We disembarked from our train with the knowledge that everything we learned in the last week would somehow need to be put into words. A difficult task, no doubt; not only will we have to summarize our experiences in a cohesive site proposal to be submitted to the district collector, but we will also have to inform our readership back home who we hope will support us in our endeavors. To this effect, Hugo is documenting our entire trip and making a series of clips and movies to try to capture what it's like to see India through our eyes.
We met with Roop the afternoon of our arrival, a local architect and acquaintance of Dr. Reddy's, and Vandana Sinh from Ranjit Sinh Associates in Mumbai. Vandana is our primary architect and was gracious enough to meet us in Hyderabad to discuss architectural and construction plans for the school. The meeting was quite productive: Vandana provided us with a hard copy of the latest design blueprints, which feature cost-cutting measures. She has pledged to work with us to achieve the most cost-efficient design possible. To further decrease costs we will be working with local constructors (which Roop will help us with) and materials. Importantly, we decided that the school will be built in phases (we predict four), the first of which will cost approximately Rs. 1 crore, or about $213,000. This is to ensure that the school functions smoothly in its first years of operation, remains cost-effective, and is sustainable.
Later in the week we met with O. Chinnapa Reddy, head of Clarion Water Systems, a private Hyderabad-based company that specializes in reverse-osmosis clean water systems. Their business model is identical to that of the Naandi Foundation, but they charge half the price. First impressions of Chinappa Reddy were positive, so we sent him to Ananthaiahgaripalli to conduct an analysis of the village's water source. He has reason to believe that the water is contaminated. If Clarion Water Systems meets our needs better than Naandi then we will go ahead and contract their services.
We decided to completely revamp our website, sanjeevaniproject.org, so keep an eye out for our new design before the beginning of the new year! We also now have a Youtube channel, so make sure to check that out, too.
In case this was too much writing for you, watch this video on Sanjeevani's progress. Artfully crafted by our precious Hugo, it highlights our main accomplishments of the last two weeks and just might put things in perspective for you.
Watch! Enjoy! Comment! Donate!
-SJP
About Me
- The Sanjeevani Project
- We are a student-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization aiming to improve the overall quality of life of the residents of Ananthaiahgaripalli, a rural village in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is our conviction that education will provide villagers with the tools to better their sub-par standard of living. For this reason, the project will construct and open a primary and secondary school in the village’s vicinity, welcoming children from the area to attend. The facilities will be free of charge in order to accommodate poor village children. We will also implement a clean water system to supplement the children's education. We recognize the ambitious nature of our project. We are confident, however, that with your support, we can improve the lives of the poor -- one child at a time!
awesome video! you guys rock
ReplyDeleteExciting news! Keep up the great work and keep us posted! I especially love the clips.
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