Jaigopal Garodia Vivekananda Vidyalaya - Chennai, India.

Today, we'd like to introduce our lovely supporters to a very worthy cause. We finally have enough information on the school that we would like to donate our proceeds to, and we'd love for each of you to know more about it!

Jaigopal Garodia Vivekananda Vidyalaya CBSE School is in the city of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, India. It has recently taken on the responsibility of opening a new section of it's school that teaches religious texts along with the current educational syllabus at the school. Teachers from the local well-known and well-established temples, namely the Kanchi Kama Koti Peetam, come to the school to instruct the children in the Hindu vedic arts and scriptures, while they also learn a "normal curriculum" during school hours. The children accepted into this program are all from low-income Brahmin families. They also live at the school, though a formal hostel hasn't been constructed for them yet. A floor of the school has been evacuated for them to stay in when school is not in session. These children wake up at 3am each morning so that they can learn religious texts from 4:30am-7am, when they go to school for the "regular curriculum" in science, math, english, etc. After their classes finish at 4pm, the students return to their religious study until 8pm each day. Everything (living arrangements, food, clothing, and education) is provided free of cost for these kids thanks to the donations of various sponsors. 

All the proceeds from selling any of the paintings from ShishyaArt go towards this cause. As of now, we have collected $500 in the past year from the sales of paintings. This would most likely support a child in this school for one year, and cover food, clothing, living accommodations, and education expenses. Our goal is to sponsor one or two children all the way through their education (10 years). Below are some pictures from the school's opening and celebratory functions. 

Here's hoping that ShishyaArt is successful in its goal! Keep checking back for more pictures and updates!! Be sure to check out the new additions to our store on Etsy!

Thanks for reading,

~ShishyaArt Creations