Dalit Freedom Network Canada

MDB Good Shepherd School is located in Bihar, the poorest state in India. In this area, Dalits live in a low, poverty-stricken condition. Most adults in the Dalit community are uneducated and unemployed. For many years, it seemed there would be no alternative for their children, as there was no good school in the area that would permit Dalit students to enroll. In 2004, however, Dalit Freedom Network began a Good Shepherd School in this community, specifically to educate Dalit children. The school now has 457 students and an excellent reputation.

Members of the community view the school as site of development for their society and community. They see how much their children are learning, both about academics and life. They also see how the teachers love their children and treat them with equality and dignity. As a result, the school’s reputation has grown. However, as the school has achieved capacity in its current 12 classrooms, the building now requires additional classrooms. These classrooms will allow for more students, but also for a lab and offices. 

The new classrooms will allow the school to have a greater impact on the community, as they provide freedom through education to an increasing number of Dalit children. MDB needs a total of 8 new classrooms. At $20,000 per classroom, this represents a total of $160,000 needed for this project. Please consider contributing today.

The construction of the KTB Good Shepherd School has been completed and the students are ready to be moved in from the rented facility they have temporarily been using. This is a very exciting time for the teachers and students. There are 150 students in total that will be moving to the new building. With a school like KTB being planted in the middle of poor and low-caste communities, we are able to reach those who are in greatest need for quality education. The locals are mainly farmers and make their livelihood from the agriculture. The new building brings confidence to the parents of the students and gives them hope in their children’s future.

Construction of 5 new classrooms has recently begun at NDG school. These new classrooms will be able to accomodate more students from the community.

Freedom is truly coming to the NDG area - one child at a time.

Please see below for a couple photos of the construction.

Workers begin laying the foundation for 1 of NDG's 5 new classrooms.

Classroom walls are going up!

We are thrilled to announce that KTB school construction is complete! Please check out the photos of the beautiful new building by clicking on "Images" in the "Media" section to the right of this post.

Congratulations to the staff and students!

Shorabh was a kindergarten student at a Good Shepherd School in northwest India. He was studying well and attending school regularly, but his father thought he had made a mistake in enrolling Shorabh and pulled him out. It wasn't long after Shorabh left school that his father realized that his son had great handwriting and spoke very well. The father finally came back to the school and expressed that he had made a mistake by withdrawing Shorabh. He shared that he now recognized how the school had played a significant role in developing his son's character. Shorabh is now back at school and is excelling at his studies. His father is trhilled to see his son learning.

As parents like Shorabh's father share how the school has impacted their children, many more families seek admission. While this is very exciting, it is only possible to admit new students when the school has sufficient classroom space. By giving to the Classroom Construction Project, you help make the dream of education a reality for children like Shorabh. 

T village, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, is home to many tribal families. The people of this tribe were previously nomadic, but a few years ago they were asked to settle permanently. With this request came the promise of land, fields, and guaranteed employment. Stripped of their traditional livelihood, these families took on the grueling physical task of manually deepening a dam. The labourers earn less than $2 each day. However, despite the loss of culture, the perpetual poverty, and the unfamiliar surroundings, the tribal people have hope: a Good Shepherd School operates in the adjacent village. Now sedentary, parents are able to send their sons and daughters to receive a high-quality education, thereby ensuring that their children’s futures hold more than labour work. For this village, the school is a symbol of hope and freedom for the next generation.

A new school in North East India will soon begin construction thanks to generous and caring Canadian friends. A community comprised largely of tribal people and Dalits, the situation is desperate. The only nearby hospital is an insurmountable distance away, and with no primary healthcare centre available villagers are dying from sickness and hunger. Many people eat only a single meal a day, which lacks nutritional value. The unthinkable poverty in this area sometimes forces parents to sell their children in order to afford food, clothing, or shelter. The local schools are of poor quality and discriminate against Dalits.

The community has demonstrated enthusiastic support for the school, with parents thrilled at the prospect of their children receiving quality education. They understand that education is their only hope of freeing their children from the cycle of hard labour and poverty in which they have been trapped for generations.

At the end of 2009 DFN Canada completed fundraising for KTB school in northern India. Now the construction process has begun and the students and teachers are eagerly awaiting the day when they can move from their current rented space into a brand new building! After purchasing and clearing land and drilling a well, construction of a school building can commence. We look forward to KTB’s completion!

A new Good Shepherd School has begun in the state of West Bengal, adjacent to the border of Bangladesh. This school will reach children in sixteen villages. Village parents are excited that their children will have the opportunity to receive a high quality English education and be liberated from the bondage of the caste system. The school is currently meeting in a rented building while land is secured and construction planned. DFN Canada is committed to funding this new school by the end of this year. Please consider giving towards this project – every gift goes towards changing the future of the next generation of Dalits!

This month, in lieu of writing a Project update we are inviting you to share your thoughts, opinions, and stories. We are asking you to write a comment on this page telling us and other readers why you support this particular project. What is it about school construction that interests you? What made you decide to get involved?

The staff of DFN Canada truly believes that you are as much a part of what is happening in India as we are. We are very thankful to have you as part of the team.

Let us know why this cause caught your attention!

A short video about how our schools bring hope to communities. 

Thank you to all of you who have made our existing schools possible and to those of you fundraising for more schools to transform more communities.

Together we will see Dalit freedom. 

KKL school in the very South of India has a beautiful two-storey building, complete with a computer lab, a library, and a science lab. They have large, colourful classrooms for each class, from kindergarten to grade 7. That being said, there is always a need for more construction. The academic year ended in April with 499 students; that number will increase when the next school term begins in June. As the school continues to grow, adding a new grade each year, they continually need new classrooms. Please consider giving to the school building construction fund – both to help us reach our goal of building three new schools this year, as well as to continue providing for growing schools. 

After two years of meeting in an inadequate, stifling rented building, the THM school is now complete. Students will be beginning their next academic year there in June. Currently the students sit on the floor in poorly lit classrooms and have no place to play at lunch. The newly finished building has desks for the older students and round tables for the kindergarteners, many large windows to let in light and fresh air, and a huge schoolyard for the children to expend their energy at break time. The students and staff alike are thrilled to be moving and are eagerly awaiting June to begin studying in their lovely, comparatively luxurious, bright pink school. 

On January 27, 2010, NDG’s students moved into their newly completed building. Their previous, rented building, located in the same village, was small, dark, and congested. What’s more, the mud ceiling was continually crumbling and falling on students and supplies, aggravating many dust allergies. The new building boasts bright and spacious classrooms, as well as acres of land for the children to run, skip, and play at break- and lunchtime. The staff are thrilled with the new facilities and the manager is already dreaming of how he will enhance the campus. From here, the school will only continue to grow. 

Construction of NGP school in Maharashtra is well underway. The construction, which was funded by DFN Canada and many generous supporters, began in August 2009. The school manager anticipates the building process will be completed in time for the next academic year. Most recently, the concrete slab for the roof was poured on February 1. The building will boast seven rooms, which include one office, one nurse’s room, and five classrooms, as well as staff and student bathrooms. The students and their teachers are eager to move in! 

 When DFN identifies a community in need of a school, one of the first steps is to begin holding classes in a rented building. When the school gets established, with a few grades and teachers and some level of community support, as well as the necessary funding, construction of a proper school building can commence. Many managers, particularly at HRD school, have articulated the importance of having a building. This manager expressed that the presence of a building authenticates the school in the eyes of many villagers; when they see solid classrooms, parents may be more inclined to send their children for education. As well, having the proper facilities enables teachers to do more, allows children to release their energy in the schoolyard, and permits the school to run large-scale community programs for major holidays. Many schools are still awaiting funding to begin construction, but DFN Canada is committed to supporting at least three more schools in 2010.

124 excited students are watching their new school be constructed. They are currently meeting in a rented facility.

Due to a lack of rain, the crops in this area have dried up and farmers are looking to the India Government to help them manage this economic crisis.

Story from this school:
One of the Kindergarten students comes from a single parent home. The mother rolls cigarettes for a living, but this income is not sufficient to meet her daily needs. The mother is delighted that her daughter has been given the opportunity to attend this new school.

New photos of the school beginning construction with the funds that have already been received. It's very exciting!