Tuesday 1 April 2014 One teacher schools, known as ‘Saraswati Vidyalayas’ are transforming the lives of children in remote villages in India and Nepal, and a further five can now be built thanks to a donation from students at The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL). Student members of the Hindu and Sikh societies at GSAL have handed over a cheque for £5,000 to a representative of the charity Saraswati Vidyalaya, a service project of The Three Rs Education Trust. The cheque brings the sum raised over the last six years to a total of £10,000. The main fundraiser each year is the Diwali show, organised by the Hindu and Sikh student faith leaders, an event which brings the whole community together for an evening of Indian food, music and dance. As well as the Diwali show, a tasty sum is raised each year through curry tastings and cooking demonstrations thanks to the generosity of Mr and Mrs Dabhi of Hansa’s Restaurant in Leeds. Mr Hashmukh Shah is Saraswati Vidyalaya’s coordinator in the UK. He said: “We are extremely grateful to GSAL for so actively supporting Saraswati Vidyalaya. Education is empowerment, and through your sponsorship of schools in India and Nepal you are helping disadvantaged students to overcome illiteracy and resist exploitation. Thanks to GSAL we have built nine schools over five years – today’s donation alone will fund five more.” Akash Ramnath, Hindu student faith leader, said: “Education is a fundamental right for every child and we are proud to support this charity which provides education to children who don’t have the advantages that we take for granted. The Hindu and Sikh communities at GSAL are very inclusive and I would like to thank everyone who has supported us, in school and from the wider community.” Pictured: L-R Akash Ramnath (Student faith leader, GSAL Hindu Society), Mr Hashmukh Shah (UK coordinator of Saraswati Vidyalaya) and Manraj Thethi (Student faith leader, GSAL Sikh Society) General Sixth Form News
