About Nareshwadi

Nareshwadi Learning Centre sits on an 11-acre campus near Dundhalwadi, Dahanu Taluka, about 130 km from Mumbai, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the sole project of the Girivanvasi Educational Trust (GVET).

Nareshwadi Learning Centre (NLC) is comprised of the Leelaben Kotak Primary School, the K. J. Somaiya High School, a Vocational Education and Training (VET) Centre, and student residences. The Nareshwadi campus is surrounded by paddy fields and an orchard of fruit and coconut trees, contributing to an atmosphere of spontaneous creativity and learning.

Nareshwadi Children and Staff

Five hundred children from underprivileged families attend Nareshwadi's schools and live on campus. Ninety percent of them come from the local Warli, Kokani, Katkari and Dodhi tribal communities. Many live in interior villages with no schooling available. The rest are children with single or absent parents, or are from HIV-infected and -affected families.

Nareshwadi's staff work to create a learning environment in which children are encouraged to realize their full potential. The team of caring adults includes teachers, administrators, house parents, school counsellor, school nurses, sports coaches, experimental farm staff, the VET technical staff and volunteers.

A Nareshwadi houseparent with children.

Vision and Mission

Nareshwadi Vision

Empowering each child to reach his or her dream.

Nareshwadi Mission

Nareshwadi Learning Centre nourishes the physical, intellectual, emotional as well as spiritual development of each child by providing an innovative education, caring home environment and fostering community involvement.

Nareshwadi Logo

The Nareshwadi logo was drawn by 12-year old Jitesh Bhavar in a workshop held in 2007, and was the unanimous choice among more than 3000 student drafts. As Jitesh says, "The logo shows Nareshwadi as a labyrinth, where we have arrived and have to find our way to our future. Nareshwadi helps us to find the way." Sure about his future, Jitesh says, "I want to be a rickshaw driver like my mother's brother. I will help people in my home town Panalgat to find the best way to get to where they want."

Children

Chandni Tiwari

Chandni is an 8 -year old girl from a slum in Sion, Mumbai. Her parents died of AIDS when she was barely 5. She and her 7 year-old brother, Akshay, were being raised by their elder sister, Pooja, who was only 12 years old. Abandoned by their relatives, SAHAS community health workers found them on the streets and placed them in the Nareshwadi Learning Centre in 2006.

Chandni is an all-rounder and does well in academics, sports and cultural activities. "I like all subjects: English, Geography, History as well as Math. I also like dancing, drawing and judo. And I always want to be the best in my class. In this way, my parents can be proud of me."

How does Chandni see her future? "I want to be a lawyer so that I can help poor people and ensure justice for them. I also want to become independent and take care of my sister and my brother."

Pramila Bhavar

Pramila is an 11-year-old girl of Warli origin from a village 35 km from Nareshwadi. Both her parents work at a local farm. Her siblings, 5 sisters and 2 brothers, are left at home while her parents work. Pramila's favourite subject is Marathi. Pramila is a good athlete and has consistently stood first in inter-school competitions in Dahanu Taluka. In the future, she wants to be a doctor, so that she can serve other people.

Rahul Kinjre

Rahul is a 7-year old boy from a Warli family from the village Jahse Nana Para. His parents work, like most Warlis, as labourers in a local farm. Rahul is a very talented student. He likes Marathi most of all, but his drawings also reveal his artistic talent. In the future, he wants to be a policeman or an astronaut.

History

Integrated Rural Development Model

On September 20, 1974, Padmabhushan Shri Karamshibhai J. Somaiya established Girivanavasi Pragati Mandal (GVPM), a public charitable trust to provide an integrated rural development model of education, health, agricultural development and economic self-reliance for tribal communities. The GVPM campus located in Village Pardhi of Dundhalwadi was named Nareshwadi.

Over the years, a 48-bed eye and general hospital, an experimental farm based on organic agricultural practices and a goshala (cow protection unit) were established to provide services and learning opportunities to the tribal communities of the vicinity, reaching more than 10,000 persons.

In 1986, the Leelaben Kotak Primary school and the K. J. Somaiya Secondary School were set up along with residential facilities to provide education to children from migrant-laborer families within a 25-km radius. In 1991, the Girivanvasi Educational Trust (GVET) was founded as a public charitable trust to manage the educational project and focus solely on education.

Nareshwadi's classrooms, c. 2006.

Quality Improvements since 2006

GVET embarked upon a quality improvement program in 2006–07, starting with physical infrastructure. The school's 22-year-old buildings have been upgraded to accommodate the growing number of school admissions.

In 2007–08, the Nareshwadi staff collectively developed a vision, mission and long-term strategy for the Centre. Nareshwadi came to be termed as the Nareshwadi Learning Centre as the campus is seen as a mother centre to engage the community in a continuous learning process.

A 24-hour Health Care Centre was set up with full-time school nurses, and visiting doctors from the K. J. Somaiya Hospital in Mumbai. They conduct frequent awareness workshops and comprehensive medical health checks and treatment. To monitor hygiene and sanitation, teachers, house parents and student representatives established a School Health Committee.

Health awareness workshop in progress.

Since 2007, facilities development was also given keen attention. A number of facilities have been constructed, including additional toilets, baths, kitchen extension, drinking and hand-washing facilities, house parents living quarters, medical centre and playground facilities. Classrooms have been renovated to provide more enclosed space for storing learning aids and for monsoon protection.

Classroom enclosure was completed in 2007.