This presentation provides the background and financial needs of Bhartiya Vidhya Prabhodini a slum-school in Kalyan, Maharashtra, INDIA.

1. Want to help a slum school succeed?
Contact: Vijayraj Kamat, vijayraj.kamat@gmail.com

2. What does this presentation cover?
Know the school
Know their challenges
Will my money be in good hands?
Success stories
How much money is needed?
How much contribution is enough?
The Vision…
How to Donate?

3. Know the school
Established in 1985. Striving since 30 years!
Currently has 251 students from Grade 1 to 10
Student backgrounds:
 Parents are usually daily wage workers, rag pickers, domestic helps.
 Instances of alcoholic fathers, parent desertions, food scarcity are
common
Students in Indian Army, work as teachers, police
officials, government officials and stable jobs in private
companies
Were it not for this school, these kids would have
never got an opportunity to an education!
Bhartiya Vidhya Prabhodini School,
Siddharthnagar, KALYAN(W) – 421 301
Dist: Thane State: Maharashtra

4. Their challenges
Poverty
Many students cannot afford the
textbook, stationery and school uniform
costs
Basic infrastructure
issues
Create security and disturbance
problems like lack of blackboards,
broken benches, water seepage, broken
window grills
No computers
The school does not have any computer.
A little computerization can go a long
way to help the administration and the
students. The kids are eager to learn!!
Lack of Support &
Mentoring
Students lack educated mentors who
can assist them with their studies,
choices and problems
Challenges

5. The people behind the school
• Affectionately called, “Sant sir”, the man poured
in his pension funds to establish this school.
• Worked as the Head Master for 22 years in
Abhinav Vidya Mandir – one of the famous
schools in Kalyan city
• Established the Chhatrapati Shikshan
Mandal(educational trust) in 1960. Started 7
town schools and 7 shcools in Adivasi areas
• Trained more than 1200 people to pursue their
BEd degree and then absorbed them in the
education sector
Founder: Shri Prabhakar Anant Sant, B.A, M.Ed Age: 86

6. The people behind the school
• Sulbha Madam comes from a rural background herself.
Her father was a Gram Sevak in the Jalgaon district in
Maharashtra
• Joined this school in 1991 as a teacher. Became the
Principal in 1996
• She worked for more than 15 years on paltry salaries of
Rs. 500 – 1000 per month($2 - $4) The pay commission
revisions has made things easier on the teacher’s salaries
front, but the infrastructure challenges still continue
• The lady has been striving for more than 20 years to help
provide educational opportunities to these slum kids
• She conducts extra classes herself in the mathematics and
science subjects for the 10th standard students, as it is a
crucial year for them
Principal: Smt Sulbha Sonavane, MSc, B.Ed. Age: 52

7. The people behind the school
Some of the school teachers and officials

8. Some Success stories
• Maruti Thite – Used to distribute newspapers as a kid.
Completed his BCA(Bachelors in Computer Application)
• Dilip Pokhankar - Indian Army. Fought in the Kargil war
• Dhananjay Bhansode – Secondary school teacher
• Sarika Sonar – Thane Police
• Dwarkanath Mhatre – BMC official
• Pradeep Bhalerao – Manager in a private company
We need to create more such success stories
consistently!

9. How much money is needed currently?
Item Details
Approx Cost
in INR
Approx Cost
in USD
Student expenses
To buy books, stationery, uniform. About 71 children
need help at about Rs. 1000 for a year
INR 71,000 $ 1,291
Blackboards Need 2 blackboards(green slate) urgently INR 5,000 $ 91
Repairing Benches
Repairing about 35 benches + installing plywood on 6
benches
INR 11,000 $ 200
Window meshes Cats, animals enter classrooms. For 13 windows INR 9,000 $ 164
Door Thresholds
Water flows into classrooms during monsoons. 5
Concrete thresholds @Rs 500 each
INR 2,500 $ 46
Door for office The main office door is broken posing a security issue.
Needs fixing and a new frame
INR 5,000 $ 91
Main gate
School has no main gate. People, dogs enter premises
causing disturbance
INR 10,000 $ 182
Computer
The school has no computer, even for administration.
Makes tracking very difficult
INR 35,000 $ 637
Netbooks
For children to learn computer skills. This can be
leveraged for E-Learning too
INR 100,000 $ 1,819
Roof gutters
To route rainwater away from the roofs. Approx 65
feet INR 12,000
$ 219
TOTAL : INR 260,500 $ 4,737

10. How much contribution is good enough?
• Do not worry about the total funding needed.
Give whatever you can happily afford – big/small.
• No amount is too small. Something is always
better than nothing.
• Donate an amount that will make you happy, not
an amount that will pinch. You are sharing the
underlying feeling – not just the money.
• Tip: Imagine an amount that you can donate
every month without feeling any pinch. Multiply
that by 12 and donate

11. The vision
SURVIVE
Fulfill financial needs to get basic
infrastructure and expenses in place
SUCCEED
Focus on process improvements to increase
academic performance
SUSTAIN
“Systemize” the processes to repeat successes and
replicate it in other schools
Current focus
The idea is to adopt a phased approach to the school’s growth

12. How to Donate
• Please visit the blog below and click “DONATE
NOW” on the navigation bar.
http://buildschool.blogspot.in/
• Please make sure to provide requested
information about yourself so that you can be
kept posted, with how the money is being spent
• Please SUBSCRIBE receive updates on you Email!!

13. THANK YOU!

14. More pictures