SIRAGU MONTESSORI SCHOOL
 
Siragu, a Montessori inspired innovative school, is located at Palavedu Pettai, via IAF Avadi, Chennai. We facilitate a life of dignity for children who have been marginalized and/or are deserving, and try to prevent the occurrence of child labour.
 
Siragu is a community based school. It originated, is sustained and sustains a community that includes people in and around Palavedu Panchayat, and street children in and around Chennai. At present we provide education up to Third standard.
 
Following initial intense interaction, by Suyam, among this community, the idea and motivation to start the school came about-when individuals in the community identified lack of education as a significant obstacle to improving their lives.
 
Siragu provides Montessori inspired innovative education to the children from families who have been, for generations, begging, scavenging, farming, pig farming, manufacturing or working in brick kilns, and at the same time attempts integrates this rural community with the school.
 
At Siragu we encourage students to learn and express themselves independently, and thus bring out their inherent potentials. In our child centered, child friendly school we recognize that children are persons in their own right. We listen to them, accept them, recognize their emotions, and learn from them. We pay attention to each child, identifying her/his potentials while at the same time letting the child take its own path to fulfilling these potentials.


EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

To prevent child labour, and to prevent drop outs in Corporation Schools in Chennai, Suyam

   •  Conducts Nadaipathai Pookkal Program for rag pickers and street children (and their    parents/caregivers)
   •  Conducts free Tuition Centres in and around Chennai
   •  adopted Corporation Middle School , Amman Koil Street
   •  conducts educational and awareness programs in Corporation High and Higher Secondary    Schools in Chennai
   •  provides monetary support for higher education for 'deserving' students


Nadaipathai Pookkal Program (Flowers of the Pavement)

This program is for the families having settlements in Palavedu Pettai, but residing in pavements around Kilpauk Water Tank for around 30 years. These families are involved in begging-because of various social problems. Since 1999 we adopted these families (initially 50 families). We provide the community in Kilpauk and Palavedu Pettai with education, medical facilities (including family planning counselling), counselling for de-addiction, child care, resolution of family problems, and with empowerment through employment generation (self and external employment) schemes and setting up self help groups.
 
Our main activity in the community has been education for the children.
 
After much work, patience and interaction with the community in Palavedu Pettai, some families asked for their children to be educated. In 2001 we admitted two boys and one girl to SET Anne's School of Excellence, a local school of good standing. The remarkable academic progress shown by these children, since their LKG, motivated many more parents in the community to want their children to be educated. That year we, then, admitted seventeen more children to the school.
 
More and more parents started wanting to send their children to school. But with the cost of education for 20 children reaching Rs. 85,000, and inspired by the academic success of Nadaipathai Pookkal children, we all (Suyam, the community and some well wishers) decided to start Siragu Montessori School. This school is, however, not only for children from the Nadaipathai Pookkal Program but for children from other marginalized groups in the community as well. Our teachers, trained by Suyam, are from the community itself.
At present, five children from the program are still in the SET Anne's School of Excellence .


Free Tuition Centres
 
We have 2 tuition centres in Palavedu Pettai and in 1 centre at Suyam office, to provide free tuition to economically deprived students from 1 st to 12 th std and planning to stretch out to minimum of 20 centers in next academic year.


Corporation Middle School , Amman Koil Street - CLARIFY
 
We have adopted the Corporation Middle School , Amman Koil Street to deal with the problem of school drop out in this school, in a concerted manner.
 
We encourage students to complete at least 8 th Std. We provide them with additional informal educational inputs, and train students in creative learning, arts, computers and scientific methods.
 
In this school we also counselled a few drop outs and got them back in the school.


Corporation High and Higher Secondary Schools
 
We deal with problems of school drop outs and teenagers in Corporation schools in Chennai.
 
In these schools we academically train students, encourage them to pass their exams, provide personal counseling, and talk to them about the importance of education and making use of the facilities available to them in the schools.
 
We conduct training camps where we stress study skill learning and personality development training for these students.
 
We get 'role models'-people who have overcome difficulties in their lives-to give talks to them, as well.  


Post Secondary Education
 
We identify higher secondary school students, lacking monetary support but showing potential for higher education, and provide for their education.


EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS

Siragu Montessori School is involved in projects that help adults in Palavedu Panchayat change their means of livelihoods, and thus their lifestyles, to be able to lead lives of dignity and respect. This is a way of making the school the center of community development, and of involving parents in the school and in their children's lives and education.
 
Our empowerment projects include Self Help groups, Push Cart program in Shastri Nagar, Palavedu Panchayat, and Tailoring training in Palavedu Panchayat and Mint, and Phenyl Making training in Palavedu Panchayat and Veerapuram.


AWARENESS PROGRAMS
 
Suyam tries to create awareness about social work, student involvement in social work, social issues especially those relating to beggary, and self awareness among students, social workers, physically and/or mentally challenged people and the general public.
 
We also celebrate various occasions to spread social awareness.


OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES
 
HEALTH RELATED ACTIVITIES
We organize as well as participate in health camps in various urban, rural and slum areas.
 
The camps include medical camps, blood donation camps, cataract operation camps, eye donation camps, and nutrition and hygiene camps.
 
We also visit and counsel AIDS patients.

ASSISTANCE TO THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED
We assist, guide, and refer people to various organizations after identifying their specific needs.   We also donate materials like hearing aids and wheel chairs besides providing educational support.  

CHILD LABOUR
We provide a bridge course to 50 students, during the 6 months that these children spend with their parents in the brick kilns in and around Palavedu Panchayat.   We also rescued a child working in handloom industry in Kanchipuram, and another child working in steel factory in Wall Tax Road.

ECO-FRIENDLY WORK
We plant trees, undertake ways to preserve water and recycle waste water, and try to promote organic farming in Pakkam, near Thiruninravur.

OTHER ACTIVITIES
We assist many people in need, in whatever ways we can, as and when we come across them.  

VISITS AND DONATIONS TO HOMES
We visit homes, spend time with people-children and old people-put up recreation and awareness activities, and donate materials (such as medicine). We have visited SC/ST Hostel, Anandam Old Age Home, Little Hearts, Little Drops, Mahalakshmi Foundation, Nethrodhaya, Anbagam, Sevalaya Old Age Home, Bala Gurukulam, Anna Anadhai Illam, Amar Seva Sangam (Tirunelvelli), Jeevan Gnanodhaya (Chengalpet), Rajiv Gandhi Handicapped Rehabilitation Home (Pondicherry), Vishranti Old Age Home and Seva Chakra.

NETWORK WITH OTHER NGOs
We network with NGOs to expand our reach. We work with Life Trust, Udhavum Ullangal, Help First Society, CIOSA, Banyan, Anbu Ullangal, Monday Charity Club, SET Sornammal Educational Trust, Sneghidhan Trust, Ecomwel, Olcot Memorial School, Asha for Education, Mahalakshmi Foundation, Help to Live, I Volunteer, Maps, Alpha to Omega, Mother India Foundation, Nandhini Voice for the Deprived, CSIM, Anandashram(Kerala), Sudar, Kaingarya, KCRDS Kaveripakkam, Nesam, R. Parthiban's Manidhanayam Mandram, Shristi, Raja Rathinam Educational Trust and Kamal Hasan Narpani Mandram, Akanksha Foundation (Mumbai), Bhoomika Trust (Chennai), Helping Hands (Pune), Access Aid Foundation (Cochin, Kerala), Sivasakthi Kakkum Karangal (Chennai).