Village school in India needs help!

Hi there,

My name is Kelly and I am 28 year old Primary School teacher, living in London.  3 years ago, whilst teaching in a Buddhist monastery in India, I was lucky enough to accompany the monks to their home village to meet their families in Sikkim - North East India. 

Whilst in the village, which took just over an hour to reach from the main city of Gangtok, I saw a local primary school and instantly fell in love with it.  Along with the monks that I teach, I have been supporting this school ever since I first saw it - with regular monthly donations and visits whenever possible. 

The school, which is now called Stepping Stones Academy, is situated in a beautiful, rural village called Bhusuk.  It was first opened by a group of Indian teachers, who recognised the need for an affordable, supportive school in the area - one which gave disadvantaged children the best possible start in life, through opportunities to learn, develop and thrive academically and socially.   It is the only school which is affordable and within suitable walking distance for children living in the village of Bhusuk.  Other schools in the area are extremely expensive to join, or are too far to travel safely.  

Around 25 children are currently enrolled in the school, ranging from reception age to Year 6.  Being a privately run school, it receives no state funding and relies solely on the teachers and their families to help pay for costs.  The children that attend are charged a very small monthly fee to help with these costs too.  However, over 50% of the children's families cannot afford to pay, due to their extremely low-income backgrounds.  Nevertheless, all children are welcomed, enrolled, supported and are receiving a great education.  The school has been in the process of registering as an official state school for the last year - which will enable it to receive a small amount of funding, however, just like many things in India, it is taking an extremely, mind-numblingly long time.  The school also boards around 6 children, whose families cannot afford to look after them, providing them with love, care, food, warmth, a safe place to sleep, clothes etc. 

As you can imagine, the school is constantly in desperate need for funding.  Whilst my family and I try to support it financially, it will never be enough to help the school buy all of the resources they need to give these wonderful children the education they deserve, so that is why I have created this page!  Even a small donation goes such a long way in India, so if you have any money to spare, please please please donate it to this fantasic school.  

If you are anything like me, you will be thinking - well how exactly will the money be used?  Luckily, the teachers at the school are like my family now and I speak to them on a regular basis. They update me constantly with things they need and I will be visiting them this summer to see how they are getting on.  This is the current list:

- General school resources (paper, writing books, stationary etc)
- More reading books for each age group (in English, Hindi and Nepali)
- Money to provide lunches to those children whose families cannot afford it
- Free school enrollment for families who need it the most (this will encourage some families to enroll their child, rather then keep them at home to help with work. It will also allow these hard-working families to feel no stress or anxiety about funding their child's education)
- A fund for school trips
- A small salary for the teachers
- Ability to house/board more children in need

Being a teacher, I know how important education is, particularly for those in poverty. Education is the only way out.  This school acts as a hand-up for these children, not a hand-out, which is why it is so important to me.  If these children receive a good education, it will, in time, eradicate poverty from the village for good.

I appreciate your time in reading my campaign and hope that you can help out in any way possible. 















Kelly Parkhouse