Educating poor rural children in Goa

Thank you for supporting this project. The project has now come to the end of its funding cycle so this will be the last report that we send to you.

I am pleased to report that project has been able to deliver key successes in the following areas:

• School drop out for under 10s (5th standard) was 20% at the start of the village study classes and 36% for those aged 13-16 years old (8th to 10th standard). There is now no children dropping out of school in the 10 villages we have worked, and the children and their parents have changed their attitude towards education
• 60 students have graduated from the girls and boys hostels with their School Completion Certificate and are continuing into further and higher education
• More students are choosing to continue their further education in the science stream, which is less common for children from marginalised communities due to fears around costs and its difficulty
• 5 students who had failed at 9th standard were supported to continue with their education and passed their SCC
• Two ex- students have been elected at Panchayat level (village council) in their respective ward.

To achieve this goal, we have run different activities through our two residential hostels and village primary study classes. Our goal was not only to complete or reach the outcome but that the impact of our work should be sustainable. Activities like career guidance,visits from role models, parents meeting, village visits and technical training have helped parents and their children change their mentality around education.

The next phase of the project is to upgrade the building facilities for the boys and girls hostel. We are delighted that our local partner has been able to raise this money locally from individuals and companies in Goa, strengthening the long term sustainability of the project.

We would like to thank you once again for your generous support of this project.