LO Loves Buddha Smiles!
Welcome to to the LO News. We hope our new posts provide our community inspiration and insight into the impact of your contributions to Lotus Outreach. This August, we’re delighted to feature the Buddha Smiles project, in LO Love Buddha Smiles, a project which Lotus Outreach has supported in partnership with the Guru Krupa Foundation for 12 years.
12 Years of Partnership with the Guru Krupa Foundation
Buddha Smiles is a project conceived of and operated by our brilliant partner, the Garden of Peace School, founded by Dr. Manivannan. It was when the founder of the Guru Krupa Foundation, Mukund Padmanabhan, connected with the Buddha Smiles project in 2012 that he became an unwavering supporter of Buddha Smiles and Lotus Outreach. Since that time, the Guru Krupa Foundation has provided generous and dedicated support for Lotus Outreach projects, including Buddha Smiles, Blossom Bus, and Lotus Pedals in India (new!). We’d like to take this opportunity to once again thank you, Guru Krupa Foundation.
Holistic Education for Youth in Tamil Nadu
The Buddha Smiles project provides holistic after-school education to underprivileged children in the heartlands of Tamil Nadu, amidst the rural landscapes of Vellore, Arni and Tiruvannamalai districts. For 18 years, the team at Garden of Peace School have made a dedicated and tireless commitment to the children and families that Buddha Smiles serves. The mission of Garden of Peace is to bridge the educational gap for underprivileged children and towards this aim the school has established 15 evening study centers which they coordinate across the region. The centers are sanctuaries and educational hubs for the children of stone quarry workers, landless laborers, small farmers, daily wage laborers, and weavers’ families. In these communities, quality education is a distant dream due to various socio-economic factors. The lack of parental guidance, financial instability, and societal pressures significantly impede the academic progress of these children.
However, for young learners, education will likely be their only ticket out of the cycle of poverty in their families. They face formidable challenges on this journey. Illiteracy prevails in their households, and the absence of parental support further exacerbates their struggles. Moreover, gender disparities persist, with girls often being denied educational opportunities and relegated to domestic duties, while boys are pushed into labor to supplement family income. Consequently, the dropout rate among these children, particularly after primary school, is alarmingly high. The vicious cycle of poverty seems unbreakable, perpetuating generational disadvantage.
It is for all of these reasons that the primary objective of the Buddha Smiles project is to dismantle the barriers to education for underprivileged children in Tamil Nadu.
The Buddha Smiles Project:
1. Provides Access to Quality Education: Ensures children, irrespective of socio-economic background or gender, have access to free, quality education through evening study centers strategically located in rural and marginalized communities.
2. Empowers First-Generation Learners: Supports first-generation learners by offering personalized academic assistance and mentoring to equip them with the tools necessary to navigate educational challenges and break the cycle of poverty.
3. Promotes Gender Equality: Challenges societal norms that perpetuate gender disparities in education by creating a conducive environment where girls are encouraged to pursue their academic aspirations and boys are not forced into early labour, thus fostering gender equality and empowering all children to realize their full potential.
4. Reduces Dropout Rates: Implements strategies aimed at reducing dropout rates by addressing the root causes of attrition, providing remedial support, and fostering a supportive learning environment that encourages continued participation in education.
5. Fosters Community Engagement: Forges strong partnerships with local communities, parents, and stakeholders to garner support for educational initiatives, raise awareness about the importance of education, and mobilize resources to sustain and expand the reach of the program.
6. Fosters Continued Relationships with Government Schools: This is core to GOP’s mission. Through collaboration, support, and a shared commitment to improving education, we have successfully strengthened ties with the educational institutions in Vellore, Arni, and Thiruvannamalai Districts.
By steadfastly pursuing these objectives, the Buddha Smiles project endeavors to transform the lives of underprivileged children, instill hope for a brighter future, and contribute to the socioeconomic development of the communities it serves.
Buddha Smiles educational centers serve as educational havens for a total of 570 children throughout the year (current as of August 2024) in regular centers as well as 82 children in coordinating centers which provide individualized attention and support for children in need.
Buddha Smiles educational centers serve as educational havens for a total of 570 children throughout the year (current as of August 2024) in regular centers as well as 82 children in coordinating centers which provide individualized attention and support for children in need.
Teachers and staff have strong relationships with the broader educational landscape, including local authorities and schools so that they can play an integral role in the local community and actively engage students, families, teachers, and schools. This allows our team to diligently track students’ progress and ensures the Buddha Smiles centers play a vital role in empowering the children we serve to pursue bright and empowered futures.
Thank you for making dreams come true..
Thank you, Guru Krupa Foundation, for making the dream of quality education a reality for over 600 students every year. More than that, this year Guru Krupa Foundation is also supporting 150 girls aboard our Blossom Buses in Mewat Haryana and Rajasthan, and 150 girls through Lotus Pedals in the state of Jharkhand, India. Though we have previously distributed thousands of bikes in Cambodia, this is the beginning of this new initiative in India (as a part of our Jharkhand Project). Read all about the Jharkhand Project in a previous LO News post.
To all of our partners, we couldn’t do any of what we do without you. To our donors, thank you for being here. Let’s make this year one to remember.
We love Buddha Smiles!
