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World at Isha Vidhya
Educating Rural India February 2014
Saran at Chess competition
Susil wins 100m race
CEO award function
Keerthana wins Chess competition
 Pongal celebrations
From the Editor
We are overwhelmed with gratitude towards supporters who have been coming up with unique ideas to raise funds for Isha Vidhya.

Priya Vaidyanathan ran a 100 km Ultramarathon in the Nilgiris to raise $3000 and now will be trekking to Mt Annapurna Base Camp with 7 other young ladies. Satish Gujaran will be running at the Comrades Marathon South Africa to raise funds for building a classroom.

Peter Van Geit and Durai Murugan ran 100 km at the less explored Kalvarayan hills in two days of absolute ‘running bliss’ on the hills with steep gradients, difficult terrain, impeccable views, challenging trails and pounding heart.

Siva Subbiah painted his heart out to create exquisite paintings which are up for sale to raise funds for Isha Vidhya students. Another creative soul, Shanti Bala, brightened lives of her clients and subsequently, Isha Vidhya kids, with her hand-painted terracotta diyas.

Our heartfelt thanks to these wonderful people.

If you have a story to share with us about your work and Isha Vidhya, please drop us a mail at asmita.sinha@ishavidhya.org.
Feature: Isha Vidhya's Barefoot Brigade
Once again our school staff, including teachers, and students have left us humbled with their commitment towards Isha Vidhya. Ninth Feb 2014 was an unforgettable day for Isha Vidhya Cuddalore School. Seventy three teachers, admin staff, drivers, ayamas and students, including the 60+ year old School Principal, Chitralekha, participated in the Auroville Marathon held in Pondicherry. This was the first time that so many staff members were running for Isha Vidhya.

This level of participation is all the more incredible considering the fact that school ayahmas and drivers, whose salary is just a few thousand rupees, were willing to spend Rs 450 as participation fees! Students too begged for the opportunity to run for the school to show their gratitude. On their continued desire to participate, special permission was taken so that they could participate.

On 9th morning, two bus loads of participants started from Cuddalore school and another one joined them from Cuddalore with Isha supporters. Some of the volunteers were worried about completing the 21 km race but the school staff was confident. Given that almost all the participants, including the school staff, were running for the first time in their adult life, had little training and many were running without shoes (almost 20), their confidence was incredible.

What a proud day it was for Isha Vidhya Cuddalore, when all except three, completed the 21 km race!

All our nine students, including two girls, completed the race with our student Suryababu finishing it within 2 hrs. A special mention about our school ayahmaa, Malarvizhi and driver Palani has to be made. They finished the race within 2 hrs! Malar ran as if her life depended on it. This was her way of showing gratitude for the opportunity that her three children are getting at the school, especially as she has a tough life as a widow.

Chitralekha, the Cuddalore school Principal has been a tremendous guiding force in all their activities. Despite her age, a bad knee and lack of training, she was committed to running. Even though she could not complete the run, she inspired most to do it. At the end, tears of delight was flowing when the staff members asked her to place the medal on their neck.

On this day, Isha Vidhya, with hundred and twenty three runners, stole the show even though there were many other NGO participating in the event.
Events
Sevathon 2014
Bangalore Marathon
Get Involved
Virtual School: Internet is full of information on every conceivable topic. We are building a database of links containing digital content that supplements the curriculam and mapping them to school syllabus so that teachers and students can refer them for better understanding and learning.

Initially we are starting with Maths and Science topics for 6th to 8th standard. We are looking for volunteers who can look up topics in these subjects and forage for suitable supplementary digital content on the web. A commitment of few hours each week, internet connection, an understanding of the search process and a desire to contribute to the education process is all that is required from the volunteers.

If this interests you, please drop us a mail at asmita.sinha@ishavidhya.org.

We have several other volunteering opportunities too. To know about them, please register* as a Friend of Isha Vidhya.

*The registration process will take less than a minute.
Donations and Investments
Critical requirements: Good classroom environment has a major impact on the learning by the students. We need to build 42 classrooms in 6 Isha Vidhya schools before start of the next academic year. These classrooms will accommodate new students in higher classes from 10th to 12th standards, and additional labs for these classes.

We invite corporates and individuals to help create this vital infrastructure. Spread the word to your friends to sponsor 1 sqft of classroom space at Rs. 1100/ $20 / BPS 15 or multiples thereof. Cost per Class room, along with furniture, is INR 7,50,000 / USD 12,500 / BPS 10,000. Help us reach out to your friends and transform more lives through education.

Where to donate & other details

For inquiries or more information about donations, please email at donations@ishavidhya.org. To donate online please visit: http://www.ishavidhya.org/donate-now/financial-donation.html.

Information about other requirements and donation opportunities is available here
© Isha Vidhya 2014 14, C.A. Theyvar Layout,
Kannaperan Mills Road, Udayampalayam,
Coimbatore – 641 028, TN, India