Our Community Work

Nirvana Trust

Nirvana Trust, apart from looking after Nirvana School, does a lot of other work in the local community such as helping orphanages, running eye clinics, cow feeding and distributing food and clothing, especially during times of dire need such as after the Tsunami that hit the area in December 2004.

Supporting orphanages

We regularly donate school supplies and other necessities like towels and shoes to a boys’ and a girls’ orphanage in the Pondicherry area. Some of the children have a single parent while others have no parents or have been abandoned. Some are Tsunami orphans.

Supporting a senior’s home

We donate food like sweets, samosas and other items like sarees, towels and other basic supplies to a senior’s home in Pondicherry.

Eye clinics

We occasionally hold eye clinics for the local residents, where we give free eye tests, distribute free glasses and teach proper eye care. We also fund and organize eye operations such as cataract removal which is a common disease in India.

Medical check-ups

We arrange regular medical check-ups and immunization clinics for all the Nirvana children.

Food and clothing distribution

Food and clothing and other necessities are distributed in the local community when necessary, especially during emergency situations such as floods or fire or other natural disasters like the Tsunami.

Tsunami relief

When the Tsunami hit Asia in December 2004, the area around Nirvana school and Pondicherry was badly hit. There were around 300 deaths in the surrounding coastal region and the local fishing community was prohibited from fishing for three months.

Fortunately, Nirvana school was saved from being washed away thanks to a sea wall built just six months prior to the Tsunami. The wall bore the brunt of the Tsunami’s force and protected the school buildings which are only 40 metres away from the Indian Ocean.

Damage was caused in the surrounding area, mainly in a village named Kovalam, near Chennai, about 70 miles from Nirvana School. Another village about 10 miles along the seashore from Nirvana school was badly hit as well and has become to be known as Tsunami village.

After the Tsuanmi, Nirvana Trust donated food such as rice and potatoes and some clothing which was sent from the UK. They also donated household items such as sleeping mats and Nirvana School was used for a few days to accommodate villagers who didn’t have homes.

Nirvana Trust also visited schools close to the seashore in three other villages and donated school supplies to them. One school lost their desks and benches so the trust donated 24 of each.

Community Education Centre

The Nirvana Group of Education runs a Community Education Centre a few streets away from the school. The centre runs after-school classes for kids as well as adult education classes for the local residents – all at minimal fees. We recently started advertising the centre on TV to attract more local residents. The education centre offer a variety of services to students.

Tuition classes

After-school tuition classes are taught daily in all major subjects for Nirvana kids and for children from other schools in the area. The classes are taught by four teachers from the school.

Type-writing

Some students come to learn typing on the typewriter first to familiarise themselves with using a typewriter before moving onto a computer keyboard.

English

Basic English conversation and grammar are taught to nearby children as well as to adults to help them get work in small organisations.

Computer classes

We offer various levels for adults and children:

DCA = Basic diploma course
DTP = Desktop Publisher
Tally = Accounting software
Hardware course

Handicrafts

This course teaches women to create handicrafts such as pen-stands, wall hangings and paper bags which they can sell locally.

Sewing classes

An outside teacher, employed by the school, comes in to teach a one-year sewing course to the local women. For the first six months, students learn basic sewing, followed by sewing dresses and full outfits. The tailor makes all the Nirvana school uniforms and employs the sewing students to create them. At the end of the course, each student is given a sewing machine.