Site Visit – June, 2008

Vasundhara Public Charitable Trust (1995)

Rural recostruction and Education Project

Village: BibavneDist: SindhudurgaState: Maharashtra

Vaishali Tendolkar

Vasundhara Projects in Progress

• Science On Wheels (SOW) – Mobile Lab• Eureka Hall (Science Center)• Sky Gazing Program• National Talent Search & SSC Merit

Project• School for Sand Lifters Children• Misc – Medical camps, Watershed

devlpmt programs, Small cottage industry

Science On Wheels (SOW)

Objectives –• Motivate students to perform hands-on

science experiments• Involve students in inquiry sessions

(heuristics)• Develop problem solving capacity• Sky gazing & understanding earth better• Math applications

SOW Mobile Lab

Geographic Reach of SOW

• Covered 90 primary schools & 60 secondary schools, each twice a year

• Spread over 90 villages in Sindhudurga• Free of charge to schools• Paid teachers and staff – creates

employment• Teachers leave after training – a issue, but

they get developed to contribute to society

Visited Pangran Primary School

SOW Issues

• Very limited reach (Only twice a year)• Teacher turnover very high (low salaries)• No library, no books, no computers• Devgadh Region way too far to reach

(more than one mobile lab needed)• Different approach – teaching to learn &

explore – takes more time – school teachers often don’t cooperate

• More funding will help resolve most issues

Eureka HallObjectives –• Serves as a science center and mini-planetorium for

schools & general public• Displays scientific exhibits / experiments / models• SOW existence totally depends on Eureka Hall• Intensive training for selected students in Math &

Science on-site• Field trips & Science camps - Students stay on

Eureka Hall for days • Invite Scientists and Mathematicians • Students trained for National Talent Search (NTS) &

International Olympiad (Math)• Hands-on science experiments to boost science

curiosty• Sky gazing & understanding earth better

Eureka Hall Building, Bibavne

Eureka Hall Issues

• Leased building– doesn’t fulfill basic needs e.g. One restroom for boys/girls/staff, same space used for living overnight, limited room- can’t add more experiments

• New 6 acres of land in Nerurparpurchased – 50+ lakhs total expense, around half is funded

• Much bigger Eureka Hall, Boys & Girls hostels, Office, Library, Computers, etc.

• Almost all of the issues of SOW apply

Eureka Hall

Eureka Hall

Contacts Established • Mr. Ramesh Kacholia – Mumbai based retired

businessman, now devotes most of his time to social & humanitarian work – established ‘Mumbai Group of Friends’ who fund about 30 big projects in India

• Mr. Rajeev Vartak – Mumbai based. Plans, develops, coordinates, and implements educational projects for Vasundhara. He trains the teachers for SOW and Eureka Hall

• Mr. C. B. Naik – Founder of Vasundhara. Based in Nerurpar in Sindhudurga district. Devotes all of his time for Vasundhara.