Children in and around the village of Paravour are from Dalit families, (those that Gandhi called ‘the untouchables’), are desperately poor and educationally deprived. There are Government schools locally, but they are badly run and for the most part parents refuse to let their children go to them. Children in Paravour were receiving no education at all until Lotus Flower Trust was approached by social worker Mrs Pricilla Joshee and her husband, both Dalits themselves, who asked us if we would fund the building of a Nursery and Primary school for them.

The new school, Paravour Primary School, was funded by staff from BSKYB in Edinburgh and they, along with their colleagues from Mumbai and Bangalore, also worked on the construction site. The original building cost £81,000 and was opened in October 2015 with 20 pupils attending, but the next academic year saw 230 children, all from the local Dalit community, filled the building. After recent extensions it is hope that over the next five years the numbers will grow to 560 as the school provides education up to University and College admission.

Because of the increased intake we now need to help re-equip the school with 105 study desks, 8 green boards, 9 cupboards, 30 ceiling fans, 4 smart classrooms, 12 desktop computers, 12 computer desks, all totalling £28,000.

Mrs Joshee and her team of excellent teachers and ancillary staff have grown this school to be the most successful in the area. It is recognised by local government to be ‘outstanding’, but even so the school receives no financial support from them at all! The children are obviously talented, and their education would benefit from any financial support you could donate towards equipping the school further.