PPES is in regular contact with the community, and strongly believes
that its success is entirely dependent on the participation of the local
community.
Home visits and contact with the parents of our students is an
ongoing program at PPES.
Village Development Program By educating girls and
teaching them about gender equality, PPES hopes to improve the social
and physical environments of the 52 villages in which our girls come
live. One of our major drives is to improve these villages through by
improving their sanitation.
Most homes do not have toilet facilities; nearly everyone in rural
India goes to the fields to relieve themselves. Modesty forces women
urinate or defecate in the fields before sunrise or to hold it until
after the sun sets. In order to restore dignity of women and tackle the
issue of sanitation, PPES decided to construct toilets in the homes of
students who attend our school.
We have started the program in the village which sends the most girls
to our school, Karanpur. So far twelve
toilets have been constructed in homes, but we will begin
construction on more very soon.
Village Interaction We regularly visits students' homes to
better understand the background of the children and to help build a
relationship with the community. Regular meetings are held with local
and religious leaders to help emphasize the importance of education for
girls, with special emphasis placed on lower-caste communities.
Through this village interaction, PPES has been able to positively
motivate parents and girls about the need for education. The hope is to
develop a conducive environment for educating girls as well as to work
as an entry point for other rural development activities like
micro-thrifts, health initiatives, and the mobilization of the youth.
This effort has succeeded in bringing PPES closer to the community
and especially to mothers. PPES has opened a primary school in Bichola,
a village by Anupshahar. PPES analyzed that one of the reasons for high
dropout rate in PPGVS was due to lack of interest in the parents and
children towards education.
Health Camps For the past 18 years, PPES has organized
camps for cataract operations in rural villages. These camps last one
week, providing patients with free medical treatment plus food and
boarding facilities. Thousands of people have benefited from these
camps.
Beginning in 2007, PPES has also started health check-up camps. This
past year's event was attended by more than 300 people.
