Rainbow Primary School

Plot Boundary Documents, The Rainbow School The link above is to a PDF file of the original papers showing the boundaries of the plot exactly behind "The Rainbow School" plot and the school's plot itself. They correspond to those "Kadi Stones" shown in the previous video. You can see the little dots on the lines right above the word "Village Boundary" that show the placement of the stones. You can see corresponding marks on the last page, the most recent boundary marks for the school's plot. (I asked for a re-draw of the plot last January, just to be sure we were all squared up.) It is so very cool to have a window into this typically windowless paperwork system. You see, we currently have a claim against these very clear boundary marks. However, the credit for the first e-mailed document I ever received from the Indian government goes to the District Rural Development Agency, the best run district office in Ranga Reddy. They all have com...

The video here shows the boundary lines for the plot. We were waiting (another two hour wait) for other parties to show up (they never did) in the current boundary dispute. So Bhartee and I started messing around with our boundary footage shot over a week ago. Cheers! Leigh Anne

This is our Naandi Engineering team leader, Mr. Bhartee. He is a structural engineer who has built hundreds of public use facilities around India, including over a dozen schools in Hyderabad. He is explaining the land boundaries. Isn't he cute?

The Indian schools run on a June to early April calendar (April/ May are the hottest times of the year). Our new school years starts tomorrow! To help recruit students, the school held three events. First, we held an ice cream party (thanks to an anonymous donor for the cash for the ice cream). How happy do these kids look? They have bellies full of ice cream, yummy. Second, a great volunteer team from the India office of multinational firm came by and spent all day in the sweating hot, hot heat with the kids. They brought a fabulous lunch, mutton biryani...score! This pre-start of school visit was a great recruiting tool, for sure. Third, we held one of our usual rallies this morning. The teachers and kids march through all the lanes in the slum, beating a drum, shouting go to school slogans while carrying a banner for the school. It is a real deal in the slum, everyone comes out to watch. Tomorrow, enrollment opens for the school. We already have about 40 kids lined up to ...

Dear Reader: My apologies for ranting on and on regarding the slow progress on the school building. Two years, sixty-four meetings with government officials, three full stacks of paperwork, and $50,000 dollars later: we have final lift-off. Here are pictures of the foundation of the building going into the ground. Thank you for your patience. And I am proud to say the Naandi contruction team is doing a superb job. ( www.naandi.org/UpdateArchive/strongFoundation.asp ) Leigh Anne PS: Its raining right now, just in time to cure the cement laid down today. PPS: I will thank the funders of this building when they let me or when the building is completed. Whichever comes first.