On the occasion of 100th year of Rotary Foundation, Rotary Club of Bangalore (RCB)  announced that it aims to create 100 Happy Schools with a key priority  “to build a Better World – One Student at a Time” and with the focus on skills and continuous improvement within the education sector. Government schools in the vicinity of Bangalore are being identified to modify and increase the number of students attending primary schools from disadvantaged areas. The project was officially inaugurated at MAF Rotary Government Primary School at Harokethanahalli on November 27, 2016.
“Creating Happy Schools is indeed a panacea to the rural literacy scenario.  The malady of dropouts is as concerning as not enrolling in the schooling system,” says Rtn. president Ranga Rao. “Since Karnataka is among the highest children enrolling state, a lot of work needs to be done,” he added.

“There is great CSR support for RCB to take this ambitious project further as 70 percent of the total funds required will be raised internally through the generosity of our members and balance 30 percent is being raised through corporates, friends and well wishers of the community. We are enroute to putting the rural children on the learning highway so that they can be brought into the mainstream.  The endeavor is to take up 100 schools and make them and the surrounding villages happy means impacting over 100,000 people.  In the second stage RCB would train the teachers in motivating and energising the children while the third stage would be to create model schools.

“We believe the children have a right to literacy and only literacy can transform lives.  If we can give them the power to learn, we can give them the impact of a livelihood. I am delighted to launch this project along with my co Rotarians and sponsors, and look forward to receiving regular progress reports on its implementation with a basic aim to make it a success, i.e to build a fair and compassionate society”.

The Rotary International’s successful “End Polio” programme that resulted in eradication of polio, totally from India and from nearly 99 percent of the world, has motivated the Rotarians in South Asia to adopt “Rotary’s Total Literacy Mission”. In India, the Rotary India Literacy Mission wishes to achieve the literacy goals through its T-E-A-C-H program:

T – Teacher Support
E – E-learning
A – Adult Literacy
C – Child Development
H – Happy Schools

Thus, the T-E-A-C-H “programme” includes five “projects”, each with specific focus but inter-linked with the others in objective and content so as to contribute to the programme goal of Total Literacy accompanied with improvement in learning outcome of primary education and spread of adult literacy in various parts of the country. Excellent and innovative education and training is the pivot around which personal fulfillment, a fair society and a successful nation should revolve. It is central to sustaining economic success and in converting economic success into building a strong community.

RCB – the seventh club in pre-independence India – came into being in 1934. It is part of the 106 year old Rotary International, and the second largest in the country.  To learn more, visit http://www.rotaryclubofbangalore.org