Keotkhalisa

Unlike in Takasol, the building for the project in Keotkhalisa did not have to be constructed first. The Indian villagers provided the rooms that were necessary for the remedial teaching of their children and that of the Adivasi children in the community centre.

Why supporting lessons? You have to know a little bit about the Indian school system. It starts with the teachers' education which is mostly insufficient. In addition, the teachers are poorly paid so that they often take on a second job which means that regular school lessons suffer. Most Indian parents therefore do everything in their power to ensure that their children can attend remedial classes (tuition). For the children it is the only way to have a chance of attending a higher school later on. The parents themselves are often illiterate or have only a minimal education and therefore cannot support their children with their school work. All the more important is a supportive education which is usually not possible for the children from poor families because it is offered privately and subject to a fee.

School books are also very expensive in India which is why parents usually cannot afford them. ‘We care’ provided the books for the children free of charge.

As in Takasol, the children in Keotkhalisa were also taught in two daily shifts. They also received a small snack to motivate them to attend school but also to supplement their often inadequate, one-sided diet. They were also regularly examined by a pediatrician, vaccinated, and treated if necessary. ‘We care’ paid for the medication.

Unfortunately, ‘we care Switzerland’ had to stop the funding of this project as well (the reasons - PDF). The centre was closed at the end of 2019.