{"id":883,"date":"2017-06-16T11:14:04","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T18:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.satyachetana.org\/SCI\/?page_id=883"},"modified":"2024-12-22T19:10:59","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T02:10:59","slug":"girls-education-fund","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/satyachetana.org\/SCI\/projects\/girls-education-fund\/","title":{"rendered":"Girl’s Education Fund"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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One is a true seer if he is able to realize that the supreme Lord is existing alike in all beings\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Verse 516 (13.27)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satyachetana International works to create a better world by involving spiritually-evolved human beings in community welfare projects that spread universal love. The Satyachetana School Girl\u2019s Education Fund is one such project.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Striving for equal education for girls at the Satyachetana Balanga School in the state of Odisha, India.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Over ten years ago, in a rural village in Odisha, a state in northeast India, children swarmed Swami Sri Atmananda, begging, not for food, but for the chance to have an education. From this impetus, the Satyachetana School at Balanga, Odisha (aka Balanga School), was founded and now serves over 300 students.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Students at the Satyachetana School at Balanga, Odisha.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

However, like many places in the world, gender inequality is an issue. Parents give male offspring preference over girls when it comes to education. Girl students are often never sent to school or are withdrawn before reaching graduation. Lower literacy rates, child marriages, lower wages and a host of other gender-based disparities are common. This New York Times article from September 2016 chronicles what life is like for village girls from just a few miles distance from the Balanga School:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Rural Women in India Chase Big-City Dreams<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To balance this disparity and to support these girl students, funds were needed to finish construction of a girl\u2019s dormitory and to establish a scholarship fund for female students at the school in Balanga. This dormitory allows girls who live too far away to be able to attend the school by living onsite. Plumbing, electrical work, furnishings, sand, cement, and other materials and labor were needed to accomplish this task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the dormitory was completed, the goal switched to the second phase of the project: accepting 10 girls, each on 5 year scholarships (the final critical 5 grade levels).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Funds were urgently needed to complete the construction of the Satyachetana Balanga School girl\u2019s dormitory.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The girl’s dormitory in-charge (left) stands with a newly admitted girl student at the site of the incomplete girl’s dorm building. For now, they share a room in the staff quarters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Please enjoy this short video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n