Sahaya's mission to construct a new building for the

Mother Teresa School of Periyakrishnapuram

One level is constructed....now we're hoping to build a 2nd level.

In 2008, we completed construction of a one-storey building for the Mother Teresa School of Periykrishnapuram.

The school is providing basic education to 157 children from poor families. However, because the school has 4 classrooms, it has become overcrowded. So we need to construct a 2nd level on it, similarly in design to the recently constructed building of the Jawahar Matriculation School).
The estimated price for this 2nd level is approximately $50,000. We have already raised $1,500.

Will you help us to build the 2nd level? Please consider making a contribution.

DESKS AND BENCHES In 2009 and 2010, we have raised sufficient funds for desks and benches. Local carpenters are now making these desks and benches, and a first truck-load of 30 sets has already been delivered and has been painted. The remainder is expected to be completed in the coming months. The pictures below show the raw and finished product. We sincerely thank everyone who donated money to accomplish this monumental task!

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BACKGROUND AND HISTORY ON THE MOTHER TERESA SCHOOL

• Rural areas lack standard, good-quality education. For this purpose, READ started several schools. Two of them, the Mother Teresa School of Periyakrishnapuram was started in 1997 with 9 children. A second school, the Mother Teresa School of Thirukalapur was started in 1998 with 28 children.
• The Mother Teresa School of Periyakrishnapuram was previously run in a small classroom with a thatched leaf roof. These children come from underprivileged communities. It grew rapidly to approximately 90 children, and so it was decided that more room was URGENTLY needed.
• Since 2005, Sahaya International has been raising the money to construct a much-needed school building in the village. First we purchased a piece of land (approx. 28,000 sq ft; 2,664 sq meter). The total price (which was affected severely by the declining value of the US dollar!) to construct the building with neighboring toilet facilities was approximately $40,000.
• To reach our goal, Sahaya International had organized 2 successful cultural evenings on June 3, 2006 and June 9, 2007 in Davis. On Saturday June 9, 2007, the Gospel Justice Committee of the St. James Parish (Davis) and Sahaya International held an Evening of Indian dining at the St. James Memorial Center (1275 B Street, Davis). The evenings included a slide show and a full-course Indian Dinner prepared by Mary Philip and Susie O'Bryant and their team of volunteers, who have a big reputation throughout Northern California for their excellent Indian cuisine. In addition, contributions made by our many friends and well-wishers raised the remaining money.
• On December 22, 2008, the new school was inaugurated in the presence of Dr. Koen Van Rompay and supporters from Belgium.
• The school continues to grow in attendance:
  

But we still need your help! Your contributions will go towards infrastructure:

• better books
• educational materials including science objects
• book cases and cabinets to store materials
• art supplies
• a few computers

Please become a sponsor and help provide these children with a better future. If you give us your e-mail address, we will keep you updated with short stories and pictures.

If you are living in the USA and like to make a donation through Sahaya International, go to our donation page.

If you live in Europe, go to this donation page.

We thank you tremendously for your support!! .

Sahaya volunteers from Europe and the USA came to visit the new school in December 2008.

A trip down memory lane:
the events of the past 11 years (1998 onwards):

	The mother Teresa school in 1998 started with 9 children in a rented room, but then due to financial reasons and space limitations, moved to a slightly larger hut.
This was the old building of the Mother Teresa school. The 2 visitors are Peter De Meyer (left), a reporter from Belgium, and Koen Van Rompay (right), the secretary of Sahaya International. Please note the thatched-leaf roof (which is a fire hazard and also leaks during the rainy season) and the large number of children. Thanks to the support of many well-wishers, we are now able to construct a much-needed school building with separate classrooms!
	February 2007: The piece of land is purchased to construct the building for the Mother Teresa School. Below are some pictures taken between June and September 2007 of the ongoing construction.
	Miraculously, only a few weeks after the classes were moved to the new school in June 2008, the old Mother Teresa school building collapsed during a storm. Fortunately nobody was hurt. Was it perhaps the spirit of Mother Teresa who had kept this roof up until the new school building was completed?

WE THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND HOPE YOU CAN VISIT US!