I. General Overview

Consequent to the devastating earthquake on the 26^th of January, 2001, Veerayatan entered Kachchh, the remote region on the Northwestern border of the state of Gujarat. The earthquake resulted in a death toll of over 20,000 people and injuries affecting over 166,000.  Many children were orphaned or were left with only one parent.  In addition, 650,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, as well as countless numbers of businesses.  For many, traditional means of livelihood were lost. 

Veerayatan was among the first service organizations present to provide necessary relief and to help begin the process of redevelopment.  In the first few weeks following the earthquake, Veerayatan helped to distribute relief materials to 12,326 families.

As a result of the earthquake, UNICEF reported that 1500 schools in area had been completely or partially destroyed.  In the ensuing chaos, children were literally roaming the streets.  Concerned with the subsequent problems of poverty and homelessness, as well as the possible emotional trauma resulting from intermittent schooling or complete abandonment of education, Veerayatan began a series of welfare and education programs to care for affected children, women and adults.

Veerayatan’s initial help took the form of six stopgap schools throughout Bhuj, established in February, 2001.  These were temporary schools, where classes were taught in tents.  More than 150 teachers were recruited and employed locally, and children were provided with midday refreshments, study materials and transportation.  In addition to these primary standard classes for children, vocational training courses were also taught for adolescents and adults.  In all, more than 6000 students benefited from these attempts in the months following the earthquake.

These efforts proved to be enormously successful, so much so that on April 9, 2001, the New York Times—America’s leading newspaper—published an article describing Veerayatan as “the biggest, most honest and best organized private effort to provide stopgap schools for children in the state…of earthquake-torn Gujarat.”

Veerayatan went on to establish primary schools and vocational training centers throughout all of Kachchh.  Veerayatan now has a fully operational semi-permanent center in Bhuj, and is building permanent educational and vocational centers in Jakhania and Rudrani.  Veerayatan has also established nineteen vocational training centers throughout Kachchh.  Additionally, Veerayatan is in the initial stages of planning for mobile educational units (to service rural areas), English training centers, and computer training centers throughout the entire Kachchh region. 

Veerayatan’s ultimate goal is to standardize a modern and top rate educational system throughout Kachchh, so that students, regardless of caste, religion, and socio-economic status, can reap the limitless benefits of a first-class education.

II. Bhuj Campus

Veerayatan’s stop-gap schools were soon replaced by a semi-permanent infrastructure set up at Sharad Baug in Bhuj.  Inaugurated in June 2001, this campus—named Veerayatan Vidyapeeth—has become the nucleus for all of Veerayatan's activities in Kachchh at present.  Though Veerayatan began by providing primary education and vocational training for the earthquake victims and has now expanded its project with the ultimate goal of revamping the quality of the educational system of Kachchh. 

Veerayatan’s Bhuj campus hosts a primary school, a residential dormitory called Gyan Sankul and a number of vocational training courses.  Additionally, to serve children in highly impoverished areas and working children (child laborers), Veerayatan has set up two specially-designed educational programs called K.I.D.S. and Shrutam.  Through both the primary school and the educational programs, the Bhuj campus educates approximately 1000 students every year.

A. Veerayatan Vidyapeeth Primary School

Established to replace the six temporary stopgap schools, Veerayatan Vidyapeeth’s primary school has grown considerably, and now has approximately 750 permanent students in its standards one through eight.  Teachers for the school are thoroughly interviewed and screened so as to provide the highest quality education to students.  Transportation to students is provided, free of charge, with four full-size buses, which have been donated to Veerayatan.  School uniforms and supplies are also provided free of charge, along with a healthy breakfast every morning. 

Veerayatan Vidyapeeth is a government-registered school that fulfills all academic requirements and prepares students for all examinations.  

B. Gyan Sankul- Residential Dormitory

Though there was much physical damage caused by the earthquake, the calamity also sadly tore apart families and social networks.  Many children became orphans, or lost one parent during the tragedy.  Veerayatan desired to find a way whereby these children could also continue their education and rebuild their lives.

Thus, for those children who are parentless or are in a particularly difficult financial situation, Veerayatan opened the Gyansankul, or student hostel.  The hostel is now home to more than 100 children, 100% of whom attend the campus primary school and/or vocational training school.  By providing a sanctuary for children, Veerayatan has helped to alleviate some of the long-term social problems that may have resulted had the children remained in an unstable home environment. 

In addition, the cultural and educational activities conducted through Veerayatan Vidyapeeth’s school have provided occasion for celebration in a very difficult time for the people of Kachchh and also constitute an integral part of the rehabilitation process and the return to normal life in the wake of the tragedy.

Veerayatan's efforts have therefore been very welcomed in this area. As this project has proved to be vital for the community, families are requesting that Veerayatan continue these activities on a permanent basis for the children. Therefore, Veerayatan has begun construction of a permanent hostel on its Jakhania campus for the lodging and boarding of such underprivileged students.

i. Project Components

1. Dormitory Student Details

Approximately 100 children, who were orphaned or live with a single parent due to the earthquake, now reside in hostels at the Veerayatan Bhuj campus.  These children come from all over the Kachchh region.  There are approximately 20 girls and 80 boys age five to eighteen.  The children are governed by four residential attendants, who attempt to fill the role of a loving, nurturing guardian.  A doctor is present every morning to provide general check-ups.  The children attend Veerayatan Vidyapeeth’s school regularly, from 7:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.  

2. Personal Development

In addition to formal education and training, Veerayatan has made every effort to ensure the overall development and mental well-being of the children, and to create a familial atmosphere on the campus.  The daily routine of the children is carefully planned and all children, regardless of caste or religion, eat, sleep and live together.  Relatives of the children are free to visit them on specified days.  Special psychiatric treatment has also been conducted and special counseling is available.  In addition, Veerayatan hosts sessions every evening with inspirational talks, speech competitions among children, plays and dances.

3. Tutoring

For hostel students, supplementary tutoring in English, Math, Science and History is conducted daily in order to strengthen their academic learning as well as to fill gaps due to school closures during the post-earthquake period.

4. Extracurricular Development

In order to ensure the development of well-rounded students, Veerayatan has begun classes in music, painting, and sports.  These classes also conduct festivals, programs and events and teach students about other cultures.

5. Vocational Training for Kids

For certain teenage residents of the hostel who were unable to read and write and for various reasons were unable to attend school, Veerayatan has started vocational training classes in subjects such as tailoring, screen printing, electrical wiring, motor winding and cooling system repair.  In addition to gaining practical skills, students also develop basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills to ensure their self-sufficiency and their eventual integration into society.  This program is expected to expand tremendously as there are many teens through Kachchh who are not able to well in the traditional primary academic setting.  Instead, by developing and enhancing their vocational skills, Veerayatan is confident that they will still be able to become self-sufficient, productive members of society.

Details about classes included in Veerayatan’s vocational training program are located in Section IV.

C. Project K.I.D.S.  (Knowledge for Illiterate and Disadvantaged Students)

With the help of volunteers from America, Veerayatan also started two projects targeted at residents of various colonies and slum areas in Bhuj, where standards of living are considerably low.  These are areas that the formal education system has overlooked. 

The first of these projects, K.I.D.S., provides education and basic literacy skills to the children of these colonies, the majority of which have never before been exposed to any formal educational system.  To date, more than 150 disadvantaged children from the surrounding slum areas have been enrolled and integrated successfully into the primary school. In fact many of these children have proven themselves to be the most talented of the students at the primary school and have been selected for the permanent school in Jakhania.

This is an ongoing project, and Veerayatan volunteers and staff are constantly visiting additional slum areas and colonies to inspire more students to attend primary school.

D. Shrutam 

The second of these projects, Shrutam, was originally designed for the adults and older children of surrounding slum areas and colonies.  Seeing as many of students work during the day, classes were held at night from 7 to 9 PM.  However, the project now caters mostly to child laborers who work during the day and attend Gujarati, basic calculation, fine arts and general knowledge classes during the evening.  This project has been enormously successful, with more than 200 students in attendance.

E. Vocational Training Courses

Along with primary education, Veerayatan Vidyapeeth in Bhuj also features an extensive vocational training program that offers many courses.  For more information, on Veerayatan’s vocational training courses, please consult Section III of this report.

III. Vocational Training

‘Because of Veerayatan’s work we have forgotten that there was an earthquake…
It doesn’t even seem like it happened here.’

- Kalpana Mehta, Sewing Instructor

For many people in Kachchh, the earthquake destroyed or radically altered their traditional means of livelihood and left them without a sustainable source of income.  Many families had lost the income generating members of their household; trades and businesses were disturbed or destroyed. 

In order to address this crisis, Veerayatan established vocational courses immediately following the disaster.  These courses were initially held in tents, and students varied from teens to college students; unemployed businessmen to widowed mothers.  The courses succeeded in attaining Veerayatan’s goal of empowering and restoring the self-confidence of the people of earthquake victims. 

Due to the positive response for these initial courses, Veerayatan has started 19 vocational sub centers in Kachchh, including a major site in the city of Bhuj, in order to help people develop the skills necessary to start a new career and generate income without delay.  Over the last year, Veerayatan trained over 5000 students in all of its various vocational courses.  This year, Veerayatan is planning to accommodate more than 8000 students—all throughout Kachchh.  At its main center in Bhuj, Veerayatan will train 2400 students; 5600 to 6000 students are expected to enroll in vocational courses offered by the 19 sub centers (please see table below).  All courses are available entirely free of charge.

There are a variety of courses offered that cater to the different needs, age groups and skills of the community members.  For example, focusing on the traditional needlework talents of the Kachchhi women, Veerayatan began two sewing workshops, one specializing in ladies’ clothing, and one in bags and purses, as well as an embroidery workshop that trains women in all garchora and jari (wire and bead) work. 

In addition, despite the enormous cost of hardware, computer courses are offered from 8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.  These courses are among the most popular offered by Veerayatan; they are providing necessary modern skills to thousands of students, many of whom had never before seen a computer.  Veerayatan also offers specific hands on training in mechanical skills such as motor winding, cooling systems repair and electrical fitting, which has never before been offered in Kachchh. 

As this project has proven to be vital for the community’s self-sufficiency, families are requesting that Veerayatan continue these activities on a permanent basis for the students. Therefore, Veerayatan plans to continue all Vocational Training programs and is seeking funding for the operating expenses of the present year.

A. Project Components- Bhuj Center

i. Vocational Training Course Background

In order to ensure that high school and college students, as well as working adults and housewives can attend, vocational training workshops are conducted Monday thru Saturday several times a day, according to demand and convenience, at the Veerayatan campus in the center of Bhuj.  Each training course is housed in a separate structure and is provided with all necessary equipment (sewing machines, computers, wiring, tools, beads etc.).  Courses are very systematically run; each student is provided an identity card, exams are given, and certificates awarded upon completion of the course.  Courses are run for a full four months.  There are currently 18 teachers employed at Veerayatan’s Vocational Training Center.

      ii. Vocational Training Courses

·   Computer Training

Veerayatan’s computer classes have thus far taught over thousands of students the basics of Microsoft Word, Windows and MS Dos, giving them the skills to be eligible for different careers.  One of the most popular training courses offered, there is consistently a waiting list of 200 students or more.  Classes of 40 students and 20 computers are run from morning to evening and everyday approximately 480 students are instructed.  All who have completed the 10^th standard are eligible to enter the course.  One of the class’s major accomplishments is the publication of two instruction manuals exclusively in Gujarati, by Veerayatan staff.  As the English proficiency of students in Kachchh lags behind the rest of Gujarat and computer manuals are largely published in English, this was a critical step towards exposing the Bhuj population to computers.

·   Sewing Workshop (I)

The sewing workshop operates two morning classes and two evening classes, each instructing approximately 40 students.  The ladies, many of whom have never seen a sewing machine before, are taught how to operate the machines and create all types of clothing items.  Already, over 2500 students have successfully completed the four-month program and many work from home in order to supplement their income.    

·   Sewing Workshop (11)

In a two-month apprenticeship, women are taught how to make bags, purses, computer monitor covers and many other household items that could be sold in markets in Bhuj, Ahmedabad and Bombay. This workshop’s particular focus is to train women and teens to become financially self-sufficient.  The women who have completed the program have received permanent work at home or in local stores.     

·   Tailoring Workshop

The Tailoring Workshop is a six month course that teaches students all of the critical, basic techniques of sewing and tailoring.  Students who prior to the earthquake had stopped going to school and for various reasons were unable to pursue an academic career now master the use of a sewing machine and learn to create different patterns. 

·   Spoken English

The Spoken English course operates five different classes a day, due to high demand.  Students of all ages, from adolescents to adults, and of all backgrounds, from housewives to professionals, come here to improve their command of the English language through speaking and writing.  The course functions according to a weekly topic, such as ‘Pollution’, which enables students to develop specialized vocabulary and related conversational skills. 

·   Electrical Fitting

In this course, students learn all aspects of electrical fitting and house wiring.  This 3-4 month course combines theory and practice, and students use their skills to help maintain the Veerayatan campus.  Thirty students have completed the program and many have been able to find well-paying jobs due to the current need for this type of work. 

·   Motor Winding

The Motor Winding course currently gives students a thorough knowledge of all standard motors.  Students learn to work with motors of different systems (water pumps, air conditioners) and different horse powers.  There is a great need for this type of ability in post-earthquake Bhuj and most students seek jobs after completing this four-month program.

·   Screen Printing

The Screen Printing course is a one-month long program that teaches students how to print and design letters, invitations, cards, posters and so on.

·   Cooling Systems

This course teaches students the functioning and maintenance of all types of cooling systems.  There are currently fifteen students who are taught through a combination of theory and hands on experience.  Veerayatan provides all types of cooling equipment to ensure students practical skills development.  Often, teachers will take their students to their homes or stores to try out their abilities.

·   Gharchora

In this course, students learn traditional jari (wire) and bead work to create mats, bags and household decorations. Several students have successfully completed the 4-6 month program; many continue to do this sort of work from the home in order to supplement their income.  Some sell their work to the Bhuj Handicrafts Office.

·   Embroidery Workshop

Students in the Embroidery Workshop learn all forms of traditional Kachchhi needlepoint work to create clothing, bags, and decorative arts. 

·   Drawing/Commercial Art

This training program teaches students all aspects of drawing and painting.  Students begin with pencil sketching and progress to the use of watercolor, poster color and oil paint.  They also learn the art of color combination.  One student recently received a post as an art teacher with a local school.   

·   Vocational Kids

Some of Veerayatan’s older students who had never before attended primary school have shown exceptional talents in vocational areas.  Thus, Veerayatan has supported and encouraged their vocational interests by offering them lessons in tailoring, screen printing and other such courses.  They additionally receive lessons in reading and basic arithmetic.  These vocational training courses for kids are proving so successful that Veerayatan plans to offer them more extensively for children who are not able to do well in traditional academic studies. 

 * These numbers indicate totals for one batch of courses taught in Bhuj; two, three or four batches are held every year, depending on the course.

Total Trainees Currently at Bhuj Site

(for the month of December 2002)

* Includes Motor Winding, A.C. Repair, Embroidery, Commercial Arts, Electrical Fitting and Tuition

* *These numbers indicate totals for one batch of courses taught in Bhuj; two, three or four batches are held every year, depending on the course.