I+WE First Project - Providing Education to 20 Kids

Dear Friends,

I am so excited to announce I+WE’s first project on behalf of I+WE team in this blog post. As you all know, I+WE tends to be different from the first moment it started. Our team want to make sure every single cent/rupee of the donation is utilized entirely for what the donor gave for. This is not an easy task to do but we are sure that we can do that.

Roots to our first project..

Our team has been thinking about where to start, how to proceed, whom to contact, what to start to achieve our goal. Finally, in my recent visit to India, I came to find about a school, which is running an orphanage as well as a school for not only the orphans but also for everyone around that area. They are providing very good education for nominal prices. The school is Miriam Public School in Srikakulam City, Andhra Pradesh State, India.

Miriam Public School Building

Orphans with the staff in their dorm.

Ground work before approaching the school..

Since, education is one of our primary projects, we started enquiring about the school and about kids in our area, who would love education but don’t have enough money to spend on their studies. One fine day, on 6/10/2010; My brother and I along with I+WE Srikakulam program coordinator visited the school. We are pretty impressed with their well-structured school buildings and happy orphan kids. The timing is also so perfect; Indian schools are reopening on 6/17/2010 and we have enough time to find students and start their education in the school.

I+WE team members, Bharath & Vani with kids in school uniform.

More about the school..

I am not going into much details about the school, but will address few highlights on how the school is operating.

• Orphan home funds are coming from a non-profit organization in Hyderabad city, India.
• School building funds are coming from Mosvold family in Norway.
• They have 2 more branches of orphan homes in srikakulam district, one is entirely dedicated for tribal children.
• Any kids with out parents and/or supported through extended family are eligible to stay at home and study for free. The extended family should be under poverty line and unable to provide for these kids.

Miriam Public School founding stone.

Why we choose Miriam school..

Though there are number of good schools in Srikakulam, we are looking for a school, which not only provides good education but support the kids too. We are also very keen of people who run the school too. They should be service minded and not to take advantage of the funds or anything. We saw all of this in Miriam Public School and in Correspondents Mr.Krupanandam & Mrs.Rose.

I+WE team member, Vani getting a kiss from Moses, orphan raised by Mr.Krupanandam and Mrs.Rose. You can also see them and their daughter, Queen in the picture.

I will give you all a good example about their good nature. They have an 8-year-old daughter and adopted an orphan at 16 months age. One day, when we visited the school, their daughter is helping the cleaning staff to clean the dining room for nearly half an hour while her parents are busy taking care of other orphans. We are so impressed with that and some more examples like that helped to make our decision.

Here is more pictures of our visit to Miriam Public School.

What are we doing in this project..

We are going to sponsor 20 kids education for a year in the first project. This is not just a first project but also a long-term project. Our main aim is to continue sponsoring these kids until they settle on their own.

How we selected the students..

We have carefully selected 20 poor kids so far regardless of their religion or appearance. The primary criteria is the student’s enthusiasm towards education. Then we enquired about their economical status with the help of school people. We visited each and every kids home, by traveling miles throughout Srikakulam district to ensure that help reaches only to the needed.Once we are satisfied with these requirements of every student, we under took them under the wing of I+WE.

How we need your help..

I+WE organization is still a baby, it needs funds from people like you. Please sponsor a student's education for a year by paying the school fee. These kids need us!

When we visited them, the only thing they are asking us is education, many of them as you can see in the pictures don't have proper cloths too. They are thin, looking weak, no decent cloths, no good food, not in a nice place to live; but they are strong in their will. They know what they want. When we gave them so many options like food, cloths, home; none of them say they want them. All of them said, they want to study. That moved us so much! Please be a part of our team; Let's change these kids lives.

Renuka, an orphan with her grandma.

The 20 kids we selected are from Nursery to 9’th grade. Their school fee varies from 65 US $ (3050 Indian Rs) to 128 US $ (5985 Indian Rs.) per anum. The school fee includes textbooks, notebooks and school uniform. Here is the fee structure document signed by Miriam school correspondent & I+WE team.

You will only pay the fee specified in the document. All administrative costs of I+WE are raised through other means of donations. I+WE is currently going through the registration process to become 501c(3) organization in US. Once, the process is finished your donations are going to be tax exemptible.

I+WE will establish direct contact between the donor and the student. Continuous student progress and other information will be sent to the donor through the help of school. Doing this will help to build a special bond between the student and the donor. This gives immense satisfaction to the donor and powerful inspiration to the student. If you are satisfied with the student performance, we strongly encourage you to continue sponsoring the student for further years.

Our promise to all the donors..

I+WE team will promise you that your funds will not go through any third party organization. Each and every bill will be supplied to the donor. We will also promise to keep a strong connection between the donor and student. Our team will always be there for any questions, comments or suggestions.

Contact our team..

Team: ipluswe AT gmail DOT com

Vani: vaniindrani AT gmail DOT com

Leah: leahkaye30 AT gmail DOT com

Bharath: bsurangi AT gmail DOT com

Raji: rajisurangi AT gmail DOT com

List of selected students for the year 2010-2011..

Please contact our team, if you would like to sponsor a student's education for 2010 - 2011. If you like our work and satisfied with the student performance, please consider continuing for the next year. Students with sponsors are highlighted in green, who need sponsors are highlighted in red.

What can we say friends, you all are amazing! Within 2 days of request for sponsorship, we got more sponsors than kids. It is amazing. Thank you one and all. I am sure that the next project would be wonderful with ' I am Thinking' Team.

Please note that all pictures below are taken at the kid's homes. We choose to take their original pictures, as we always believe that; ' Pictures speak better than words'.

A BIG thank you to all the sponsors. Yes! we are thinking...

1. Student

Name: Pavan

Grade: 1

Fee: 4050 Rs / 86.64 US $ per year

Mother: House wife

Father: Carpenter

Address: Srikurmam Village, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status: Very poor.

I+WE Note: Pavan's family used to have enough food and a place to live when his father health is good. But, his father is very unwell and can not work. Due to this, they are struggling for food and in the risk of loosing their home they are about to stop their kid's education. Their means of income is only through Pavan's mother who works as a laborer in a farm. She could not go to work some days since she has to take care of her severely ill husband, parents and in-laws.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): Saiprasad Samudrala

Address: Hyderabad, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

2. Student

Name: Anusha

Grade: 7

Fee: 4950 Rs / 105.89 US $ per year

Mother: Attender

Father: Expired

Address: Srikurmam Village, Andhra Pradesh, India

Economical Status: Very poor

I+WE Note: Anusha' family is once a well settled family in the whole city. But, her father got sick with brain tumor 5 years ago. They sold their home, land and all assets for his traeatment. Unfortunately he passed away. Her mother is only 13 when she got married, now she is just 28, working hard each day to provide food for her family.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): Sanny & Lata

Address: Henderson, Nevada, USA

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

3. Student

Name: Neelima Boosi

Grade: 1

Fee: 4050 Rs / 86.64 US $ per year

Mother: Laborer

Father: Driver

Address: Srikurmam Village, Andhra Pradesh, India

Economical Status: Very poor

I+WE Note: Neelima's family used to be in a good position and have enough money for food and place. But, due to losses in farming they lost everything they earned so far and are living in a single room home. Daily bread & butter is very hard for them. I+WE also selected Neelima's sister Pavani for education sponsorship.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): K. Sreekanth

Address: Hyderabad, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

4. Student

Name: Pavani Boosi

Grade: 5

Fee: 4600 Rs / 98.41 US $ per year

Mother: Laborer

Father: Driver

Address: Srikurmam Village, Andhra Pradesh, India

Economical Status: Very poor

I+WE Note: Pavani's family used to be in a good position and have enough money for food and place. But, due to losses in farming they lost everything they earned so far and are living in a single room home. Daily bread & butter is very hard for them. I+WE also selected Pavani's sister Neelima for education sponsorship.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): S.J. Naidu

Address: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

5. Student

Name: Sharmila

Grade: 5

Fee: 4650 Rs / 99.48 US $ per year

Mother: Laborer

Father: Tailor

Address: Srikurmam Village, Andhra Pradesh, India

Economical Status: Very poor

I+WE note: Sharmila's family life is always a struggle. Her father is a tailor, who only gets minimal pay and won't have work all year around. They lost so much money on farming before and hardly survives on their total income. She is a one bright student in her class and at the risk of losing education. I+We would love to see her achieve her goals and also sponsoring her brother, Rafi's education too.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): A. Vijay Babu

Address: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

6. Student

Name: Rafi

Grade: 1

Fee: 4050 Rs / 86.64 US $ per year

Mother: Laborer

Father: Tailor

Address: Srikurmam Village, Andhra Pradesh, India

Economical Status: Very poor

I+WE note: Rafi's family life is always a struggle. His father is a tailor, who only gets minimal pay and won't have work all year around. They lost so much money on farming before and hardly survives on their total income. I+We is also sponsoring his sister, Sharmila's education too.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): M. Sai Sunil

Address: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

7. Student

Name: Renuka

Grade: 4

Fee: 4600 Rs / 98.41 US $ per year

Mother: Expired

Father: Expired

Address: Srikurmam Village, Andhra Pradesh, India

Economical Status: Very poor

I+WE notes: Renuka's story is such a heart touching one. She lost both her parents and currently living with elderly grandma. Her grandma is too old to work and whatever work she do in the evening after school only provides their food. There are a numerous number of days, when they slept with empty stomachs. Still, she never lost her hope for education. By her age, she should be studying 8'th grade, but due to her struggles she couldn't continue for a while. Last year, she studied through Miriam Public School generosity. From this year we are taking her under our wing.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): D.V.V. Chaitanya

Address: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010 - 2011

8. Student

Name: Giri

Grade: 9

Fee: 5985 Rs / 128.04 US $ per year

Mother: Laborer

Father: Expired

Address: Mogadalapadu Village, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status:Very poor

I+WE Note: Giri's family was a well settled family until 2 years back. His father was a fisher man and died on sea. His mother is too ill to work. They lost all their savings due to some of the loans they took for fishing. He discontinued his education last year to work as labourer and provided food to their family. Now, his mother got well and took his work. He is very bright student and always want to study. I+WE selected him after looking at his determination towards studies.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): N. Sriharigopal

Address: Singapore

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

9. Student

Name: Uma Devi

Grade: 9

Fee: 5985 Rs / 128.04 US $ per year

Mother: Expired

Father: Expired

Address: Jafrabad Village, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status: Very poor.

I+WE Note: Uma is a special girl, always stood first in her class. Her parents expired in an accident few years back. From then she is taken care of by her grand parents. They were well settled family for a while, but then lost everything to a storm. Then they migrated to a rural village and started working as farm keepers. Uma wakes up at 4AM, helps her grand mom to cook & clean home. Then walk 10km to the school. Evening, she helps her grand dad watering the farm. Still, in the struggle she never lost her grip on a subject and never missed a single school day. But now she in on the verge of stopping her education, since her grand parents income got less and less and unable to provide for her education. I+WE is confident that not only she will study but in the future she is going to help others to study. I+WE is also sponsoring her brother, Srinu.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): Sunil & Shipa

Address: Pune, Maharashtra, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

10. Student

Name: Srinivas

Grade: 5

Fee: 4600 Rs / 98.41 US $ per year

Mother: Expired

Father: Expired

Address: Jafrabad Village, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status: Very poor.

I+WE Note: Srinu is brother to Uma, the girl we introduced above. His parents expired in an accident few years back. From then he is taken care of by his grand parents. They were well settled family for a while, but then lost everything to a storm. Then they migrated to a rural village and started working as farm keepers. He along with his sister are on the verge of stopping his education, since his grand parents income got less and less and unable to provide for his education. I+WE is also sponsoring his sister, Uma.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): Naresh & Raji

Address: Rogers, Arkansas, USA

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

11. Student

Name: Joga Rao

Grade: 2

Fee: 4100 Rs / 87.71 US $ per year

Mother: Laborer

Father: Expired

Address: Nijambad Village, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status: Very poor

I+WE Note: Joga Rao's family's is struggling for food everyday. His father expired when he was very young. From then, his mother worked as laborer and took care of 4 elderly people in the home. Though many of their poor neighbors put kids into some kind of work, his mother never wanted him to struggle like them. She was able to provide his education for an year. But, with 2 kids she is unable to. I+WE is very happy to sponsor Joga Rao and his brother Mohan. The day we met them, they are the happiest people on earth.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): T Phanindra

Address: Hyderabad, India.

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

12. Student

Name: Mohana Rao

Grade: 1

Fee: 4100 Rs / 87.71 US $ per year

Mother: Laborer

Father: Expired

Address: Nijambad Village, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status: Very poor

I+WE Note: Mohan's family's is struggling for food everyday. His father expired when he was very young. From then, his mother worked as laborer and took care of 4 elderly people in the home. Though many of their poor neighbors put kids into some kind of work, his mother never wanted him to struggle like them. She was trying her best to provide education for her young kids, but unable to. I+WE is very happy to sponsor Mohan and his brother Joga rao. The day we met them, they are the happiest people on earth.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): K. S. C. Gupta

Address: Hyderabad, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

13. Student

Name: Levi Joel

Grade: Nursery

Fee: 3050 Rs / 65.24 US $ per year

Mother: House wife

Father: Pastor

Address: Nijambad Village, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status: Very poor

I+WE Note: Levi's family struggles for everyday food. They are so filled in debt due to extreme losses in farming. His parent's total income is not enough to provide education for him. He is a very smart kid. I+WE is so sure that he is going be quite brilliant if he can start his education.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): Bharath

Address: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

14. Student

Name: Jagadeesh

Grade: 1

Fee: 4050 Rs / 86.64 US $ per year

Mother: House worker

Father: Driver

Address: Duvvodi peta village, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status: Poor

I+WE Note: Jagadeesh is a bright kid. We have known his mother for more than 12 years. Always hard working but never had enough to live decently. I+WE is also sponsoring his sister, Vanajakshi's education too.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): D.V.V. Surendra

Address: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

15. Student

Name: Vanajakshi

Grade: 1

Fee: 4050 Rs / 86.64 US $ per year

Mother: House worker

Father: Driver

Address: Duvvodi peta village, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status: Poor

I+WE Note: Vanajakshi is a bright kid. We have known her mother for more than 12 years. Always hard working but never had enough to live decently. I+WE is also sponsoring her brother, Jagadeesh education too.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): K S N Murthy

Address: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

16. Student

Name: Maartha

Education: Nursing

Fee: NA (Currently under application process)

Mother: Expired

Father: Expired

Address: Chinthuvalasa Village, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status: None

I+WE Note: Maartha is taken care of by Miriam school coordinators Mr.Krupanandam & his wife, since she is 7 years and left as an orphan on streets. She and her sister were very young when their mother died due to AIDS. Their father passed way before. Because of illiteracy and unawareness their village people left them in a small hut outside the village. They are not supposed to appear outside and should only go out after midnight when everyone sleeps.

They don't even know when their mother died and lived with her dead body, eating mud and waste outside for few days. Later, they are rescued by Mr.Krupanandam family. Mr.Krupanandam provided education to both of them for 10 years. But, now as nursing became too expensive for them, I+WE is quite happy to lend a hand for her education. Her younger sister is still studying through Miriam school orphanage.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): On hold

Address:

Sponsored Year(s): 2010-2011

17. Student

Name: Chinnammadu

Education: Tailoring

Fee: Hidden (Includes training and stitching mission price)

Mother: Worker

Father: -

Address: Srikurmam, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Economical Status: Very poor

I+WE Note: Chinni is a very lively girl. She had a difficult child hood. Her father left their family because of bad addictions. Her family still don't know about his whereabouts. She stopped her education at 5'th grade to support her family. She never got a chance to study again, but she wants to settle on her feet.

She is extremely smart and very creative. Oberving this, I+WE wants to encourage is a way she can hold success. By enquiring, we decided that tailoring is best for her. We will not only provide money for tailoring classes, but also buy her a machine once she gets tailoring certification. We are quite sure that, she will not only taste the success but shares her wisdom with other enthusiastic students like her.

Sponsored by:

Name(s): Noor & Leah

Address: San Bernardino, California, USA

Sponsored Year(s): One time project.

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Posted by Vani.