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Puvidham Learning Centre

Having been interested in education and particularly creating a fun, stimulating and caring learning environment for children, Meenakshi began a school in Dharmapuri District of Tamil Nadu in 2000. Starting with 7 children, the school now has 75 children and 4 teachers. Three of the teachers are from nearby villages while the fourth is Meenakshi.

Puvidham Learning Centre is located 2 kilometers from Nagarkoodal Village and 20 kilometers from Dharmapuri town. The landscape here is undulating and agriculture and daily wage physical labour are the primary occupations. Children from surrounding villages of various castes and communities come to the school, which is both a Tamil and English medium school. As people value more what they pay for parents are requested to pay school fees depending on their occupation and affordability.

Due to the dry conditions and difficulties of agriculture in the area, many people migrate for work to the cities, to construction sites, road works and other daily wage work. Their children are left behind or are taken along and live a very uncertain life on construction sites or in slums. Several such parents approached Puvidham to ask whether their children could board while they went in search of work. With this in mind, a hostel facility is being built which will cater to such children, and thus provide a more stable environment for them while they also attend Puvidham.

In 2000 Meenakshi started a learning center with a focus on farming. Most of the kids are kids of marginal farmers and Dalits. Farming is the most important occupation but is not considered a worthy occupation. Hence the high rate of migration of locals to cities. The school treats farming as a very important activity and its importance in the overall picture of life is discussed.

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