First rank students

Through our bursary scheme, we continue to support Mettupalayam school students when they move on to government secondary school. This may be by way of fees, uniforms, school books or simply by recognizing their achievements. This is especially important for the gypsy children who now all continue on with their education rather than dropping out. This month, two of the gypsy children received awards for being first ranked in the exams- Chinnapunna who was in our top year last year, and is therefore in year 6, and Tamilarasan who is now in year 9.

He has been so sucessful in achieving top rank all through his secondary schooling so far that both he and his parents were featured in a full page article in the Indian Times. When he completes his schooling, Tamilarasan wants to be a Government officer so that he can help his people.

Nationally, less than 1% of gypsy children take up education- in our catchment area, we estimate that around 50% come to Mettupalayam school and we continue to encourage and educate parents in the benefits for both themselves and their children. The official description of the gypsy races is Most Backward Class, and there are significant Government payments for those who reach 10th standard and pass their exams. There are also marriage payments for gypsy girls who sucessfully complete 10th standard.

Another days training in Mettupalayam

Much of the work of IRDT happens without fuss. Today our social worker Gomathy has been running a days training workshop for 75 self help group (Sanhgam) members. This has been sponsored by the NABARD Bank, a government bank which sponsors agricultural and rural development training. The women have learnt about administration, basic accountancy, group dynamics and leadership. This training will be disseminated to other group members, meaning that many more will benefit.

Sanghams are vital for both economic and social development and are a powerful method of bringing women together and promoting social cohesion.

UK News

Friends of Mettupalayam not only raise funds to support rural development work in Tamil Nadu, South India, we also work in our local community helping to promote understanding and build links. This is illustrated by the work we have recently been doing with the Forest School in Knaresborough. This is a school for children with special learning needs, and following an initial contact, we have helped a Young Enterprise Group to design and implement a small business, packing and selling our tribal necklaces and bracelets to raise funds. We have also been into two other classes with our powerpoint presentation about life for a child in our village.

This is only one example from many of how we are able to tell a real story to children who sometimes have little initial understanding of life in a developing country. So often we are amazed at how the children's imagination is stimulated and the quality of the questions that we are asked.

Helping hand

This is Anusuya, a 14 year old schoolgirl who lives near Mettupalayam. About 3 years ago, she had a cycle accident, and had to have her hand amputated. IRDT have paid for her to travel to APD in Bangalore to have an artificial hand fitted. This has cost some 4000 rupees (about £50), we have paid 1500 rupees (about £19) with APD paying the remainder.

Our cooperation with APD makes a very significant contribution to the amount of help we can give to the 530+ disabled adults and children in our two project areas. We are also very grateful to all our UK supporters whose donations allow us to expand this work. We are planning a major expansion in our disability project in 2009 and are already training extra physiotherapists, selecting suitable girls from among the villagers.

Turning waste into wipes

It is impractical to inform our supporters of the many small enterprises that we organise through our 150 or so womens self help groups (sanghams). However, having been part of the negotiations last year in Kancheepuram, I was delighted to have received this picture of one of the groups with some cotton waste processing machines. The groups have entered into a contract to receive cotton waste from a manufacturer, and turn it into useful cotton cloths for resale. The machines cost 32000 rupees (c£400) which the women borrow on a special, low interest scheme, repaying at a rate of 50 rupees/day. Depending upon their effort, each woman can then earn a minimum net 150 rupees/day- much more than the daily agricultural labourers rate they receive. The Indian Bank have paid for the womens training and the scheme is sponsored by the District Development Agency, enabling the machines to be bought at cost price.

In addition to the income, this scheme also empowers the women and increases their status and self esteem.

Old age peoples day 8th October

In Mettupalayam and in Bedale, old people share a special meal and celebrate their lives. Thanks to the owners of The Millings Residential Home in Bedale, 150 elderly people in Mettupalayam are presented with a new set of clothes and enjoy a special meal together. In Bedale, the residents of The Millings celebrate with an Indian style meal of chicken curry, poppodums and pickles and special Indian sweets, followed by a slide show talk about the similarities and differences in their lives. The whole world over, we recognise the contribution that our parents, and grandparents have made, and continue to make in enriching and enhancing the lives that we lead.

Teacher training

This current academic year, which started in India on the 1st June, we have 5 new teachers at our Mettupalayam School. I am delighted that we currently have 3 male teachers, as often in the past we have mainly employed female teachers. All 5 new teachers are Government trained, but for various reasons, have been unable to get a post in a Government school. Venkat will train them and provide experience and at some stage in the future they will move on, earning a much higher salary than we can pay. At first sight, this high teacher turnover may seem wasteful and inefficient, but as Venkat explains, many of these newly qualified teachers are either of the wrong caste or are unable to pay a bribe to get into a Government school, and we are able to give them an opportunity that would otherwise be unavailable, and it doesn't affect the quality of the education provided- just the opposite in fact, as they are very motivated.
Student numbers have increased to 148 on the role, with a regular daily attendance of around 125.