The children of Anando undertook a project to beautify the entrance of their former primary school, Shiksha Sadan, by planting a small garden. They collected old newspapers from neighbors, sorted and sold them, raising Rs. 260. With the funds, they purchased supplies and collected plants from friends. The children cleaned and whitewashed the school wall, arranged the plants, and created a small green space. Their efforts transformed the bare entrance into a welcoming, green area. The children felt proud and happy to see the younger students caring for the new garden. The project increased the children's self-esteem and showed them that small efforts can make a positive impact.

1. An initiative for the
Design for Change Contest
undertaken by
The children of Anando

2. I bring you shade
And life giving oxygen too
So many fruits and flowers I gift
To make this world beautiful for
you !
It is I who calls out to the clouds
“Come and bring rain ,make life
grow !”
It is I who is your friend forever
Won’t you reach out and love me
some more?
Original in Bengali by Mamoni Mondal, 13 years

3. The entrance to our former primary
school was dull and shabby. There
was a small place for plants at one
side but none had been planted for
years.
We brightened the entrance by
whitewashing a wall and creating
a small green patch in front of
it
The school entrance
immediately became happy and
inviting !

4. Subhash Ratik Nitesh
Sanjit
When we learnt of the contest, we thought that this
would be a good opportunity for us to give something
back to Shiksha Sadan,the primary school where most
of us had studied earlier and where our siblings still go.
The idea appealed to the others in the team , so we
decided to explore it further.
Gaurav

5. We found much that we
wanted to do in the school ! But the
idea of introducing plants and greenery
into the otherwise bare school grounds
was the most exciting as all of us are
nature enthusiasts .
This was something that we could
do on our own .It would also
encourage the students of the
school to love and nurture plants,
we felt.

6. To raise funds for the project we decided
to undertake a door-to-door newspaper
drive. Most of the people were very
kind and gave us lots of
old newspapers.
First we met the principal of Shiksha
Sadan, Mr. Tewari . We spoke to him
about our project. He was very helpful
and had several suggestions for us. We
decided to take on the task of
beautifying the school entrance with
plants.

7. We sorted out our
collection of bottles
and newspapers……
…and sold
them to
the local
kabaddi
wala…..
…all 29
kilos
of it !

8. Hear us talk about our project…
click to start

9. We got Rs.260 from our sale! We
bought flower pots, soil ,fertilizer
and whitewash with it.
The plants we collected
from our friends.

10. Then, we prepared the pots
and planted shrubs in them.

11. We also put plants in old
plastic bottles. It was a
good way to recycle them,
we thought !

12. We cleaned the wall and
the space in front of it…..
….then
we
white-
washed
it.

13. The next day we transferred all the
prepared plants from the Anando
centre to the school. We arranged
them artistically in the space we had
cleared.

14. What a difference our efforts made!
BEFORE AFTER

15. It was a proud moment when all the
children came running out to see our
handiwork and the principal told
them about our project. They all
promised to look after the little
garden !

16. We have changed after this experience!
At first we were hesitant to approach
strangers and ask them for help. But once we
saw the response to our appeals, our fears just
vanished!
We never realised that a little effort can go
such a long way. We feel so happy and proud
now when we see the little children looking
after the plants and the school taking efforts
to maintain our garden .It felt good to give
back to nature and to our old school !
And to have everyone praising our efforts ,
instead of reprimanding us for our antics, has
increased our self esteem no end!

17. And afterwards……
Click to start

18. back row : Sanjit Mondal, Nitesh , Ratik Prasad
front row: Gaurav Prasad, Subhash Prasad