JG is soliciting funds to start a chalk making facility to provide employment to hearing impaired children who drop out after Class 10..
With Asha Seattle’s support, Mr. Devarajan, has started an ITI (Vocational Training Institute). The ITI imparts vocational / technical training to students (hearing impaired as well as hearing non-impaired). It is of tremendous significance to note that JG’s 2 hearing impaired children have fared better in the ITI exams that the other 2 students who do not have any kind of disability. However, this ITI is a viable option only for those children who are able to academically compete. There are children who may not be able to compete academically and who may drop out after the 10th. For these students, Mr. Devarajan plans to set up a chalk producing facility, for which funds are now being solicited. 4 hearing impaired persons would be employed at Rs.1500 / month at this facility.
Based on prior agreement with Asha Seattle, JG had aimed for achieving self-sufficiency for teacher’s salary within 1 year. In accordance with this, JG will not be requiring funding for teacher’s salary after 1 more year. In addition, the work of collecting a corpus fund is continuing vigorously ( they have collected Rs. 4 lakhs as of now, and expect to collect Rs. 7 lakhs and Rs. 12 lakhs by 2004 and 2005 respectively). Hence this proposal for capital funds should be seen as a one-time requirement based on new developments in Jeevan.
The following is a translation of the proposal (from Tamil) from JG:
Greetings from Jeevan Gnanodaya. With God’s grace and the support of friends from Asha, our school is running well. As a result of Asha’s support, the organization has achieved good progress and is now benefiting 120 hearing impaired children.
All the children in our school come from highly impoverished rural backgrounds. We provide education for these children from Class 1