Sponsor college education for a meritorious girl by Senior Citizens Bangalore

The lowermost economic segment of Indian citizens sends its children to ‘government’ schools. When these students clear the SSLC / Class Xth Board exams, they go to government or private colleges where the fee is quite steep by their standards. A degree course in Commerce could range from INR 15,000 to 30,000 per year. The parents take loans from local money lenders and get sucked into the cycle of debt.

From January to June of 2022, SCB has provided close to Rs 4,00,000 lakhs as scholarships to 110 girl students .

For the last two years, 2020- 2022, students had been studying from home on account of Covid regulations. In 2022 , therefore, many students could not give their best performance during their exams. The number of students scoring over 80 percent was fewer. However, SCB offered scholarships to students who had shown potential during the year and in the school exams. We hope to mentor these students so that now their academic scores demonstrate their actual potential.

IMPACT

1. When first generation learners complete higher education they lift entire families out of poverty.
2. The burden of the poor being trapped by educational loans is avoided.
3. SCB helps deserving students express their potential otherwise held back by poverty. Ashwini G.N is an exceptionally brilliant girl student from a very poor family. Her father NarayanaSwamy is a farmer earning about Rs10,000 per month. Her mother Padma Farmer labour work. She has a brother and a younger sister.

In the Xth standard, Ashwini scored 96.48%, 92% in her XIth standard, 91.83% in her XII standard. She is very motivated towards improving the lot of farmers. She wishes to set up her start up company after she graduates and take up a project on agriculture-based water machines. She is also an avid reader and is at present reading Kuvempu’s auto biography in Kannada.

She is now doing her final year of B.Sc Sericulture at Hoskote. Her annual fee for this programme is Rs. 25,000/ -

SCB has now taken up the responsibility of part funding her fees through the donations received from Give India under this scheme.

Senior Citizens Bangalore (SCB) is an NGO that works in the area of supporting the education of the poor. We choose students from the 8th standard onwards and provide them with educational support till they get a job. We believe that educating one poor child leads to lifting one family above the Poverty Line. In this endeavour, we work with Government Schools in Urban and Rural areas of Bangalore. We touch the lives of 1,500 students by supporting their schools and colleges. We set up libraries, digitised classrooms, science labs and help in constructing clean toilets. We also help other students who show us grit and the will to do well. Our primary focus, however, is to pay the fees of students who have earned good grades. Attached is a picture of Priyanka - she is the daughter of a house help. She has done B.Sc in Biotechnology, Biochemistry and Genetics from Garden University, Bengaluru, with a CGPA of 8.22. She has done her internship with the Harish R Bhat Science foundation and has written a paper on Avifaunal diversity. She wishes to do her M.Sc and then become a researcher, preferably in Oncology. Her interest is in sustainable living. Despite her financial circumstances - her mother earns about 20,000 a month - this student has demonstrated her desire to take up further studies and pursue her area of interest. SCB has now taken up the responsibility of part funding her fees through the donations received from Give India under this scheme. Similarly, we support 350 other meritorious girl students.

SCB follows a few guidelines for giving scholarships. Students have to fill up a form. They are then interviewed by a panel of our members. Our panellists also meet their parents to check on whether the cases are genuine. We then request the School / College Principals to verify their scorecards. After this, the Scholarship Committee takes a call on selecting the deserving students.

Due to COVID, the form filling had to be an online submission. Our senior members could not go to the schools as these were shut. We depended a lot on the recommendation of the Principals. And wherever possible, we interviewed students online. Many of our students do not have access to the internet and usually, a family shares a single phone.

With the new academic year starting in June 2022, we hope to be able to meet the students face to face and continue to support them till they graduate or choose to take on higher studies.

We have been giving scholarships to meritorious students since 2010. It started with 10 rural students and now the number has grown to around 300 rural students. Some of these students have completed their education and are now working. These students - our scholarship girls - have set up a Trust called Asara Foundation. The girls pool in their money, crowd collect funds and they in turn are helping the other students. They have replicated our programme and it has been a huge ripple effect. Now, more students are able to pursue their educational goals.

In our Scholarship Programme, we usually support needy students right from their 8th standard till they graduate. This year, we were happy to sponsor the education for the Girl student beyond their graduation and into their post-graduation years. Several of our scholarship students took on M.Sc courses, one is doing her LL.B and one of our students has enrolled for a PhD programme in Economics. All our students have studied in government schools.

We did not face any challenges. We could operate our tasks online. However, since schools and colleges were closed, we were not able to physically meet our scholarship girls.

This year, despite the Covid setback, 10 of our rural students enrolled for an M.Sc in Physics. We have shared here the picture of one student for this course - Bhavani S. This is a huge achievement as all of them are first-generation learners. One student - Sai Nandini (photo shared) has enrolled for an M.Sc in Biochemistry. One of our students - Supritha (photo shared) is in her final year of Engineering. One of our scholarship girls topped the MCA program and it is heartening to know that she now earns a salary of 45,000 Rs per month.

The Scholarship Program run by Senior Citizen’s Bangalore is an attempt to help students from impoverished families  pursue higher education. While school education in government schools is free for the girl child, college education is expensive for both boys and girls. Through this program, we identify meritorious students and encourage them to become graduates and post graduates and then become suitably employed. For Urban scholarships we make no difference on the basis of caste or gender. The rural scholarships are only for girls. By educating them, we not only empower an individual,  we also enable mindset changes towards gender equality.
Background - Senior Citizens Bangalore started its scholarship
program in 2012. We gave 3 scholarships (Rs. 5,000 each per year)
totaling to Rs. 15,000 per year. The first scholarship girl Chandana
B.U. came first in Tumkur University in 2017 in BCA and got gold medal. Thereafter she did her MCA and is now working. 

Current Status - In 2020-2021 the number of scholarship students have increased to 83 with scholarship amount of Rs. 762,000. About Rs. 2,00,000 more will be given by 31 March 2021. The number of girl students is 72.

The students are studying  various courses such as – Science, Commerce, Arts and also subjects such as BCA, Agriculture, Sericulture, Horticulture, Nursing, Paramedical, MBA, Bed and Engineering etc.  We have also started giving scholarships to students doing Masters in Science, Commerce and Arts.

Many of these students are coming first or second in the colleges and two girls have come first and one second in the university also over the period.

This year 4 students have got Gold Medals at the Bengaluru University convocation held on 31 Jan 2021. One girl Mahalakshmi has topped the university in BA and has got 6 gold medals in all the six subjects. Three of the girls Mahalakshmi, Rachana and Priyanka are pursuing BEd program and we are giving them scholarships. The fourth Manjula is working as an associate in Cap Gemini an IT company. Another girl Sushmitha G.A. has come second in University in BSc Cardiac Care and is working in a hospital in their Heart department. Both of them have come above the poverty line.
We would like to increase the number of SCB scholarships to about 100 in next 2 years and would appreciate if you could allocate more funds for this project.

Scholarship & Sports awards to deserving Girls

Athletics : During January 2020 students of Govt Girls High School, Hosakote participated in sports and games Olympiad organised by DELL in Bangalore with 500 School children, GGHS was represented by 10 athletes, 16 football Players and 12 Throw Ball players. They came back with Gold medals in all the events and in both the games and also with all 3 trophies. Ms Usha was a Gold Medalist , a student of this school, she went to PU and Degree college and continued her sports activity. Her trainer changed her event to weight Lifting because of her short height. She won the Gold in Weight Lifting In Khelo India 2020. She may be picked up for Olympics Training based on her overall performance and potential.

Scholarship.:We have been paying scholarship to Ms. Sushmitha for last 5 years, who is a very good and intelligent student. She has come from a very poor family, her father works in Pvt Factory and mother is a home maker. She has never scored less than 85% in her studies. Her hobbies are singing, playing and listening to jokes.
We have also been paying scholarship to Ms Yamunashree who also comes from a very poor family, her mother is a teacher. She has also never scored less than 84% in her studies. She is a state level Hockey player.
These Two Girls Ms Sushmitha and Ms Yamunashree have come 1st and 2nd In Jayadeva Inst of CV & CS& R college with distinction marks. Ms Sushmitha is expecting a good rank in University. Another Girl Ms Humeera has come first in 2 year with distinction .

Girls engaged in multiple activities

Program Update

We have awarded scholarship to meritous and needy students and Private PU Degree colleges in Bangalore Urban and Rural Hosakote. We have awarded scholarship amounting to Rs. 31.20 lakhs , to encourage studens, especially Girls from Hosakote. We have increased Smart Class facilties in Govt High school and PU college in Domlur, which has benefitted not only students from 8th std to 10th std but to PU 1 & PU 2 also.We have provided 6 class rooms with Kyans in GGHS, Hosakote wih audio visuals with course content and 5 rooms will be smart rooms. We have organized 4 lectures for 400 girls studying in GFGC Hosakote on Social scientific Temper with faculty provided by CMCA. WE have also provided 4 lecutres for GGPU girls on the same subject. GGHS Hosakote has got 6 gold medals and 1 silver adn 1 bronze medal at Jr.National Athletics Championship held at Goa. so also, GGHS Hosakote sports girl was individual champion in District Sports Athletics Meet. They won the team trophy at the same sports and helped Hosakoteget the best Taluka trophy.

Story from the field

Miss Chandana B U, is from a very poor family. Her father's name is Umesh B.C. He is a farmer. Her mother's name is Dakshayini and she is a housewife. She has one brother. His name is Nuthan and he is currently pursuing B.Com.
The annual income of the family is INR 40,000.

Chandana has been getting scholarships from Senior Citizens Bangalore from 10th Std. Now she is in the final semester of Masters of Computer Application from RV Engineering College. She has scored 79.36% in Xth Standard. She scored 77% in PU 1st 80% in PU 2nd semester.
She has completed her Bachelors of Computer Application before her MCA. She secured the first rank in BCA in Tumkur University. She got exemption from 1st year and she is the first girl to get admission in R.V. College of Engineering. She is now in the final 6th semester in which she has to do a project work. She has been selected and given a break by a Canadian Financial Co with good salary. She is thankful for getting scholarship and is inspired to help other needy girls to become like her. She wants to become an Entrepreneur.

Program Update

Last year Senior Citizens Bangalore awarded scholarships to meritorious and needy students in Government and private PU and Degree colleges in Bengaluru and Hoskote. This year they have distributed scholarships amounting to Rs. 18 lakhs, to encourage students, especially girls, to study in PU and Degree courses and to achieve their goals and achieve fincial success. They have also started Smart Classes in Government High School, Domlur, which will benefit students from 8 std to 10th Std. In addition, they are planning to start a Career Guidance program for the 10th std children of Govt. High School, Domlur.

Story from the field

Ms. Saha J B is the daughter of Mr. Byrappa and stays with her parents in Jadigehalli, Hosakote. Her father is a coolie and Mother is a housewife. She has 2 sisters. She scored 81% in Xth Standard. In 1st PU she scored 83% and in 2nd PU she scored 90%. She is now doing her 1st Year B.com in Shree Aditya Degree College, Hosakote. Her ambition is to become an Accountant and to help her family fincially. She has been gifted an upgraded laptop for her excellent performance in the PU examitions by Senior Citizens Bangalore.