The Loyola School - Providing Hope for Youth,  Women, and the Community of Rerua

  1. Government Schools are Inadequate for Educating Rerua’s Youth

    Rerua is physically separated from most government facilities by the Subarnarekha River. Since transportation across the river is not always safe and available, it is difficult to access the region.  There is little government supervision of the public schools. Teachers in the region often come to class only sporadically. Consequently, many children are not receiving an adequate education and are testing far below their expected grade level abilities. 

    In Rerua, government run schools are not boarding schools. Day students are often kept out of school by their parents during planting season (June – August), and during harvest time (November – January).  They miss large amounts of classroom time that they could otherwise spend on learning. 

    It is crucial that the Loyola School provide a place where the children of Rerua can live at the school and be givend daily instruction with reliable teachers. Providing these essentials to Loyola School students makes it possible for them to test at their normal grade levels and often far above their local government school counterparts. We are seeking scholarship support for both girls and boys since their parents are poor and might take the children out of school to have them do farming tasks.
     

  2. Women Remain Uneducated

    The Loyola School educates many more boys than girls. It will continue its work with boys but it needs to redirect some efforts to give more attention to girls. Although many families allow sons to attend school, they often do not share this same view in relation to their daughters. Frequently they prefer that girls live at home and help with unskilled tasks such as housework, taking care of cattle, caring for younger siblings, and helping in the fields. When girls reach 12 or 13 years of age they are typically married off by their parents to men in their mid twenties. This continues the ongoing cycle of poverty for women and we need to break this cycle!

    The Loyola School is committed to change these attitudes and to give girls the same educational opportunities as boys    . Father Kongari personally travels around the region petitioning families to allow their daughters to attend the school. He explains to these families that he is offering their daughters a different way of life, which will include an education, a chance to mature before being married, and an opportunity to pursue other possible careers. While it is often difficult to convince families to permit their daughters to attend the Loyola School, scholarships have proven to be a substantial incentive. While some families have a hard time understanding the value of education, they do value a full scholarship being offered to their daughters. They appreciate that their girls will receive an education until they complete high school with the board and lodging provided at no cost to the family.  This reduces a financial burden on these already impoverished people.

    This perspective can be very persuasive to the poor families in the region, and that is why your scholarship donations are crucial to the success of the Loyola School and the young girls of Rerua.    

    By convincing families in the Rerua region to allow their daughters to be educated, the Loyola School is dramatically changing their lives. Girls can now avoid the plight of females in their community, which is having arranged marriages at age 13, giving birth to children at age 14, becoming a grandmother by age 30, suffering old age at 40, and having a life expectancy of less than 45 years. 
     

  3. Bettering the Community

    The Loyola School is providing a chance for both young men and women to flourish. Educating children benefits not just the children, but the community at large.  It sets in motion better conditions for the generations that will follow.

    We hope to raise sufficient funds so that the students who stand out as academically inclined may later attend college and begin skilled careers. In addition, our hope is that one day these educated boys and girls will be able to choose their own marriage partners, have healthy families and serve as role models for the impoverished youth in their communities. You can help.