One of our key goals is to support the delivery of education and training to disadvantage young people in India, and in doing so relive distress that can arise when limited education excludes people from fully engaging with the world around them. One quarter of India’s population (approximately 350 million people) is aged between 0-14 years. Still, almost 20% of students in India drop out of school at high school, due to domestic or work needs, and more than 75 % of girls are not enrolled in high school. State schools in India are chronically under-resourced and over-stretched for reasons including long-term funding deficits. There are many barriers to school-aged children staying in school: economic and domestic pressure, poor sanitation, poor prospects for further study and lack of vocational pathways. These challenges are more pronounced in low-income families and communities, and in regional areas, where attracting and retaining teachers is difficult.
Currently, one of our largest projects centres around Wonderkids’ English Medium School in Khajuraho, central India. The school was established in 2005 and currently offers free education to almost 200 socio-economically disadvantaged children from the town and nearby farming and village areas. Our support provided a lifeline to the school which was at risk of permanent closure during the COVID 19 pandemic. We have helped it grow and thrive through efforts such as a daily meal program, providing additional learning opportunities such as computer education, expanding to a larger more suitable school campus and activities and events that focus on sports and wellness. The school has 12 teaching staff, a dedicated computer teacher, an onsite cook and kitchen helper and a principal and is currently seeking to expand through to Year 12. Through TDP’s support of and involvement with Wonderkids’, our understanding of education in India has grown immensely, leading to improved knowledge of how to effectively operate and impact in this sphere.