Opportunity- a student at the school
Prajna Vihar School - Early History
The Pragya Vihara School was founded in February 1990 at the request of local villagers by members of the Bodhgaya community and foreign visitors. The school is a charitable organization and depends entirely on donations and sponsors for the children. The school provides free education.
The school is located on low-lying rice paddy land in a village one kilometre from the centre of Bodhgaya. Bihar is one of the poorest states of India with an illiteracy rate of almost 80%. The public education system there is totally inadequate and provides no schools for such villages. The villagers are mostly Hindus and Muslims. The majority of the villagers are considered untouchable by the high caste Hindus.
The untouchables or "Harijans" (Children of God), as Ghandi named them, were given equal rights and privileges as Indian citizens three years after Independence. The caste system, however, is still a cruel part of Indian society. The low caste and poor people of India have little opportunity to improve their lives of subsistence. Most families in the village earn between $1 and $2 per day. Most children grow up illiterate without healthcare and proper understanding of hygiene. Their diet is very poor, consisting mainly of rice and potatoes with vegetables and lentils a luxury. Acute vitamin deficiency and unsafe drinking water are the causes of many illnesses. These children are unaware of their potential as human beings. The Pragya Vihara School gives an opportunity to these children.
The aims and objectives of the school are : (1) to impart a meaningful and suitable education for both boys and girls of the underprivileged community; and (2) to develop good human qualities and spiritual values. Long term goals of the school are to develop related projects to improve the quality of life in the village in the areas of Health Care and Family Planning, Adult Education, Care for the Environment, and Economic Development.
The Situation in Bodhgaya (1994)
The figures are alarming. The literacy rate of Bihar, India's poorest state, stands at 27%. Poverty, corruption, crime and sickness pervade the area. The area of Gaya has a notorious reputation. The present there is uncertain where villagers have no firm assurance of a meal for the day. The future lingers in the mind like a dark shadow for the countless numbers struggling to keep their life, spirit and local community together. The children take birth in this uncertain environment where the land is often hard and dry generating little produce for all the effort undertaken to grow food. One in four babies will die before the age of five.
Without education, the children face a grim future. The inability to read and write in the contemporary world places adults in desperate and unforgiving circumstances. Education means knowledge. It means the power to communicate, to understand. It is the key to making changes - to launch initiatives, personally, socially and politically. Education is the major instrument to improve the quality of life.
Our school the Pragya Vihar School (the School for an Abiding Understanding) represents a seed to nourish the minds of some of the young from the village of Bodh Gaya. We do not know what fruit this seed will bring in future generations but we trust this seed will provide a worthwhile life for the poor and downtrodden.
There is something rare about our school, even by Indian standards. It is genuinely inter-religious - Catholic nuns, Buddhist monks, Hindus, Muslims, non-religious - all cooperating together. The cultural and religious tradition of India values tolerance but there are intolerant forces in India that generate an atmosphere of fear and mistrust between the various religious communities. Our school works to uphold the spirit of love and respect for the various religious and secular traditions.
But the children come first. In the West we complain about
truancy among schoolchildren. In the village of Bodh Gaya truancy
is not the problem. Poverty is the problem. When some of the 115
children at our school fail to turn up for school, it means one
of four things.
1. The parents have told them to go and beg in the village particularly
when rumours circulate of wealthy foreign Buddhist pilgrims coming
to Bodh Gaya.
2.The parents need the children to work in the fields or at home.
3. The children go off with their friends to attend a class in
another school (a problem unknown in Western schools!).
4. The monsoon sweeps through the school with its sparsely thatched
roof and part mud walls.
Yet despite these circumstances, the children come to school with a degree of enthusiasm. It is a place for them to develop their skills and build up friendships and the sense of community. They learn to read, write, sing, dance, raise and answer questions. We have witnessed their parents, mostly illiterate, squat on the land near the school watching their children engage in studies and cultural activities outside the classroom.
What makes the Pragya Vihar School possible? Our generosity, our commitment, our willingness to find the money every year to keep the school running. Thank you. Thank you to the children. Thank you to our small team of dedicated teachers. And thank you to everyone who gives some money to keep the school running throughout the year.
Christopher Titmuss
Prajna Vihar School committee member
Totnes, England, 1994.