Rainbow Primary School

This little one is a new student in our pre-school class. She is our "Cinderella Story." I first met her the first month school opened, one year ago. I was going around the slum one night recruiting students and talking to parents with my teachers. Early at night is the absolute best time to see the slum and the parents. That time of night there is a very happy time. So I was not surprised to see Premalata and her family, enjoying the night air, sitting out by the goat pens in the middle of one of the alleys. Premalata (her name means love) is the younger sister of one of my outstanding 4th standard students, Bhandisha (her names means the sun). When I saw Premalata, who was clearly school-aged – seven years old or so - I was concerned that she wasn't coming to school with Bhandisha. Then her family told me that she was special. She did appear glassy-eyed, but blissful and happy. She did look like she had mild mental retardation. Fantastic, I thought, she can be a...

Here is a recent picture of our happy teachers and staff. Last week, we signed up a new partner organization! The MV Foundation is sending us a teacher (haaa haaa! wheee!!) and a steady supply of student notebooks. Both are permanent. Notebooks are the most important "teaching tool" we have. The students writing down, then reflecting and revisiting their work in their very own notebooks is a luxury almost all the government schools do not have. We are SO grateful to the MV Foundation. Finally, the low level government officials we work with are suddenly (and suspiciously) very cooperative. We think it is the good press that one of our angel advisors keeps lining up for us. Suddenly, we have a TON of rice. Literally, in our storehouse is a ton of government rice for the mid-day meal. And they are supplying us with water on a more regular basis. Last, the Lion's Club of Jubilee Hills has decided to make us a permanent recepient of their fine, professional servic...