Sonmati Kumari dreams of becoming a teacher when she grows up. Every morning as she crosses the small Indian village of Habipur to go to school, she moves closer to her goal. She is one of 135 destitute children with hopes and dreams for the future who attend the village school that Karuna-Shechen established three years ago.
Sonmati and her brothers, Sanoj and Anuj
Last year there was no free school in or near her village and she had to walk to a private school. When the tuition fees suddenly rose from 150 rupees to 5000 rupees, her parents — a pedlar and a seasonal agricultural worker — could no longer afford it. Sadly, Sonmati had to drop-out of school, a reality faced by many Himalayan children.
Now, thanks to the Karuna-Shechen School, Sonmati can continue her studies.
Karuna-Shechen runs three small elementary schools nicknamed babua schools (the loving nickname for children in India).
Sarita Kumari is one of the teachers whom our team recruited and trained: “Without this school, the majority of the children in the village would not have access to education and would remain illiterate,” she says. “Private schools are far too expensive and the public school is very far away, and such poor quality that the children stop going.”
Sarita Kumari and her students
Karuna-Shechen’s schools are lively places for children to learn and actively participate in extra-curricular activities.
At the Karuna-Shechen School in the small village of Dema, we organize sports activities. Last year, we took students to Bodhgaya to see Alice in Wonderland — a first for the children, most of whom had never left their village!
“What I like best about this school is that I can learn while having fun,” says Sushma, a 12-year-old girl who had dropped out because the journey to public school was too long and dangerous.
Sushma was able to continue her studies with Karuna-Shechen. Now she is not only learning, but she is filled with hope for her future!
Thank you for your support of children like Sonmati and Sushma.
October 19 2021
In January 2021, Karuna initiated its very first project in France in collaboration with the association Mindfulness Solidaire. Resilience is a program targeting caregivers, which aims to provide them...
July 27 2021
For more than twenty years now, the notion of altruism, defined as selfless concern for the good of others, unites and inspires Karuna-Shechen’s benefactors, beneficiaries, volunteers and teams. It ...
July 26 2021
Hinduism has many festivals and rituals. They celebrate the major stages of life as well as the deities and are an opportunity to spend time with loved ones. Among these celebrations, one, particularl...
July 6 2021
While the Ruby Valley is a region of scenic beauty, it owes much of its charm to the cohabitation of humans with other species and their environment. The valley is populated by more animals than peopl...
June 29 2021
Dominated by the Himalayan reliefs, the Ruby valley offers landscapes of a rare beauty. Named after the precious stone, as deposits are said to be found there, it is a mountainous region in central Ne...
