2013: Gopalwadi Tribal School

Gopalwadi Tribal Girls School, Rayagada, Orissa, India Gopalwadi school is a residential elementary school for Adivasi (tribal) girls in a remote area in India. Gopalwadi Girls School has 60 kids and is run by Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust. The school has been operational for the last 15 years. It is the aim of the school to educate the Adivasi girls without displacing them from their villages and families. To do this, the school incorporates a lot of tribal culture in its curriculum. Gopalwadi Tribal Girls School has now established itself as a vehicle for positive changes in the area and is very well received by the Adivasi families in nearby villages. We visited the school in 2008 and were very happy with the enthusiasm and discipline of the students, principal, and staff. However, we felt that the classroom infrastructure was inadequate and unhygienic. The school only had one classroom area that was essentially a 20 ft by 40 ft shed. The residential rooms for the students and staff were cramped and unsanitary. There was a severe malaria problem in the area. The school had acquired 3 acres of land but did not have funds to construct the school building. We provided a plan for constructing a 8000 sq. ft. functional residential school building and funded the entire construction.