Presenting you an inspiring story from the heart of the Peenjamandhai Hills, where 20 remarkable children from a tribal community have achieved outstanding results in their 10th standard board exams.
Nestled in the scenic Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, these hills are home to 75 villages with a population of 25,000 in Peenjamandhai, Palambattu and Jarthankollai Panchayat hill zone. Despite the breath-taking natural sceneries surrounding them, the tribal communities here have clung tightly to their traditional cultures and rituals.
It is a place where road facilities remain underdeveloped, with only 12 active schools serving 75 villages. Amidst the lush green forests, a concerning trend emerges in a lack of belief and trust in educating their children. Education is considered impractical, especially when it comes to sending girls to school, in this tribal community’s way of life.
For decades, this mindset has resulted in children being denied access to education. Consequently, child labour, child marriage, malnutrition, child abandonment, and other societal constraints have constricted the healthy growth of children and development in this community.
Hand in Hand India has been at the forefront in transforming this scenario with our Child Labour Elimination Program (CLEP) in the Peenjamandhai Hills since 2007. Our mission is to create awareness and emphasize the importance of education. We have established three Residential Special Training Centre (RSTC) schools, providing opportunities for dropouts to continue their studies. Moreover, we arrange travel facilities and conduct regular awareness programs to uplift the community’s lifestyle through education.
With persistent commitment spanning nearly two decades, our efforts have borne fruit, earning us immense trust and respect from the people of the Peenjamandhai Hills. Through our dedicated efforts, we have empowered children to pursue their education, resulting in an astonishing achievement of 25 degree graduates from within the community. These exceptional individuals have established themselves in respectable professions, encouraging positive transformation in their tribal community.
With persistent commitment spanning nearly two decades, our efforts have borne fruit, earning us immense trust and respect from the people of the Peenjamandhai Hills. Through our dedicated efforts, we have empowered children to pursue their education, resulting in an astonishing achievement of 25 degree graduates from within the community. These exceptional individuals have established themselves in respectable professions, encouraging positive transformation in their tribal community.
A Mission that Started with a Vision
With strong alliances formed within the education department of this region, we have received remarkable support from officials and the education department. Mr. M.Gobi, the esteemed Headmaster of Peenjamandhai High School reached out to our team about the challenges of ensuring regular attendance among 10th standard students to pass the board exams and the need for additional subject teachers to cover the syllabus.
“Even in this current time, out of the total strength of 143 enrolled students, only 60% attend school on a daily basis," Mr. Gobi revealed, shedding light on the pressing issue."
Recognizing that irregular attendance and people’s lack of confidence in education in the locality would hinder their chances of excelling in the upcoming board exams, we realized the urgency and importance of our intervention. To handle this situation, our CLEP team embarked on a mission to track down students and engage with their families, encouraging them to prioritize daily school attendance.
With this in mind, Hand in Hand India formulated a strategic plan tailored to ensure students succeed in 2023 board exams. The prime objective was to support 20 children in excelling in their board exams and providing them with the necessary facilities. To initiate the process Hand In Hand made the decision to employ two teachers, Mr. Prakasham and Mr. Vijaykumar, for a duration of one year. Each person was carefully selected based on their expertise in specific subjects and had undergone comprehensive training in our CLC program.
Meanwhile, our passionate CLEP team in Peenjamandhai intensified their efforts, channelling focus towards tracking down 10th-grade students and their parents. Awareness sessions were conducted for each parent in school in making sure no stone was unturned in this mission.
3 Months to Success
As the board exam dates drew near, we encountered fresh challenges in ensuring the student’s daily attendance. Multiple factors such as limited transport facilities, lack of electricity, inadequate food provisions, and varying family economic circumstances contributed to these difficulties.
It was disheartening to witness some children having to walk 8 to 10 kilometres every day just to reach school, while others struggled due to the absence of electricity, hindering their preparation time.
Our zealous CLEP team and the school management united their efforts. Collaboratively, they devised a strategic plan to ensure that all twenty 10th grade students would be present in the school for focused board exam preparations.
The road to this Success was not that simple
The prevailing lack of trust in child education within the local community and practical obstacles posed significant challenges in persuading parents to allow their children to stay in school for three months.
Undeterred, our ardent CLEP team members undertook the arduous task of personally visiting each household, diligently enlightening parents about the profound importance of this mission. The process was particularly challenging when it came to convincing the parents of the six girl students, who had privacy concerns.
Assuring them of their children’s safety, privacy, sanitization, and provision of essential needs, our team persevered in building trust. Eventually, after extensive discussions, the parents graciously agreed.
With the board exam dates set from April 6th to April 20th, the students were provided accommodation from February 1st to April 20th, ensuring they had a conducive environment for focused preparation.
Activities supported by Hand In Hand India
•Proper sanitisation and toilet facilities were arranged in the school.
•Hand in Hand staff stayed in the school along with students
•Nutritious meals and timely snacks were arranged for the students.
•Ingredients for the meals were sourced from the foothills, overcoming challenging terrain and covering a distance of 40km.
•Awareness programs were conducted to alleviate exam fear and anxiety.
•Weekend fun activities were organized to keep the students motivated.
•Exam kits were provided to meet all their needs
For food ration, education materials, hostel facilities and teacher’s salary we spent around Rs. 1,25,000 in three months. With unwavering dedication, the students and teachers aligned themselves with our vision, displaying an unyielding determination for getting 100% passing results.
The impact of our awareness campaigns ignited a spark of motivation within the students. Their hard work and perseverance paid off when the board exam results were unveiled on May 19th, 2023. On that momentous day, the school was filled with anticipation as our team members and the families of the students gathered, brimming with hope and expectation.
To our immense delight, the results showcased a 100% pass ratio, with many students achieving remarkable scores above 80%. The atmosphere was infused with jubilation and joy, as the shining faces of the students rayed hope for a brighter future.
It was a historic milestone for Peenjamandhai village, marking the very first time a school achieved a 100% pass rate. The families of the students were overjoyed and expressed heartfelt gratitude to the entire Hand In Hand team. Now, with no restrictions, parents wholeheartedly encourage their children to pursue higher education.
Our team continues to maintain close contact with the student’s families, extending our support in their pursuit of education through residential schools.
This success story inspires, even more, to work even more to uplift tribal community people in areas like Peenjamandhai. We have just planted seeds in this community with this 20 children journey and we expect them to grow as a tree to inspire more people like them in their community.
Hand in Hand India works across India in the area of Child Labour Elimination. In addition to our residential special training centres for child and bonded labourers in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, we run 2 schools for first-generation learners in Kanchipuram. Through our initiatives, more than 3 lakh children have been mainstreamed into formal Government schools and have converted more than 1000 panchayats (groups of villages) into child-friendly ones. Read more about our work here.
