Our School

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Shakti School of Arts for Girls is located in Chandreswar Nagar, Rishikesh, near the town center and the River Ganges. Most of our students live in poor areas near the dry riverbed, where sanitary conditions are deplorable, due to the presence of garbage strewn on the ground and open defecation of both animals and humans.

Many of the girls live with a large number of family members in a small, rented room, with an external bathroom that they share with many people in their area. Their families make a living by selling vegetables, working in repair shops, driving rickshaws, selling food they make, or as cleaning ladies. Without help from us, it is very likely that the girls will be forced by their families into to an early marriage, which will very likely be filled with domestic violence, due to the widespread abuse of alcohol by poor men. We want these girls to go on to higher education and break free from the cycle of poverty, and to that end, we wish to help them learn English, develop their artistic talents and capabilities, boost their self-confidence by helping them verbalise their needs, and give them the opportunity to speak in public about themselves and their dreams. We need to understand that, generally speaking, underprivileged girls are very much controlled by their family members and are always told what to do. This situation makes them grow up without a sense of individuality, something that is vital for their development. Our mission is to empower them through education and through the arts, and let them find out who they are, what they like and want in life, and help them to express themselves in a safe way in order to lead happy and successful lives.

Something remarkable about our school is that we do not educate our girls following the normal education system of other schools in India. Although we do follow the government guidelines for the curriculum of each academic class, our main focus is to respect the biological rhythms of development and the acquisition of skills of each girl. Therefore, we do not allow our teachers to either hit or shout at the girls, nor do we force the girls to memorise anything without properly understanding it, or push them into writing before their own little hands are actually ready to write, a practice that, unfortunately, is commonly followed at normal schools. We do not punish our girls, but rather encourage them to learn in a loving manner and in a loving atmosphere. In Shakti School we follow our own integrated system of education, where we respect and observe the girls and slowly help them to learn at their own rhythm, taking Waldorf education, neuropsychoeducation, ESL and CLIL (content language integrated learning) as our inspirations and references to do our work. We use games, songs, poems, art therapy and dancing to allow the girls’ imaginations to blossom, hoping to break the patterns of abuse and mistreatment which most of them have grown up with.

Our school currently has 100 students divided in three groups of girls. The morning students, who we call “the small ones,” are in the range of 3 to 6 years old, whereas the afternoon girls are subdivided in the medium group, from 7 to 11 years old. For the small girls we are their only source of education, as they have never gone to school before. We have a total of 35 girls in the nursery level for 3- and 4-year olds, and the lower kindergarten level (LKG), for 5 and 6 years old. Next year we hope to open the next level of upper kindergarten (UKG), and after that begin to add more 1st to 5th grade girls every year.
The big girls are from 12- to 17-years-old, and they meet in three separate groups in the afternoon to study English, following the European framework for International students. They are all part of our ‘After School Art Program’. Fluency in English will open doors of opportunity into higher education and well-paid jobs, and help them to escape from the cycle of poverty.

The girls spend 4 hours at their tuition every afternoon from Monday to Saturday, where we divide their time for English, art, dance, music, yoga and computer classes, as well as time to play, and participate in cultural programs in school and a monthly birthday party for the girls born on each month. Our school is a space dedicated to the girls, where they can feel free to be themselves without the judgmental eyes of others always falling on them, or trying to control them and telling them what to do. Our school is a place of love and respect for each girl as the individuals they are, where they have the chance to share their feelings and can receive any help they may need.

Everything in our school is given for free. This includes computer access, books, notebooks, pens, art supplies, toys, games, sports equipment, and uniforms. We also give the girls two nutritious meals each day, and along with that, a glass of fresh milk combined with protein powder. We also give iron tablets and multivitamin syrup to all students, as many are underweight. The girls are also given a yearly medical check-up for general health and nutrition, as well as a dental check-up and treatment once a year, all paid for by the school.
Another key factor for empowering the girls is helping them develop confidence in self-expression, which the Shakti School seeks to foster through all the girls’ activities. They are encouraged to express themselves fully and without inhibition through their artwork, dance, and spoken presentations. An important corollary to courageous self-expression is helping them to find peace within themselves through the practice of meditation that accompanies their daily yoga class.

The girls are making great strides in learning English and are also excelling in drawing, painting, and dancing. They have put on several excellent dance performances and art exhibitions which the local community has enjoyed.
Tarini wants to eventually include self-defence among the subjects of the school, as protection for the students in situations of abuse, which many girls in India have to face.

The school’s expenses, just to maintain what we already have going on, run to about $3,500 a month, including rent for the building, electricity, teachers’ salaries, food, milk and supplies.

We are actively seeking donors and partners to help sustain and expand our school. Tarini wants to add a dorm where any girl living under abuse or threat of early marriage can come and stay. For our big girls, Tarini hopes to be able to sponsor all of them all the way to higher education, ensuring them financial freedom so that when they do go into marriage they are not mistreated by their husbands and new family members.

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