One Hundred Schools

Ghost & Wonder

Transcript

Amar Dhull (00:36):

Every child should be entitled to have the very basic facilities or infrastructure in a school. Good teachers, good building, good playing area and for them to learn new skills as well. But all the things that I'm saying, which we take it for granted and we do it for our own children. My name is Amar Dhull, I'm the founder of Charity World. I was born in a village called Ajaib in Haryana in India. My primary education was in a village school. I was very active in sports from very early age that allowed me to actually travel more of India. And I visited various schools when we were playing sports. And I was quite amazed to see most of the schools are lacking very, very basic amenities. From that very school age, I become aware about the different level of infrastructure that existed in India. So I was lucky enough that I got that exposure, but all my friends that I had in the village, they were still within the farming, very little education and their life hardly changed.

Jindra Devi (01:51):

The parents of the children are illiterate. They do not pay much attention to education. They keep their children at home to undertake household chores. They do not send them to school every day. With some parents, there are financial issues too. People are poor here.

Amar Dhull (01:59):

There was an opportunity that came up in the UK. I grabbed it. I started working as a project manager in social services department. I realized the infrastructure that existed in schools there. I decided that I got to go back to India and do something, whatever little money I have saved over the years I bought land here and I started the construction of the school. I had no experience in building a school. No idea about how the school is going to run because I couldn't afford an architect. So I designed the school myself.

We then recruited a team which was very, very exceptional.

Seema Seghal (03:16):

If the child is coming in nursery school, the parents, they are leaving their career- everything in a teacher's hand. It is the moral duty to make them good citizens. And really, we feel proud when they are successful in their life. Being principal I'm taking care of the office. Beside this, I'm a teacher also.

Through teaching only you can go to the heart of the children.

Vanshika (03:42):

My teachers are just a gift for me that God gave me because they are so friendly and cooperating that I can't even explain. Sometimes you have personal talks with teachers about how to live life freely and follow our dreams, follow our passion. We should not distract ourselves due to society from our dreams.

Ankita Jain (04:06):

My school was very different because I was not having good infrastructure, even I can say that. We don't have language lab. We don't have smart class at the time, but now we have these kinds of things, which makes our teaching easy. When children come to school they were toddlers, you know to take them from a toddler to give them a proper sense of being, of taking the responsibilities to make them learn those things. This is the thing that inspires me every morning. It's rewarding.

Vanshika (04:41):

Since I joined I.B. School I've gained a lot of confidence because it is a big platform to express yourself.

Ankita Jain (04:54):

I don't see them limited for anything. I don't see them asking for anything or craving for anything they want it to be. They are having all the things they wanted to be in their life. Not just as the professionalist, but also as a human being.

Vanshika (05:14):

In India especially there are a lot of poor roaming around the street, begging. These are the things I don't want to see, especially in our country after 70 years of independence still, we are facing all of these things.

Amar Dhull (05:48):

The starting of this school, I had a bigger dream. Where the school will generate funds. So that eventually I'm able to support students who don't have any money to pay. I decided to adopt my first school. The best choice was the village I was born.

Samundar Singh (06:25):

I am the Village Head of Ajaib and my purpose is to enable the development of the village. I am making education a priority. As a priority, I want my village to grow and bring those with little money in the village, into mainstream society.

I want my school to go ahead and illuminate my village’s name. I want the children to grow and move ahead in life.

Tanu (07:24)

My name is Tanu, I am in seventh grade. I like the classroom, the children, everything. When I came to school on the first day, I saw Madam, kids, trees and plants. I saw everything. I was happy.

When I come to the school in the morning I play with my friends. I pray. The teacher brings us to the classroom, then we study.

Samundar Singh (08:04)

Charity World and IB School have come to this school and have chosen to operate the school. That makes me very excited. Amar’s support is very important to me. That’s why I thank you in this matter. You came and asked me for cooperation. With you I want to take my school to greater heights.

Amar Dhull (08:49):

My dream is to bring this school at par with where I.B. School is. To me that's where I would feel that I have done something or I have given those children opportunities which they deserve and which they are entitled to.

Ankita Jain (09:09):

We are funding these schools and giving them opportunity to take admissions in our schools also, those students also get the same opportunities that the children of these schools are getting. We are happy for that, that they are also getting the same thing and that they're not getting divided by anything.

Jindra Devi (09:26):

Our school is going to change. The children will get so many opportunities. We are happy. To me, all the girls I teach, I think of them as if they were my daughters.

Vanshika (09:42):

My dream is that I'll join the charity and open schools for such type of students that want to study but their parents are not well-off or not able to send them to school. It's not their fault that they are surviving this kind of environment.

Tanu (10:03):

My name is Tanu, I am in seventh grade. I want to become a teacher when I grow up.