Venkatramani School (VRS)
Location: off CP Ramaswamy Road
Read on to discover Anuradha Murali’s experience as the centre-coordinator of our VRS centre!
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What’s VRS all about?
VRS, Alwarpet is a Tamil-medium primary school for underprivileged children in the locality of Alwarpet/Mylapore. Our association with this school began in November 2009, with the support of Rotary Club Madras. At Deepam, we mentor class 5 students in our year-long program, before they leave for secondary school. Every Saturday, these kids come all the way to school to attend our program, with the continued support of the Headmistress.
The story so far: Beginning classes officially in January 2010, we had a fantastic experience around 20 kids at VRS in the four months we spent with them. We began with simple English lessons, implemented OLPCs (One-laptop-per-child) as a pilot project and finally inaugurated a computer lab with 5 desktops, titled “Fun with computers”. It’s been a great journey and a learning experience and we’re looking forward to mentoring our next set of kids!
The VRS Team: Currently, we have a great set of committed volunteers who have made this project a success (besides glasses of juice at the adjacent juice shop that’s irresistible!). We are looking for young volunteers who will spearhead the computer education here, providing for a ratio of 1 volunteer : 2 students that will maximise the learning experience. Youth here have grown to take on leadership roles within Deepam and we’re proud of them.
The VRS Experience (off-the-record): Things just fell into place with the energy and zeal that the team of volunteers brought in! We hit it off well, hung out together and enjoy discussions on our very own mailing list. Startup culture at its best!
Vision VRS: We aspire that our students lose their inhibitions with the English language and become comfortable with using it as a de-facto language in an academic environment,
A VRS experience that’s etched onto my memory A defining moment was when I could see the OLPC vision of 1 laptop per child implemented before my eyes and the kids smiling from ear-to-ear with their new-found toy.
About volunteering: Volunteering needs to be demystified. Personally, it can be a very fulfilling (and fun!) experience. Having said that, people will need to keep in mind that they have a meaningful role to play at the grassroots level.