We, TMAD, came to know about the Govt. High School in Jubilee Hills (the second largest in Rangareddy after the Borabanda High School), through Sri C V Rao of Kapila Maharshi Research for Resources (KMRR Yoga Center) at Srinagar Colony. Sri Viswanath, Physical Science Teacer in the school, attended yoga classes at this center.
Our volunteer, Meghashyam, visited the place and found the requirements. Out of all the requirements, we addressed the steel plates requirement for the Afternoon Meal Scheme. We are in regular touch with the school ever since. We wanted to take the SSC students on an excursion which is one of the requirements shared with us.
A step away from routine is always a relief and if it is for a trip along with friends, if the place is a blend of History and Religion, the experience would be more enriching. In our life, childhood and school days are memorable and among school days, the excursion would be the most memorable. Thought to gift such wonderful memory to the deprived students who deserve every joy but had to contain their wishes due to lack of money!!
After much deliberation (whether or not to spend this much amount to the tune of 60k for an excursion when there are many other needs) and discussion (initially a two-day trip to Warangal was proposed), we zeroed in on Bidar, thanks to our guide, Sandeep of Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society (HYTICOS).
The total strength for the trip was around 110: 10 teachers, 90 students and around 10 volunteers. So we booked two RTC buses. Thanks to the support of Sri Ravindra Babu, DGM in RTC.
We went to Bidar on 8th December and visited three places:
A. Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple
B. Bidar Fort
C. Trident Sugar Factory (earlier it was Nizam Sugars)
The students, the teachers and the volunteers, thoroughly enjoyed the trip. When we asked the students on the percentage of happiness they rate for this trip, they gave us 99%. They enjoyed the experience of walking in neck deep water to have Lord Narasimha Swamy’s darshan. They also liked the sugar factory. They have a topic in their curriculum on the preparation of sugar.
This is an experience of sorts and we had several lessons to be learnt.
Special Mention:
We would like to express our gratitude to the following people:
- Sri Ravindra Babu, DGM in RTC, for guiding us and facilitating the reservation in RTC
- Sandeep, a environment enthusiast and activist, for suggesting the place and guiding us all through the trip
- Ramarao, HR of Trident Sugar Factory, for the permission to visit the factory
- Sri Sudhakar Majety, for his immediate response to my request and generous contribution to the trip
- Ugandhar Kalva, Venkata Ratnam Kanakala, Murthy Nalluri and other colleagues who came forward to donate and helped me in raising fund
Expenses of the Trip
The expenses are around 60k. We paid 40k to RTC and they gave receipt for 38k. 2k as a non-refundable deposit. We were told that we will be getting 1k more due to the time we got back.
We want to give a photo album to each student as a memory of the trip which might consists of 7 to 10 photos of the trip. For this we are planning to use the money collected from students (Rs. 100 per head. 70 students gave money. This 7k is with teachers only and we have to see to that photo albums must be given to all students and one copy in the school within 7k). If we had to spend any amount on the photos, that would be part of the expenses of this trip.
The current projection is only about the amount spent so far.
Note: We have bills only for the lunch and the amount paid to RTC. The other items we purchased at petty shops and so couldn’t get the bills.
Donors
Sincere thanks to all the donors who understood the importance of excursion for school children and kindly contributed to the cause.
Volunteers:
Prasanthi, Vijayalakshmi, Sivaji, Amarnath, Geethika, Kishore, Sunanth, Sekhar, Madhuri, Rakesh, Jwaladeep, and Deepak Rao, Binu Narayan Kavumkal, Patha Srinivas, Sunil Surabhi, Sheshidhar Reddy Kohir, BSR and Vijay Maddineni
Photos:
https://picasaweb.google.com/109533009051810666116/ExcursionOfSSCStudentsToBidar_8_12_2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMiugN_myf3Cdg&feat=directlink