Please reach out to me at sriniswaminathan80@gmail.com if you have any question

(I will reply within 3 days)

-------------------Quick one-minute version of this campaign----------------------------

Over the next few months (till February 2016), I am committing to run 6 full marathons and 2 half marathons (Total= 294 kms) and 1575 kms of cycling in order to raise funds for a village school up in the Kashmir mountains (Haji Public School). You can support this by

 1) donating whatever money you would like to
 2) Share this with friends, family and others in your network who are passionate about supporting education. Thank you!

In the last 5 years, I have raised funds via Wishberry.in, GiveIndia.org and Milaap to get Prathambooks libraries and medical equipment for children's hospital in Mumbai via Pragati.

You can read about my running story and past campaign here:

https://medium.com/@srini091/my-running-story-ab42d60a2263

https://milaap.org/campaigns/dreamscometrue

What is this campaign for?

I am raising funds to get the following for the Haji Public school (a school in the Doda mountains in Jammu and Kashmir, in the Breswana village)

-------------------Detailed version of this campaign. If you want to know more-----

Growing up in a low-income community family, staying in school and going to college on a Government scholarship changed my life. Following my long time wish, I became a full time teacher for two years at a Municipal school in Dharavi, Mumbai (2010-12). There, I got to see how children in such classrooms lack the basic resources needed to learn well and stay on grade level.

I am running the Oslo full marathon, Bangalore full marathon, Athens full marathon, Istanbul full marathon, Mumbai Full marathon, Auroville full marathon, Goa River half marathon (21 kms) and one half marathon in TN (not decided yet) + 1575 kms cycling around Tamilnadu (Tour of Tamilnadu 2015) to raise funds for the Haji Public school.

What is the accountability?

1. In the past, I have set up many such fund raising campaigns successfully to support my classroom and the classrooms of other teachers. I promise to
1) regularly post updates here
2) personally update any donor regarding the usage of their funds
3) post pictures and updates from the school
4) post final accountability report / bank statement as a PDF for all donors to see.

You can also email me (or reach out via Twitter and Facebook) for updates after making a donation.

Other details to note

1. Whatever amount you choose to donate, Milaap charges 5% of it + 2.2% card charges. But, I request and encourage you to contribute via Milaap (this page) because that way you also support the awesome work Milaap does with so many deserving people all over. Please go to Milaap's main page to check.

2. You can also choose to send money via NEFT/RTGS to avoid the 2.2% charges. However, Milaap 5% of your donation + service tax on it goes to Milaap to cover admin charges (All fund raising platforms charge this amount and Milaap is one of the lowest I found. I request and encourage you to contribute via Milaap (this page) because that way you also support the awesome work they do with so many deserving people all over. Please go to their main page to check.)

3. Indian donors: All your funds are handled by Milaap.

4. When the campaign ends, the funds will go directly to the Haji Public school trust and not come to me or any other individual.

More information about the Haji Public School:

Haji Public School was started by the Haji family in the high mountains of Doda district, Jammu and Kashmir. Breswana is the ancestral village of the Hajis located at 7,500 feet above sea level in the middle Himalayas. It is populated by hardy mountain folk, subsistence farmers, who are still unconnected to the mainland below by roads. 

The school is run privately and caters to children of 5 surrounding villages in the area. It is supervised by the Hajis who have moved to the village to run it. The quality of schooling is good, the children of the region are keen, hardworking and very receptive to good teaching (as children everywhere are, if given the opportunity).

Haji Public School also runs a very successful volunteer programme that has seen an impressive range of teachers come in and live with the students over the past 7 years of its existence, and impact the village and its children strongly. It is currently at K-7, and grows by one class each year. The students who started in kindergarten are now on the brink of 8th Grade. They are growing into confident, knowledgeable and well-rounded individuals, ready to step out into the bigger world with the tools they've received at school.

The school is privately funded by MrNasir Haji alone, and run and supported by family members around the world, with occasional donations by kind strangers. It aims to go up to 12th grade in the village at least, and in the long run a college that will cater to a wider student base lower down the mountain, closer to the highway, is being planned.