Local Hostel Children are “Change Agents”

In 2008, our program started out in a small hostel set up to accommodate boys in grades 6 through 10 who wanted to attend school. Since then, the program has grown in size, scope, and the quality of services provided. Today, the hamlet-to-hostel project is a network comprised of six hamlet schools with a large hostel capable of accommodating both girls and boys. Additionally, we have started to establish upstream and downstream link interventions where we are able to lead tribal children from their hamlets to school, college, and opportunities beyond. Our hamlet-to-hostel network consists of 177 children in hamlet schools and 48 children in our hostel. A critical issue affecting area hamlets was inadequate nutrition and rampant communicable diseases. Children from our hamlets residing in our hostel were the change agents; they developed a health campaign and went out to the respective hamlets encouraging residents to implement basic hygiene techniques such as boiling water, proper hand washing, and eating local fruits. Damayanthi_Tribal_Children_Health_Rally