RLEK added another milestone to its legacy of spreading education in the remotest areas and amongst the most deprived sections of the society with the inaugural of primary schools at the Taati and Hadiya. The schools are inaugurated by Mr. Jacques den Ridder and Mrs. Mary den Ridder from the Foundation Focus on Education, The Netherlands.
Taati is an isolated and inaccessible village of Mori block in Uttarkashi district is located at an altitude of 7500 ft. This remote village is backward in terms of basic amenities as well as education and employment. With no schools around the village, education has been way beyond the reach of most villagers. This remoteness, along with the backward socio-economic profile of the village, makes the school a unique endeavor. RLEK has made special efforts to ensure higher participation of girls in the school. The school has been located near a 'Chani', a shared area of farming land between three or four villages, so that children especially girls from nearby villages can also benefit from the school.
The villagers, who had organized an impressive cultural program for their guests, had keenly anticipated the inauguration of the school. Appreciating the huge number of girls among the children, Ridder couple stressed the importance of education and urged the villagers to encourage their children, specially the girls to attend the school.
Although less remote than Taati, Hadiya village is located in Jaunpur block of Tehri, consisting of mainly scheduled castes who have always been marginalized in the area. Arvind Sharma of RLEK says, "It is an everyday struggle for these people to gain access to essential amenities, like water, and for their voices to be heard. This was a major factor in deciding the location of the school". The impressively large school building, decorated with mural paintings, offers a new opportunity to these scheduled caste children and also gives them a platform to interact with the mainstream community, and thus come out of the confinement that they have always faced.
The local communities, who have also taken responsibility for the maintenance and management of the school, have donated the land for the schools. The Focus On Education Foundation, The Netherlands, has supported the infrastructure of the school, in Taati and Bazaar Grijpskerke, The Netherlands, with the kind support of Mr. Michel Coppoolse and Ms. Louise Broeksma from the Indian Rose Foundation, The Netherlands, facilitated the construction of building at Hadiya.