Our Affiliated Site: The English Medium School and Hostel in Dornakal, Andhra Pradesh, India

English Medium School and Hostel:

  • Grade Levels Served: First – tenth grades
  • Facility Description: Located in the Dornakal Cathedral Compound, the English Medium Hostel includes a dormitory, a study hall, a mess hall and a bathroom facility. The grounds include gardens and ample space for sports and recreation.
  • Education: Admission into this academically challenging school is an achievement that many children strive to obtain. All courses are taught in English.
  • Academic Schedule: In India, the school year varies some by region but typically begins in late June and ends in late April, with a two-to-three week break in December.
  • Daily Schedule: While education is the primary focus for the children enrolled here, a typical day also includes various assigned chores, gardening and military-style drills (harking back to the days of British colonization). Time for recreation and the completion of homework assignments is also included.
  • Nutrition: Children receive — and participate in the preparation of — three nutritious meals each day.

From the snowcapped Himalayans to tropical beaches, India is truly a nation of contrasts. It boasts a rich history spanning tens of thousands of years. In fact, the earliest known civilization in South Asia once called India’s fertile Indus Valley home. Today, with the world’s second-largest population, India includes a staggering variety of ethnicities, languages, religions and cultures. Its wealth of natural resources and vibrant cultures, however, belie the abject poverty in which so many of India’s citizens live.

The town of Dornakal, in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, is no exception to these maladies. Within this rice-producing region, which is susceptible to crop-destroying flooding and droughts, thousands of field laborers earn very low wages. Due to the resulting widespread poverty, few parents are able to send their children to school. For this reason, the English Medium School and Hostel serves as a beacon of hope. Situated within the Cathedral compound in Dornakal, the school is run by the Church of South India. It offers impoverished children of this region shelter, nutrition and education — the key to breaking the cycle of poverty so that these deserving youngsters may rise above the difficult circumstances from which they come.