One school bag and new notebooks can make all the difference | Milaap

One school bag and new notebooks can make all the difference

Chandramma, 29, works as a domestic help in Bangalore. She makes about Rs 7,000 a month and takes care of her 8-year-old daughter Deepu on her own. Her major expenses go towards the high rent that she pays for a house with a toilet. All she wants now is for her daughter to study well. Even though she did not have the opportunity to do well at school, her hope is to get her daughter educated. She values the better life it will give her daughter. As the sole breadwinner, the government school at Iblur is all she can afford.

Chandramma thinks her daughter can manage her studies with the paper notebooks salvaged from the paper shop. Eating and saving for medical emergencies is more important for her. For Deepu, using the stack of plain papers bound to make a notebook is normal. She enjoys running and playing in the school yard far more. 


This May, the summer vacation was a little different for Deepu. She entered a grade higher and got promoted to standard 3. She also received a new school bag. Inside the bag were new notebooks with crisp, white pages. Pencils and sharpeners too – all prized possessions for little Deepu. There were enough notebooks for all her subjects, even for the rough work. Deepu could hardly wait to sharpen her pencils and write in her new notebooks.  

The new school bag and notebooks are a part of the school-kit distribution programme by Careworks Foundation (CWF), the CSR arm of Quess Corp Limited. Under this initiative CWF intends to give educational kits to children in under-served schools. CWF works with selected government schools to give it focused support. So far, CWF has covered 11 schools, giving 3,500 children a kit each.


“Most children just don’t turn up at school, especially at the start of the academic year. There is hardly any motivation for the child to go to school. When we give these children new education kits, they are absolutely thrilled. It is a very happy event for these kids to own nice, new things,” says Smitha B.S., Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, CWF. 

This initiative has been well received by the school authorities as well. Muththappa, Head Master, Government High School, Somasundarapalya says, “These education kits are the foundation for a child’s schooling. Not only does it make the children happy to come to school, it also boosts admissions from the locality. When parents hear that their children get an education kit in this school, they want to send their children here.” To add momentum to the initiative, CWF is inviting donations, that will be matched, therefore doubled, to share in the joy of a happy child. 


Being a part of a child's journey to education

A notebook can be a fresh start for new ideas and a place to express oneself. Lakshmi, 10, is delighted to be carrying new notebooks in a new bag to school. Sudhakara, 12, is amazed at being able to use a bag that hasn't been used before. Radhika, has decided to save some pages from this notebook to draw on after school. Going to school is a celebration, instead of the start of another dreary year of academic work.

CWF is seeking to give school kits to 2,000 such children and help them make their learning journey a beautiful one.
You can help too, by giving a child a fresh notebook to start their academic year. Whatever you give will be matched by CWF and double your contribution in sending a child back to school. Contribute here.

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