Bobbili Gets Maintenance Funds from Houston!

AIM for Seva Student Home for Boys, Bobbili

Vizianagaram District, Andhra Pradesh

Donors:

Land – Mr. Narayanam Narasimha Murthy

Building - Mrs. Raghuthu Simhachalam, USA

Date inaugurated: 21^st June 2007

No. of students: 52

Villages covered: 44

Average Monthly Family Income: Rs.1000

School attended: Sri Saraswathi Sisu Mandir, Bobbili

Bobbili is a town close to Vizianagaram city in Andhra Pradesh. According to the 2001 census the population of Bobbili is 1,16,205 with an average literacy rate of 64%. There are 75 villages, most of which are tribal areas, which constitute the town of Bobbili. The population is economically poor mainly working as coolies and farmers.

This AIM for Seva ChAtrAlaya was constructed in 2006 with donations from the Raghuthu family of USA as Bobbili is their home town. AIM For Seva Houston donors provided for the maintenance of this ChAtrAlaya for the year 2008-09. The 52 boys in the student home are studying in classes 1 to 6. Apart from their academics, the children are encouraged to take part in various extra curricular activities and are also taught yoga, meditation and chapters from the Gita to ensure overall development. The students enthusiastically help maintain a kitchen garden in the premises which grows a variety of vegetables, making the student home self sufficient for its daily needs.

Recently, the Rotary Club (Mahila) of Bobbili donated trunkboxes for the children to store their belongings.

Mr. Narayanam Narasimha Murthy of NCS Sugars donated sports equipments for the children.

The warden Mr. Subba Rao takes a special interest in the progress of the children.

Achievements:

Two students from this student home stood first in their class in school in the last academic year. The students have also participated and won in various Gita chanting and poetry reciting competitions held at inter school levels.

The solemn function came to an end with the National Anthem.

Semmangudi ChAtrAlaya Inaugurated !

 

AIM for Seva Student Home for Girls, Semmangudi

Donors: Houston Indian Community, USA

Date inaugurated: 8^th August 2008

No. of students: 25

This ChAtrAlaya (student home) has been started in a heritage building which is over 120 years old. The building is a very good example of the traditional architecture of the Kaveri Delta region. The girls mainly belong to the tribal regions of the Anaikatti hills. They attend the Semmangudi Higher Secondary School managed by SDET (Swami Dayananda Educational Tust).

SEMMANGUDI CHATRALAYA INAUGURATION

This is a girls-only Chatralaya. On the 8^th August, girls from the Semmangudi School had assembled to receive Mr. Jayakumar Srinivasan, representative of the Houston Indian Community, Mr. Srinivasan, National coordinator – Projects, Tatvanishta Chaitanyaji, Project Coordinator- North Chennai, and Mr. Venkata Narayanan, Retd. IAS Officer, for the inauguration of the ChAtrAlaya.

Mr. Jayakumar was given the honor declaring open the ChAtrAlaya. The guests of honor were then taken on a tour round the ChAtrAlaya.

People from the nearby villages had gathered to greet the dignitaries. After the prayer, Mr. G. Ramachandran, Correspondent – SDET, spoke on the uphill tasks faced in the upcoming of the building at Semmangudi.

Br. Sinivasan, National coordinator of Projects, spoke next, on the concept of a ChAtrAlaya. He stressed that the student homes form a nucleus around which education, growth, learning and development happens meaningfully in the community. He thanked the Houston Indian Community in funding the running of this ChAtrAlaya.

Mr. Jayakumar stressed the importance the students should give to academics. He also expressed his deep sense of appreciation in the noble task carried out by AIM for Seva, in creating an opportunity to share with your larger family of Mankind.

Mr. Venkata Narayanan spoke about the importance of seva; students should not forget the seva enjoyed by them, but instead extend it to other fellow human beings in their life.

Br. Tatavanishta Chaitanya, spoke on the values of life, which the students have been taught in the ChAtrAlayas; this will carry them a long way in their life in bringing peace and prosperity forever.

A representative from the public expressed his gratitude to AIM for Seva for choosing to build a ChAtrAlaya at Semmangudi, enabling the under privileged children in and around Semmangudi to benefit by it.   A student representative went on to express the joy that the girls felt to be exposed to education within their reach.

The solemn function came to an end with the National Anthem.

 

Uchimedu Student Home Inaugurated

AIM for Seva Student Home for Boys, Uchimedu, Cuddalore

Donors: Houston Indian Community, USA

Date inaugurated: 9^th August 2008

No. of students: 15 (to be verified)

On the 9^th August, students from the ChAtrAlaya (student home) had assembled to receive Mr. Jayakumar Srinivasan, representative of the Houston Indian Community, Mr. Srinivasan, National coordinator – Projects, Tatvanishta Chaitanyaji , Project Coordinator- North Chennai, Mr. Arunachalam, a leading Lawyer of Cuddalore and community leader, and Mr.Subramanian, Head Master of the School attended by children.

Mr. Arunachalam, a leading Lawyer of Cuddalore, formally inaugurated the ChAtrAlaya, along with Mr. Jayakumar.

After the prayer, Br. Srinivasan, welcomed the gathering, and about the teething troubles faced in the upcoming of this ChAtrAlaya. He profusely thanked the Houston Indian Community for funding the ChAtrAlaya. He said that the ChAtrAlaya is a home filled with warmth and care set up by AIM for Seva to make education accessible to children in remote areas of India.

Mr. Arunachalam in his presidential address reinforced the importance of academics and also that the superior form of charity is VidyA dAnam – imparting education.

Mr. Jayakumar pointed out the facilities offered in the ChAtrAlayas must be put to the best use by children; trained and caring wardens fulfill the wards’ social, domestic, and emotional needs and the expectations children have of parents, fostering the growth and their development.

Mr. Subramanian, Head Master of the School where the students of the student home go, appreciated the noble work carried out by AIM for Seva in the running of the ChAtrAlayas and the dedication with which the children are taken care.