1. What is RDF?
2. What has RDF done so far?
3. What does RDF do now?
4. What is the girl/boy ratio in RDF schools?
5. How do RDF schools differ from government schools?
6. What % of RDF Income is used to run the schools?
7. Do you get any assistance from the government?
8. How can I help the cause?
9. Who are the current volunteers and educational partners?
1. What is RDF?
RDF stands for Rural Development Foundation. It was started by members of the Errabelli family who wanted to give back to the land that had brought them wealth. Recognizing access to quality education as the key to their success, they decided to start a school. Today, RDF educates 2,000 students in five primary schools and one junior college throughout Andra Pradesh. It was registered as a non-profit society under the Indian Public Societies Registration Act, on 10th April, 1996.
2. What has RDF done so far?
583 rural children have graduated from RDF’s schools in the last 11 years. These are the first generation of rural boys and girls in the state of Andhra Pradesh who have received a full-time education from nursery through to the age of 16.
One of RDF’s major achievements is its success at enrolling large numbers of girls who traditionally have been denied an education. This has been achieved largely as a result of an innovative decision to charge lower fees for girl students.
Some of our students go on to successful academic and/or professional employment. Others remain in the village and continue to participate in their communities. As a result of their RDF experience, they are less susceptible to fraud, understand their rights better, have better hygiene and nutrition, lack chauvinism and will do more to educate their own children.
RDF ‘s great achievement is that by the quality of the education, it gives its students options so that they can make their own decisions about how to conduct their lives.This is a significant break with the past and the sort of lives the students’ mothers and fathers have endured in rural India.
Outside the classroom, RDF has played a significant role in trying to improve the villages where its schools are located. RDF believes that education is the best way to transform village life and lead families out of poverty. Children are encouraged to help their parents in the fields and at home, after school. Students are involved in the organic gardens attached to the schools which provide produce for the school mid-day meals. There are active parents’ committees helping in each of the schools and learning about the importance of respecting their local surroundings; keeping the environment clean and tidy and keeping diseases at bay.
3. What does RDF do now?
RDF’s focus has always been on imparting high quality education and this continues to remain our top priority. Currently, RDF is focusing on its core strength: providing high quality education, in particular improving students’ written and spoken English language skills . Teachers are learning to use English in their daily life in various ways. Every week, teachers send information for the RDF blog in English and also maintain daily diaries. These are corrected by our Redlawada education partner, Pooja Saxena.
We are in the process of transitioning to English medium in RDF Kalleda School and RDF Matendla School. We are being helped in this process by the staff of Silver Oaks School, Hyderabad and our volunteer, Rachel Cohen. Silver Oaks School is also helping us with their innovative curriculum which leans away from rote learning, moving beyond text books and helping children learn from their natural environment and connecting it with real life.
To supplement our efforts in providing high quality education, we are using Khan Academy CD’s for better understanding in Math and Science, the equipment and information was kindly donated to us by Value Labs.
Many of RDF’s graduates also work as policemen, teachers and Indian army and railway employees, call centre staff, tractor operators, barbers. Some have gone onto further education but find time to visit the schools to help students in a variety of way including supervising students on the Youth Empowerment and Social Awareness Programs. Alumni helped us during the Joy of Giving Week and at the Microsoft NGO mela. Among many other programs, RDF is particularly proud of its Sports achievements. RDF believes in exposing children to various forms of sporting talent, to build motivation and observe the skills required to do well. In this regard, 15 children were taken to view a volleyball competition and later participate at the national level. In addition, Class 8 student, Dhanalaxmi has been selected to represent AP in the National Athletics meet in the ‘Under 16’ category in the 3 km race, while 3 students have been selected to sports schools in sports quota.
4. What is the girl/boy ratio in RDF schools?
All RDF schools are co-education schools and, if necessary, we go to great lengths to ensure that at least 50% of students are girls.
5. How do RDF schools differ from other schools in the area?
Children at our schools get a very high degree of personal attention. Our class size is limited to 25 students at the primary level. We lay a great emphasis on early childhood development. Consequently we start new schools only with kindergarten and classes 1,2 & 3 and then slowly expand into the higher classes.
In many rural Government schools most of the primary sections for ages 6 to 9 are taught by one teacher in one room. We also provide a nutritious mid-day meal, books, and uniforms as part of tuition.
6. What % of RDF Income is used to run the schools?
A full 97.4% of the budget goes to run the schools. Only 2.6% is spent on administration and the rest is poured into running the schools.
7. Do you get any assistance from the government?
No.
8. How can I help RDF?
If you want to make a contribution to transforming the lives of rural under-privileged children, you can donate money, time, or services. You can join RDF as a member, volunteer and donate. Anything that you give will be gratefully accepted . Have any questions? Contact Us.
9. Who are the current volunteers and educational partners?
RDF is supported by a host of dedicated volunteers with varied expertise and assist us in specific areas of RDF operations.
- Rachel Cohen – Washington University. Based in Kalleda. Teaching English and helping KS transition to English medium
- Ramya Murthy – Helping RDF reach wider audiences through the use of social media and documentaries. PHOTO BLOG.
- Mr. Chary – Helping RDF in the realm of Finance and Accounts
- Mrs. Jayashree Chary – Helping RDF in the realm of PR and Education.
- Kim Vo – In charge of the RDF’s online newsletter and blog
- Neha Dharia- Assisting in website updates and content
- Mahipal- Guiding post holders in the use of systems and technology for RDF data
- Naresh- In charge of the accounts
- Wing Cdr Murtthy- Helping JC staff and students in confidence building measures and skills improvement
- Tushin – Assisting in developing the RDF Schools database project.
- Srinivas Karrae – In charge of FTP, HTML
- Madhavi Reddy – Restructuring the physical structure of the RDF website
Education Partners:
Pooja has been generously donating her time and expertise to develop critical thinking skills and innovative teaching methodology in Science and Maths for the teachers in Redlawada and Wadlakonda. She currently travels all the way to these tiny village once a month to offer ongoing training and mentoring and intends to dedicate more time in 2012 furthering the cause of good education for the poor. She also calls once a week for updates from the schools and answering questions that the schools may have.
Ms. Parimala
Ms. Parimala is a trained Montessori teacher who is helping teachers with child centric methods of teaching and learning at Narsimpalli School. She visits the school once a month to handhold and train the teachers. She checks in with the school once a week for updates and questions from the staff and students. She’s also encouraging parents to teach students about local culture
