Orissa cyclone relief effort - Ichhapur Integral School

RELIEF EFFORTS: In December of 1999 an initial visit was made to stricken villages in one of the hardest hit areas of Orissa to distribute food, clothing, blankets, etc. and to determine the extent of damages and make a plan for rebuilding. Faced with the overwhelming scale of devastation and the limited resources of the donations coming in at the time, it was decided to focus first on one small school in the badly affected village of Icchapur, which is about 8 kilometers from Rayerpur village (where there is a Sri Aurobindo Relics Center).

REBUILDING: In January 2000, a team went from Pondicherry to Icchapur for 3 weeks to organize the rebuilding work. At first there was a huge amount of clean-up work, especially to clear away fallen trees. It was determined that, of the two school buildings,the main one would need to be completely rebuilt and the other could be repaired. As the work began, villagers and the school children themselves spontaneously gathered to help, full of energetic gratitude that their school was going to be rebuilt.

The government installed a new hand water pump for the village after a diarrhea epidemic swept through the area in the wake of the storm.

The remains of the old building were demolished and the land was cleared and levelled for foundation work on the new building. In an auspicious pooja ceremony, the cornerstone was laid with blessing packets and flowers from the relics center were installed in the foundation.

Item	Amount Rs.	Amount $
Immediate Relief Measures in Dec 1999	7500	187.50
Sarees and Lungis (basic clothing) for storm affected persons	4450	111.25
Given to teachers of the school	2700	67.50
Given directly to 12 families for the purchase of basic food stuff	1400	35.00
Video recorder rental to document on film the damage in the stricken area	400	10.00
Total (spent in Dec/99)	Rs. 16450	$411.25

Money Spent in Reconstruction Work (During 3 week stay of the organizing team in Jan 2000)

Total Expenditure (as of Feb 1st, 2000)

Month	Amount Rs.	Amount $
Dec 1999	16450	411.25
Jan 2000	22468	561.70
Total	Rs. 38918	$972.95

Donation Money remaining for the next phase of the work (as of Feb 1st , 2000)

Item	Amount Rs.	Amount $
Total Donation Received	293630	7340.75
Total expenditure	(38918)	(972.95)
Remaining funds	Rs. 254712	$6367.80

See our school building plan (to the right). The ground floor includes a small guest room for anyone who would like to come and visit the school and see or participate in the work which is going on.

Funds are still needed to finish the ground floor which will provide space for classes to resume in full up to 7th standard (7th grade). Further plans include a building for proper toilets and a first floor to accomodate higher grade levels.

Item	Amount Rs.	Amount $
Estimate for the ground floor completion	450000	11,250.00
Donation received so far	(293630)	(7340.75)
Money still needed	Rs. 156370	$3909.25

In Orissa, a limited number of teachers is employed by the government. They earn what are considered good salaries in the range of Rs. 4,000 - 5,000 (about $100) a month. However, the number of educated teachers far outweighs the number of available public (government paid) teaching posts. These surplus teachers are turning towards private schools for work.

Since so far the Integral School at Ichhapur has had hardly any incoming funding, the teachers there were paid only Rs.150 (about $3.75) per month--practically not paid at all. At the moment there are 4 female and 2 male teachers working at the school. Another teacher has to be hired if we introduce one 8^th grade class, as planned. We have visited each teacher at her or his home to get a picture of their difficulties.

Of the 6 teachers, 3 live in great poverty, while the other 3 and their spouses and children are somehow carried along by members of their extended families. Kindly refer to the comments attached to the teacher’s photos.

Persons who are able to take on a partnership for one teacher and contribute towards her or his salary on a regular basis a monthly sum of $25. In this way two regular donors would be able to provide one teacher with a monthly salary of about Rs.2000. (the projected sum, which we hope to be able to pay them gradually).

We believe that however beautiful and sturdy the new building may be, no truly positive and inspiring development in the Ichhapur school is possible if the teaching personnel have to daily fear for their own survival.