Our Affiliated Project: The Stambalagaruvu Boys’ Home in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India

 

facts about the Stambalagaruvu Boys’ Home:

  • Grade levels served: Fourth – tenth grades
  • Facility description: The Home includes a two-story dormitory that can house fifty students. The ground floor has a dining room and space to study, and children sleep on the second floor, where there is a separate kitchen. There is also a large playground, and the school that the boys attend is only a three minutes’ walk from the dormitory.
  • Education: In addition to core subjects taught at the nearby school, students receive supplemental instruction at the Home in computer literacy and vocational skills/handicrafts.
  • Nutrition: Children receive — and participate in the preparation of — three nutritious meals each day.
  • Daily schedule: School begins at 8:45 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m. each school day, with an hour-long break for lunch. A typical day also includes various assigned chores and time for recreation and the completion of homework assignments. School holidays include Sundays, every other Saturday and public holidays and festivals.

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 city of Guntur, in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, is no exception to these maladies. Thousands of field laborers earn very low wages in this rice-producing region, which is susceptible to crop-destroying flooding and droughts. Due to widespread poverty, parents struggle to make ends meet, and few are able to send their children to school. For this reason, the Stambalagaruvu Boys’ Home — located in the outskirts of Guntur city — serves as a beacon of hope. Founded in 2010, the Stambalagaruvu Boys’ Home provides the poorest children of the Guntur slums and children from surrounding rural areas with shelter, nutrition and education. As a caring sponsor, you are providing these deserving students with the hope, education and opportunity they need in order to rise above the difficult socioeconomic circumstances from which they come.