ANAND VIDAYA PETH SCHOOL is a non-profit school located in the Bodhgaya area of India. It was founded by Venerable Ruxin, and she served as the principal. Before we visited India this time, I learned that Venerable Ruxin had a difficult time setting up the school, and hence we prepared some stationeries and toys for the children.
The first impression of this school that came to mind was the tidiness of school building paved with tiles and even little green embellishment. A dozen students wore clean uniform and stood in two rows. You could hear their enthusiasm as they loudly “welcome” us. Such a simple scene had an unspeakable bitterness and emotion at the time.
Because where the school was located was in an area where the lowest-level of Indian society lived. The lives of the locals were extremely difficult. The situation in this place were best described in some films portraying the slums of India, yet the reality was more vivid than in the movies. Messy streets, dilapidated houses, shady alleys, and begging children all wanted to get some help to survive.
The school was located in a place like this. The campus currently has two hundred sixty students, they were nearby residents. Five of them were orphans and lived in the school all year round. Principal Ruxin told us that it was not easy to gather these children in the beginning. Given the circumstances, these children were never properly educated. When they first came to school, they often sneaked out. Many times, they would rather return to the street just to make money for a full meal. And sometimes their parents don’t want their children to come to school because they want them to help out at home or let them go to the streets for a living.
The school was very diligent. The children taught here all have uniforms. The purpose of this is to make these children feel equal and no longer feel discriminated and distant. Here, every child was the same, with the same opportunities and potential. Principal Ruxin also expects more children to come here to study and change their lives for better.
We went into a classroom one by one, trying to get to know about the children’s learning situation. We then start to distribute DENER’s pencil case. Each student who received the pencil case said Thank you. Children smiled speechlessly as they saw the mechanical pencil, pack of pencil lead, ballpoint pen and the eraser inside. We also invite local teachers to explain how to use them. The volunteers then also encouraged children to study hard and wished their dreams come true.
There were countless schools like ANAND VIDAYA PETH. Looking at these areas with need of assistance, we often feel a sense of inability. We felt that there were many things we could do, yet resources are very limited and many times we must choose. Fortunately, over the years, people who shared our same beliefs that education can fundamentally change children’s lives have come forward with us. This has been the love force that supported us along the way and made us more courageous to go on.
