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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
Basic informationDate of the site visit: Monday December 28, 2015
Name of the Project: Child Aid Foundation
Name of the Organization Running the Project (if different):
Was your site visit announced? Yes, it was planned
Project Contact’s Information
Site Visitor’s (Your) Information
(Volunteer conducting the visit)
Name Dr. A. Goswami Sravya YandamuriAddress
C.A.F. Road, Patamatalanka,
Vijayawada, A.P. 520014, India
200 Water St. Apt. 403
New York, NY 10038
Phone(s)
Office: (+91) (0) (866) 2470380Mobile: (+91) (0) 9700330075
(248) 719-4580
FaxE-mail [email protected] [email protected] to project
Founder
Affiliation to Asha
Volunteer
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
PART A: Particulars about the organization and its environment (cross-validation of information presented in proposal)
1. What is the main ideology of the organization behind the project?
The ideology of the organization is providing comprehensive aid and care to children, both boys and girls, of all ages and educational levels on both a residential and non-residential basis. This aid and care includes nutritious food, clothing, shelter, education, vocational training, medical care, counseling, and initial job placement. This empowers the children to pursue and complete their educations to as high a level as they desire and are capable of achieving.
2. How old is the organization?
The organization is 23 years old.
3. How and why was it founded?
During his travels throughout India in the 1980s, Dr. Goswami encountered many poor and needy children. He was very moved by their plight and inspired to help them. He started working with such children and acquired Indian citizenship. In 1993, he formally started Child Aid Foundation.
4. What are the different focus areas of the organization? (give a rough estimate of the % of their total effort/funding)
Community development ______ %
Education 60 %
Health ________ % - CAF provides medical care, but this is done for free by local doctors
Other 40% (please specify) Housing - hostels
5. What is the administrative structure of the group (e.g. Board of Directors/Grassroots-based/Volunteer based)?
Board of Trustees made up of reputed people from the community
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
6. Are there any other organizations working in the area providing any one or all of the services provided by the visited organization? (Briefly mention their names and their objectives) Organization(s) Objectives of the organization(s)
None
7. When was the project of interest started?
This project was started in 1993.
8. What is their vision about the future of the project?
Dr. Goswami purchased land in Vijayawada as an investment to ensure that the project will continue to have funds once he is no longer able to fundraise.
9. What were the initial challenges faced by the organization and by the founder when starting the project? How did he/she overcome them? Who helped them through the initial stages?
The government refused to recognize the organization since they didn’t own their land, even though it was being rented through the government. They were able to get government recognition eventually by paying more money.
10. Has the organization ever approached the government for funding? If so, what was the outcome? If not, why not?
The government provides some funding for the school (about 4 Rs per child per meal and salaries for 4 of the teachers).
11. How many centers/schools does the project run? How many of those were you able to visit? CAF runs several projects, including “Hashraya Home Project”, “Vidya Education Project,” and “Balika Girls Project”.
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
12. Were you able to choose the project centers to visit? Or were all centers visited suggested by the project partner?
N/A
PART B: The beneficiaries and the community(Information to be gathered from parents and children)
1. Approximately how many families live in the area?
1000 families
2. What do the parents do for a living? (Agricultural worker, Daily wage laborer etc.)
The parents have low income/manual labor jobs. Most of the kids are partial orphans (only one parent or taken care of by relatives).
3. What is the religious/economic/educational background of the parents/community? (Are the parents able to pay any fees? Are the parents literate? etc.)
Most of the parents are unable to pay fees and are not literate. They come from various religious backgrounds.
4. Does the project/school target specific families (e.g. agricultural workers, families with specific backgrounds, illiterate parents, first generation learners, orphans, sex workers, etc.)
The project targets children from backwards situations. Most of these kids are partial orphans (only one parent or living with relatives).
5. How often do the teachers meet the parents?
The parents and teachers don’t meet that often, but they can participate in parent-teacher meetings to discuss the progress of the students.
6. How do the parents/the community view the efforts taken by the organization that runs the project?
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
The parents are very grateful for the efforts taken by the organization. They prefer to send their students to this school over the other schools in the area.
7. What is the motivation for the parents to send their children to school?
The parents have many reasons for sending their children to school. These reasons include the meals, medical care, after school tuition, and higher quality education.
8. How do the parents participate in the organization's activities? (e.g. by contributing their time, money or labor in the school’s activities etc.)
Parents can participate in meetings at the school to discuss their children’s progress. Those that are able to do contribute money, but most cannot.
9. Has the community supported the project (e.g. financially, donating land, volunteering, etc.)?
Doctors in the area provide free checkups and eye/dental exams for the students. Other wealthy individuals from the area donate money and other resources.
10. Are there any Government Schools in the area? (Circle one)
Yes
11. If yes, how far are the Government Schools from the community?
1-2kms
12. Why did the parents choose this school over the Government School?
Parents choose this school for multiple reasons. This includes the quality of the educations, free meals, free after school coaching/tutoring, and medical care provided by this school. The government schools are also overcrowded.
13. When you visited, how many children were present in the class?
When I visited, most classes had around 20-30 students present. It was the first day back after Christmas break, so some students were absent.
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
14. What is the regular class strength? What is the boy-girl ratio in the school?
There are 30-40 children per class. The boy-girl ratio is about 50:50 except for one class that has a lot more girls.
15. Do the children seem to enjoy coming to school? (Site visit volunteers observation)
The children were very enthusiastic and happy to be at school.
16. What activities do the children do after school hours? The students below 5th standard do not stay at the hostel, so they go home after school. The students that stay at the hostel have the following schedule:4-5:30pm – games & sports6-8pm – study time8-9pm – dinner9pm onwards – senior kids study and sleep; other kids sleep
17. What is the main motivation for the students to attend school?
The students really enjoy school and playing with their friends at school.
18. What is the drop-out rate among students? Why do they leave the school? (If high, what is the organization doing regarding this?)
98% of the students graduate 10th standard. Those that do not are usually girls that are married off. The organization does its best to prevent this from occurring.
19. What do the children feel about the school? Do they feel happy to come to school every day? (Question posed to the children to gauge their replies)
The children are very happy to come to school.
PART C: Details about the project and its staff
(Information to be gathered from students and staff)
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
1. How far is the project site from the main town/village? How do the children commute? (foot, bus, etc.)
The younger children (below 5th standard) live close enough to walk to school every day. There is transportation available if necessary. The children in 5th Standard and above stay in the dorms.
2. Are the children charged fees for attending school? (Either school or bus, etc.)
No fees
3. What infrastructure and facilities are available at the project site you visited? (eg. Furniture, buildings, toilets, library, sports, hostels, mid-day meals etc)
Furniture, buildings, toilets, library, outdoor sports, gym, garden, hostels, meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), classrooms, kitchen, food storage room
4. Is the building permanent or temporary construction? Is it owned or rented? What is its physical condition? How are they being maintained at the condition?
The building is a permanent construction. It is owned by Child Aid Foundation. It is in good physical condition. It is maintained by the ayyas and the dormitories and gardens are maintained by the students.
5. How big are the classrooms? How many children per room? How many classes (1st to 3rd etc) per room?
The classrooms are large enough to comfortably seat 30-40 students. There are 30-40 students per room and one class per room.
6. What is the medium of instruction? Is this the student’s mother tongue?
The medium of instruction is Telugu. This is the students’ mother tongue.
7. What is the mode of teaching in the school? (Check the appropriate choices)
Formal (State Board, Central Board etc) upto 10 grade (LKG, 5th etc)
8. What are the daily school hours?
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
The daily school hours are 9am to 4pm.
9. How many staff or volunteers are involved in the project? (Full-time/Part-time/Volunteers) What are their roles? Give breakdown by roll (eg. 2 full-time teachers, 1 full-time volunteer teacher, 1 cook, 1 administrator, etc.)
There are 2 cooks for the hostel, 2 cooks for the school, 2 school ayyas, 1 hostel ayya, and 13 teachers.
10. Where do they live, and how much they travel to work here?
The teachers live in the area. They don’t have to travel that much to work here.
11. How much is the staff paid? Are they happy with their salaries?
4 of the teachers receive government salaries. They are paid 30-40k Rs per month. The other teachers are paid lower salaries (Rs 2500-9000 per month).
12. How often do the main founders/organizers/volunteers visit the center? Do they do only administrative duties or spend time at the grassroots as well?
The founder, Dr. Goswami, is always at the school and is very involved.
13. What does the organization say about education of the child after they leave its school?
98% of the children graduate from 10th standard. Most of these children go on to college. Those that don’t do as well in their studies go to vocational training.
14. Were you able to look at actual work of the students? Homework/classwork/tests, etc? Comment.
I was not able to look at the actual work of the students but I saw what they were learning in class. It seemed appropriate for the class.
PART D: Financial resources of the organization(Feedback from the person conducting the site visit)
1. What are the different sources of funding for this project? (different agencies/Govt)
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
Asha for Education
TANA (Telugu Association of North America)
Give India
Apex Foundation
Local donors
Government funding
2. What is the annual budget?
N/A (awaiting this year’s budget)
3. Are detailed records of past funding and spending available? If possible, please request a copy (of annual financial statements, for example).
Yes
4. What is the largest portion of their expenses (salaries/infrastructure/etc.)?
The largest portion of their expenses is salaries.
5. Do the expenses in the proposal reflect the quality/quantity of material found at the site? (ex. Do the students have uniforms if they have been itemized? Do they have the number of computers they claim to have? Does the food seem nutritious? Are there enough books? etc.)
Yes, the expenses match the quality and quantity of the materials found at the site.
PART E: CommentsPlease use this portion of the document to attach pictures and make additional comments. Remember, we need you to be our eyes and ears on the ground. Please assess the situation carefully. If it seems weird, do let us know. Some examples of red flags- The school claims to be providing students with uniforms and school has been in session for 6 months, but the uniforms look brand new, The school claims high test results for the children, but when you talk to them they are unable to answer basic questions, etc. If
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
you sense something is wrong or the project partner is being less than honest with us, do let us know.
(Feel free to attach documents if necessary)
Visiting Child Aid Foundation was a life-changing experience, and Dr. Goswami’s story is an inspiration. I was thrilled to see how enthusiastic the students seemed. I was also happy to hear about the effectiveness of this school. 98% of the students graduate and many of these students go on to University. One of the former students is currently in Japan pursuing her PhD. Another former student is now in the United States pursuing his Masters in Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University. These are only a couple examples of the success stories that have come from CAF. Overall, this is clearly a successful project, and I hope that CAF continues to grow and improve the lives of children in the area.
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
Mural
A Dormitory Room
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
Morning Assembly
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
Me with one of the classes
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
Garden (maintained by the students)
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
10th Grade Lesson
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
1st Grade Class
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
Daily Meals Menu
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
Workout Room
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Asha for EducationStanford University Chapter
PO Box 19449Stanford, CA 94309-9449
Workout Room Equipment & Inspiration
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