Jeevan Jyothi Public School in Hyderabad, India was founded three years ago by a small group of Indian Christians, to educate poor children living on the outskirts of the city. Before the school was built there was no other school in the area for needy children to attend. Today there are nearly three hundred students at the Jeevan Jyothi School, kindergarten through grade 10, from Christian, Hindu and Muslim families.

The school year in India begins in June and runs through April, so regular classes are in session in July, making our visit there timely.

Since most parents of our students were illiterate and definitely living below the poverty level of India, we were very willing to give our time and money to help in a school where efforts are under way to improve the lifestyle of the current generation of children.

India-style school bus, loaded with 21 children in a vehicle meant to convey 4 persons.

India is an extremely diverse country, and we discovered that the number and scope of its indigenous languages are a partial statement of that diversity. These include 18 officially recognized and more than 1600 minor languages and dialects. English and Hindi are widely used throughout the entire subcontinent, but neither is a “native” language and must be acquired through education. Knowledge of English is desired because it permits its users to go anywhere in India and literally opens doors to all of the world.

The children quickly warmed to the visitors and soon were shouting new songs in English and using the language creatively to do such activities as calculate the time differences between India and other parts of the world.

The Jeevan Jyothi Public School had neither telephone nor electricity. These two basic needs could be provided for $800. One of our goals is to make certain these essentials are in place in 1998. To accomplish this we need help from many people.