Rooted in dreams

ADITI DE

Premkumar is six, his eyes bright under a thatch of black hair. He has a dream - to drive a car. Does he want to be a driver? Yes. Or would he prefer to own a car? Is his an impossible dream? Perhaps, because Premkumar's father runs a rented cycle repair shop.

But next door to the shop is a Christel House Learning Centre, spelling hope that Premkumar's dream might one day take wing. The Christel House Learning Centre is based on an international concept "to help orphaned, abandoned or underprivileged children around the world break the cycle of poverty and become self- sufficient, contributing members of their societies".

The school, functions from Kodigehalli, Bangalore and caters to 320 children. But, in a year it will shift to its seven-acre campus at Hennur. India's silicon city has been chosen by Christel House for its fourth project after Mexico City, Caracas (Venezuela) and Cape Town (South Africa).

It all began 27 years ago when U.S. entrepreneur Christel DeHaan, 59, co-founded the time-share Resort Condominiums International (RCI), with 18 offices worldwide. RCI was a woman-dominated company, which insisted on mobile creches wherever its affiliated resorts were built.

In 1996, DeHaan sold RCI and that's when the Christel House story began. The curriculum for each day centre - designed by leading authorities on child development - is suited for local relevance. In Bangalore, the children for the day school have been chosen from shelters or orphanages .

Recently, the children underwent dental and eye check-ups. Medical and psychological care, through local voluntary bodies, is slated for the near future. The project also envisages health dossiers on each child.

While the Christel Foundation will fund all start-up and construction costs, beginning with an initial corpus of Rs. 40 million, running costs such as teachers' salaries, the daily food programme and uniforms have to be raised locally. Off to a promising start, T-shirts, uniform material and shoes have already been donated to the Centre.

"We are taking on the total responsibility of the child," explains Shukla Bose, RCI's ex- Managing Director in India. "We have to be accountable. We are changing the child's way of life, ensuring that he does not have to follow his father's profession. Or, if he does, perhaps a cobbler's son will do better than him and work for Bata. There are no glass ceilings here. We have commitments from the hospitality industry that Christel House graduates will be given jobs as managers or in their restaurants." Or absorbed by Bangalore's IT industry?

Vikram Parchure, who is in charge of the curriculum says, "Our children will do better than privileged ones because they are hungry to learn."

Beyond the 3Rs, during the initial house-warming year, the integrated curriculum will focus on the familiar, say linking water with literature, the local lake, the paddy fields and even the meteorological office. To expand the experience, ancient literature, folk studies, yoga, inter-denominational prayers and art will form the co-curricular framework. Christel House also hopes to enhance the participation of parents in a mutually beneficial way.

Wouldn't the parents worry about the no-fees, no-homework school? "We tell them that this school is not based on subject teaching, but experiential learning," explains Bose. "Even trips to museums and zoos are part of our education."

Has Christel House set itself targets for its educational experiment? Starting with Classes 1 and 2 in a vertical format, it aims to have its first-time learners on a par with average Class 3 students by the third year. That's besides inculcating in the children a respect for their own background through social outreach programmes. Its open classrooms hope to foster free expression, shunning the rote route.

So when Premkumar joined Christel House in June, he was taking his first steps down a path that led another underprivileged child in Mexico to Harvard University.

Women's Feature Service

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