horticulture and agriculture, music and physical education, and vocational skills.
The school aims to maximize the participation of girls in education and encourages them to join non-traditional activities such as vocational training, sports and leadership development. They receive equal treatment on every level.
Photo: Gamru village school
Today the school is fortunate to have support from the community. Students participate in the Dharamshala International Film Festival. In addition, volunteers from the Dharamshala Residential International Festival for Theatre present drama training for the students who participate enthusiastically.On Environment Day the school takes part in a competition – last year they won, this year the school won five prizes.
Meenakshi Sharma is visibly proud of the success of her students, saying that one of their ex-students scored 93% in last year’s Board Exam and is planning to study medicine. Meenakshi Sharma gets passionate about the future. It has been a long-held vision to present Class 9 and Class 10, but so far this has not been possible, partially because the school does not have enough space to cater for the additional classes.There is also vision for vocational training. Courses in carpentry, pottery, plumbing and electrics would greatly improve students’ chances of finding employment.
That brings up another aspiration: the desire to physically expand the school. The school is bursting out of its seams. Meenakshi Sharma has been keeping her eyes open for a suitable piece of land, but land is scarce in Gamru. Finances are also a significant constraint.
Gamru village school
The school has survived the past 14 years thanks to its supporters and the school always welcomes new sponsors who can make donations of money, time and expertise ormake an in-kind donation – donors give books, stationery, toys for infants, art materials, games, medical supplies and food.
The school’s web site, http://gamruschool.com/ is regularly updated and provides good information.
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