rural development foundation · 2018-10-11 · irrigation in two acres of land where it is proposed...

Rural Development

Foundation

Making a lifelong difference through education.

Teach a boy and he will educate his sons.

Teach a girl and she will educate her FAMILY.

Director’s Annual Report December 2009

Table of contents Notice & Agenda 1

Director’s Report

CEO‟s Report 2

Donor list

Corporate Donors 4

In-Kind Donors 5

Individual Donors 6

Volunteers 10

Accounts (for year ending March 31, 2009)

Auditor‟s Statement 12

Financial Statements 16

Graphical Representation of Income & Expenses 25

Budget for Academic Year ending 30-6-2010 26

School News

Vital Statistics 31

Kalleda 32

Matendla 33

Redlawada 34

Wadlakonda 34

Narsimpalli 34

RDF Vanitha Achuta Pai Vidyalaya 36

Alumni 37

Annexures

Minutes of Previous 2008 AGM 39

Proposed Amendments 48

Marena Lin‟s report on Linguaphone 50

Directions to AGM venue 53

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AMENDED NOTICE & AGENDA

Notice is hereby given that the next Annual General Body Meeting of the Rural

Development Foundation will be held on Saturday, the 17th

of January, 2010 at 4:30 PM,

at ValueLabs, Madhapur, Hyderabad 500081. Directions are attached.

AGENDA

1. To receive and adopt the minutes of the 2008 AGM

2. To receive the Director’s Annual Report.

3. To consider and adopt the audited accounts together with the Auditor’s Report

for the year ended 31st March 2009.

4. To consider and approve the budget for the Academic year 2009-10.

5. To appoint auditors until the next annual general body meeting.

6. To consider and approve amendments to the Articles of Association.

7. To elect 4 * new directors of the board to replace the retiring directors (subject

to the approval of the proposed amendments to the Articles of Association). The

following directors (all of whom are eligible for re-election) are retiring:

Smt. Lakshmi Chary

Sri Utham Kumar

Sri G.V.S. Prasad

Sri Vaman Rao

Sri Shyam Sunder Reddy

8. To consider any other items with the permission of the Chair.

* As per the provisions of the existing Articles of Association, the number of directors to

be elected at each AGM is 5. The proposed amendment reduces the total number of

directors to 8 and therefore the number of directors elected at each AGM to 4. This is

subject to the General Body approving the proposed amendments.

Vidya Sagar Rao

Chief Executive Officer

Rural Development Foundation

December 15, 2009/ December 21, 2009

Encl: Directions to the AGM venue

Proposed Amendments (as approved by the Board of Directors)

PS

It is requested that the new Board of Directors meet immediately after the conclusion of

the AGM to elect the office bearers and conduct any other business with the permission

of the Chairman.

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Chief Executive‟s

Report The last year was a year of consolidation –

consolidating what we have and not

expanding beyond our means. We have

also expended much energy in preserving

the RDF “culture” that was so

painstakingly nurtured over the last 13

years for which RDF stands out.

The General Body, at the last (2008) AGM

conducted on the 20th

of December,

reflecting the views of the Founders,

endorsed the concept that “sustainability

was more important than replication”. This

was further “set in stone” by the board at

their first meeting immediately after the

AGM, mandating the Office Bearers to

achieve sustainability within the next three

years. Consequently the year 2008-2009

has been devoted to achieving

sustainability without sacrificing the

quality. Efforts for achieving sustainability

have been multi directional. They

included:

1. Making the beneficiary

community share a bigger

percentage of the operating costs,

2. Increasing internal revenues,

3. Reducing costs,

4. Getting free services from

volunteers,

5. Enlarging the donor base.

Beneficiary community contribution

During 08-09, the five schools beneficiary

community contributed about 20% of the

operating costs. In earlier years it used to

be about 16%. For the year 2009-10, on

account of the increase in fees, which the

community has willingly accepted, this

figure is likely to come up to 38%.

Raising internal resources

Action has been taken to improve the

efficiency of our agricultural

operations by introducing drip

irrigation in two acres of land where it

is proposed to raise the entire

vegetable requirement (amounting to

about Rs. 4,00,000 per annum) for the

3 RDF schools in Warangal district.

Kitchen waste is also being used as

feedstock for wormi-culture.

Bank interest income has increased

substantially on account of parking the

money in fixed deposits.

Reducing costs.

Systems have been put in place to monitor

and prevent unauthorized expenditure. The

monthly budgetary requests are scrutinized

to distinguish between the “must haves”

from the “nice to haves” that are

summarily slashed. This practice has

resulted in greater participation of the

school staff in fund raising at the grass

roots level. They have become very

proactive in raising “in-kind” donations

for items that they think the head office

might not approve!

One experimental “rocket stove” has

demonstrated that it can save firewood

consumption of about 67%. Several are

under manufacture and will be standard

issue at all RDF institutions.

On account of the steep rise in the price of

rice, thought is being given to the idea of

serving “idly sambar” a couple of times a

week. Idlys can be made from broken rice,

and hence reduce the cost of the meal

substantially and at the same time increase

the nutritional value.

Free Services from Volunteers

A large number of volunteers have

donated their time to impart special skills

not covered under the normal curriculum.

Our only expenditure has been the cost of

food. More details of their activities are

mentioned further below.

Increasing the donor base

During the last year, the donor base has

been expanded substantially. Several new

corporate donors, Cargill Global, Ivy

Computech and Microsoft have given

substantial donations under their

Corporate Social Initiative Programs. We

have also received our first Corpus Fund

donation from Ashna Reddy, a six year old

donor. Class and individual sponsors have

increased in substantial numbers.

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Donations

Donations continue to form the

cornerstone for sustaining the foundation‟s

activities. Another year has been

successfully concluded only because of the

generosity of the donors. It is therefore

fitting to acknowledge their contribution

through this annual report.

Corporate donors Several corporations have taken it upon

themselves to support us through their

Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

Among them are:

Cargill Global

Cargill was introduced to us by a well

wisher and past donor, Mr. Dilip

Advani of New York. After some

telephone exchanges and a day long

meeting at Cargill‟s offices in New

Delhi they took a decision to support us

on a regular basis. Several of their

employees donated money and became

child sponsors. Their official, Mrs.

Jayashree Ramaswamy took the trouble

of visiting the RDF School at Kalleda.

Subsequently, Cargill conducted a

campaign within their branches

worldwide and raised more money and

promised to support us on a year to year

basis. Their total support during the last

year amounted to Rs. 6,31,591.

Ivy Computech

A Hyderabad based IT company,

headed by Mr. Sachin Wagh was

introduced to us by Mr. Ahlad Ninoy, a

nephew of our chairman Mr. Manohar

Prasad. After several meetings and a

visit to our schools, they decided to

sponsor 50 of the poorest children on an

annual basis. Apart from this they have

spent another three lakhs and odd to

purchase education materials for the

schools. IvyComputech‟s and its

employee contributions upto now

amounts to Rs. 6,43,001.

Microsoft

Microsoft employees have been

donating money to us on a regular

basis. Their donations have been

matched on a rupee for rupee basis by

Microsoft. This year, we were invited to

several meetings with them and allowed

to publicize our activities at their

premises over several days. We are

hopeful that Microsoft will select us to

be one of their preferred NGOs.

SIS Infotech Pvt. Ltd.

A long time supporter of RDF, have

donated 50 computers and a large

number of tables.

Cosmos Ignite Innovations

Through an initiative of one Mr. Anil

Tata, a native of Warangal and now

resident of San Diego, USA who came

to know of us through our website,

managed to get us a donation of 50

Solar Powered LED Lights worth Rs.

82,000. These lights are to be used at

the VAPV hostel to help the students

study in the nights whenever there no

electricity available.

Spoorthy A grass roots level organization based

in Siddipet of Medak District has been

supporting the RDF School at Matendla

on a regular basis. The efforts to

develop this contact and make them

into a regular donor are entirely to the

credit of the school staff and their head

master Sri Vishnu Murthy.

Traditional Corporate Donors

We are always grateful to our regular

corporate donors, without whose support

things would have been difficult if not

impossible. We gratefully acknowledge

support from ValueLabs, Tulip Granites,

AngAuto, JK Tyres, Yellowline Heavy

Equipment, Kala Jyothi Printing Press,

IRDF and Washington University.

Corpus Fund

We are thankful to six year old Ashna

Reddy for becoming our first corpus fund

donor by donating Rs. 60,000.

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Corporate Donors

Contributions

Company In

2008-09

Upto

Nov 2009 Total

IRDF 9,258,800 2,319,500 11,578,300

Value Labs 1,100,000 900,000 2,000,000

ANG Auto 1,020,000 375,000 1,395,000

Washinton University 831,680 838,414 1,670,094

Yellow Line Heavy Equipments & Spare parts 463,850 463,850

Tulip Granites P. Ltd. 451,500 451,500

Silver Oaks School 402,100 402,100

J.K Tyres & Industries Ltd. 339,000 250,990 589,990

GAR Corporation Private Ltd 300,000 200,000 500,000

M/s. Cargill Global Trading India 250,000 436,000 686,000

Ranee Shankaramma Memorial Trust 100,000 100,000

Wanaparthy Education and Charitable Trust 100,000 100,000

KKPC Mumbai 59,820 59,820

Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt. Ltd. 35,000 500 35,500

Anigos Creations Pvt. Ltd. 25,000 25,000

Microsoft Matching Grant (through CAF, India) 24,885 27,360 52,245

Kapil Foods 8,000 8,000 16,000

Green Crop 2,500 2,500

Eurokids 2,000 2,000

Dietron Engineers Pvt. Ltd. 1,500 1,500

CFBT 700 700

Spectrum Creations 300 300

M/s. IVY Comptech Pvt. Ltd 318,000 318,000

Child In Need Institute (CINI) 73,850 73,850

Sri Venkateshwara Water Plant 10,000 10,000

Spoorthi Circle, (Siddipet) 1,050 1,050

Mor Jewellers (Rishika) 266 266

Grand Total 14,776,635 5,758,930 20,535,565

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Donors (in-kind)

Contributions (Notional Value)

Company/Individual Purpose In

2008-09

Upto

Nov 2009 Total

Kakatiya School Furniture for RDF Institutions 150,000 150,000

S.I.S Infotech Private Ltd. Furniture for RDF Institutions 258,000 258,000

Kala Jyothi Printing Press Discarded Paper for all schools -

will save on paper budget 75,000 25,000 100,000

Friends of

Mrs. E. Vanditha Rao

Digital Photo Camera, Video

Camera, CD's & Cassettes 24,000 1,590 25,590

Friends of

Mr. E. Rammohan Rao Dell Monitors 30 Nos 30,000 30,000

Mr. Venkateshwarlu Inverter for RDF School Kalleda 15,000 15,000

Mr. T. Rajeshwar Rao Hand held Microphone for RDF

School Kalleda 800 800

Mr. Dinakar Babu 20 Kg Rice 460 460

Dr. Narsimhachary Medicines for RDF School

Matendla 15,000 15,000

Dr. Vikram Camel Pencils and Skech pens for

RDF School Matendla 3,281 3,281

Vasavi Club Fans for RDF School Kalleda 3,000 3,000

Govt. Hospital,

Chinnakodur

Medicines for RDF School

Matendla 2,130 2,130

Mr. Aravid & Venu Reddy Pendrives for for RDF School

Kalleda & Matendla 2,000 2,000

Vishwas Agriculture Long Note Books 100 Nos 1,500 1,500

Through Govt. School Text books for RDF School

Matendla 1,060 1,060

Mr. Srinivas Dictionaries for RDF School

Matendla 720 720

IVY Comptech. Employees Tape Recorder, Walkman for RDF

School Kalleda 500 500

Mr. Bhaskar,

Ramagundam Diaries for RDF School Matendla 130 130

Grand Total 265,260 343,911 609,171

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Individual Donors Contributions

Name of Donor In

2008-09

Upto

Nov 2009 Total

Mrs. Rasika Reddy + Kalahita 218,588 218,588

Mr.Vidya Sagar Rao 203,000 203,000

Mr. Subba Rao Dukkipati 163,285 64,840 228,125

Smt. B. Nirmala Rao 125,000 125,000

Mr. Collin Gent 84,170 118,800 202,970

Mr. KVL Narayana Rao 50,000 50,000

Mrs. Neena Rao 50,000 50,000

Mr. Erik Kaeding 32,200 32,200

Microsoft Employee (Through CAF, India) 25,885 25,885

Mr. Nomula Ramachandra Reddy 25,000 25,000 50,000

Mr. Nick Horsehurough 20,000 20,000

G. Aravind 12,500 12,500

Smt. Jayashree Ramaswamy, (Cargill) 10,000 22,500 32,500

Mr. & Mrs. Ramesh / Kamala Venkateswaran 10,000 6,500 16,500

Mr. Subba Rao/ Mr. Sai Ram 10,000 10,000

Mr. E.Vasant Rao 10,000 10,000

Ms. Javidi Radhika Amarenderreddy 6,000 6,000

Mr. Amit Saini (Cargill) 5,000 6,250 11,250

Mr. Subramaniam Ganapathy (Cargill) 5,000 5,000

Mr. S.Vamshidhar (Khairatabad) 5,000 5,000

Mrs. Samantha Reddy 5,000 5,000

Wng. Cmdr. K. Prabhakar Rao 5,000 5,000

Mr. Sarvamangal V Parupudi, M/s. Anagha 5,000 5,000

P. V. Srinivas 5,000 5,000

Mr. T. Bhargav Kumar 5,000 5,000

Miss Fouzya - Kalleda Alumni Student 5,000 5,000

Mr. B. Naresh 5,000 5,000

Mr. Saidulu S.I of Chinnakodur 4,500 4,500

Mr. E. Ramohan Rao & Familey 4,496 4,496

Mr. Bhikshapathi 4,000 4,000

Misc Cash 3,904 3,904

Ms. Ipsita Aggarwal (Cargill) 2,500 2,500 5,000

Mr. Manish Sachdeva (Cargill) 2,500 2,500 5,000

Mr. Rajanarsu 2,500 2,500

P. Balraju 2,500 2,500

Mr. Kanakaiah RMP 2,500 2,500

Ms. Aparna Karnakar 1,001 1,001

Anna Liza, Euro kids Teacher 1,000 1,000

Mr. Joshila Sainath, Euro kids Teacher 500 500

Ms. M. Saroja [E.T.T] 500 500

Mr. Devraj Alumni 500 500

Mr. Srinu Alumni 500 500

Mr. Katerapally Praveen 500 500

Ms. Nageshwari, Euro kids Teacher 200 200

Mr. B. Swamy Raja 10 10

Sub Total 1,139,739 248,890 1,388,629

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Individual Donors (contd.) Contributions

Name of Donor In

2008-09

Upto

Nov 2009 Total

Brought Forward 1,139,739 248,890 1,388,629

Mr. Bala Brahmanandam 100,000 100,000

Ms. Isabela Labak 94,700 94,700

Miss Ashna Reddy (Krithiga) 60,000 60,000

Ross Hamou Jennings (Cargill) 49,591 49,591

Mr. Irfan Hussain 25,000 25,000

Dr. T. Dharma Reddy 25,000 25,000

Mr. U. Srinivas 15,000 15,000

Sudhakar Prasad (IVY) 13,000 13,000

Sachin Prakash Wagh (IVY) 13,000 13,000

Luiz Prethi (Cargill) 11,684 11,684

Mrs. & Mr. Girija & J.N. Jagannath 9,000 9,000

Ravindra Babu K (IVY) 7,150 7,150

Ananth Krishnan C S (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Sivanand Akella (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Sriram C (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Aditya Satyadev (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Renuka Nair (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Sreenadh Murthy Kondru (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Sivaramakrishna Gutta (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Anita Mankala K (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Murali Bhavani (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Prabodh Saha (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Arun Kumar Kokku (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Shinoj V. Gangadharan (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Subramaniam (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Sudhir Kumar. P (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Srikanth Sadagopan (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Ravishankar. T (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Siva Gurusamy (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Dinesh Kandakatla (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Rajagopalan S (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Venkateshara Rao Sanka (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Naveen Reddy Alka (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Anirudh Rao Gauravaram (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Annamraju Raghava Krishna Mohan (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Seshadri Avatharam (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Sridhar Chavali (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Prashanth Reddy R (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Arun Kumar Kokku (On behalf of FSS Team) (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Ramesh Kumar Navrang Ram (for Client Support

Team) (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Manish Kumar Trivedi (PVR Team) (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Mr. Atul Kumar Verma (Cargill) 6,250 6,250

Sub Total 1,139,739 866,765 2,006,504

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Name of Donor In

2008-09

Upto

Nov 2009 Total

Brought Forward 1,139,739 866,765 2,006,504

Mr. Ravi Parmeshwar (Cargill) 6,250 6,250

Mr. Santosh Lalchand Diwani (Cargill) 6,250 6,250

Ms. Jitesh Kantilal Avlani (Cargill) 6,000 6,000

Sun Bin (Cargill) 5,659 5,659

Mr. A. Raju 5,157 5,157

Ms. AVBK Harini 5,000 5,000

Smt. Jayashree (Khairatabad) 5,000 5,000

Mr. Naseeruddin Mohammed 5,000 5,000

Mr. Kiran Addala 5,000 5,000

Mr. Ch. Kanakaiah 5,000 5,000

Nagendra Kumar (IVY) 4,500 4,500

Mutyam Vissamsetti (IVY) 3,500 3,500

Rachna Pande (IVY) 3,250 3,250

Rajanikanth Mandava (IVY) 3,250 3,250

Prakash V Sajjala (IVY) 3,250 3,250

Smruti Ranjan Dwibedy (IVY) 3,250 3,250

Akshay Tandon (IVY) 3,250 3,250

Praveen Kumar B (IVY) 3,250 3,250

Venkata Ramana Sasanapuri (IVY) 3,250 3,250

Ashwin Kumar S (IVY) 3,250 3,250

C. Vamsi Chandra (IVY) 3,250 3,250

Ms. Namita Kapoor (Cargill) 3,000 3,000

Praveen Kumar Devatha (IVY) 3,000 3,000

Mrs. E. Vandita Rao 2,765 2,765

Arudra Kumar (IVY) 2,600 2,600

Sripathi Rajagopal (IVY) 2,600 2,600

Ms. Kuldeep Choudhary (Cargill) 2,500 2,500

Kammela Dasaradhi (IVY) 2,500 2,500

Prabhakar Reddy Nomula (IVY) 2,167 2,167

Raja Rao Yerra (IVY) 2,167 2,167

Sudhakar Gurram (IVY) 2,167 2,167

Ms. Neelam Dhingra (Cargill) 2,000 2,000

Karumuri Vanisri (IVY) 2,000 2,000

Ramachandra Rao Baru (IVY) 2,000 2,000

Anil Kumar Samudrala (IVY) 2,000 2,000

Veeresh Meesala (IVY) 1,500 1,500

Ahlad Ninoy V (IVY) 1,500 1,500

Sumeet Chug (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Neeraja Sanem (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Ankit Malik (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Leela Maheswarao Kollipara (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Phaneendra Kumar Divi (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Subba Rao. L (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Sub Total 1,139,739 1,002,597 2,142,336

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Name of Donor In

2008-09

Upto

Nov 2009 Total

Brought Forward 1,139,739 1,002,597 2,142,336

Kamiya Maini (IVY) 1,300 1,300

K. Srinivasulu (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Abhishek Patnaik (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Ratheesh Radhakrishnan (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Sridhar Sajja (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Ravikanth Tadikonda (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Pinky Sinha (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Majeet Chayel (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Anshul Kulshrestha (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Swaroop Kumar Kokkula (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Suresh Kommavarapu (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Manikanda Pandian Rajan (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Sri Venkata Surya Viswa Rama Krishnam Raju

Nadimpalli (IVY)

1,300

1,300

Shyam Kumar K V (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Mallikarjuna Rao Janga (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Uma Maheswari S (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Mallikarjuna Gumidelly (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Bharathi Arun Makkala (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Riju Bhargava (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Ravikiran Ponugupati (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Rakesh Kumar Maini (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Prashant Anil Ranade (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Mr. S. Raju 1,160 1,160

Raghavender Reddy P (IVY) 1,000 1,000

Dindigala Venu (IVY) 1,000 1,000

Christopher Joseph Domingo (IVY) 1,000 1,000

Mr. A. Narsaiah 1,000 1,000

Ms. V. Swetha 935 935

Mr. Shetty Nitin (Microsoft) 500 500

Vijay Anand Myakala (IVY) 500 500

Grand Total 1,139,739 1,038,292 2,178,031

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Volunteers Erik Keading

RDF‟s first volunteer from the US,

continues to visit us. During the last 18

months he has had two stints with the RDF

Schools. His report on the Narsimpalli

children aroused sufficient emotion at the

“Toast to Education” fundraiser in New

York and brought in substantial donations

to us through IRDF. Erik‟s main focus is on

empowering the teachers to constantly

improve and innovate. He also feels that

they have come a long way and that they do

need his help any more!

Isabella Labak

A young student of Columbia University,

New York and of dual nationality (US and

Austrian) was introduced to us by

Karishma, daughter of Mr. Rammohan and

Mrs. Vandita. She spent four weeks

teaching English both at Kalleda and

Matendla. She lived on the food that was

served to the students and managed to ward

off any and all illnesses. At the end of her

stay she not only insisted on paying for her

maintenance costs, but upon her return to

Austria she raised 20,000 Euros as a

donation! The board is for ever grateful to

her for this gesture of support.

Marena Lin

A student from Harvard, came to

learn of RDF through our website

and wrote of her interest in

volunteering for a month. After

several email exchanges and phone

conversations, she was invited to do

a project on teaching English using

the Linguaphone. She spent an

entire month teaching two sessions

of students. Her report on her work

is included in the annexure.

Village India Program 3

The Washington University, St.

Louis, USA, concluded their

program for the third year in a row

at the Vanitha Achuta Pai

Vidyalaya in Kalleda. This year,

their team was led by Professor Ken

Botnick. He brought a total of eight

students with him. A large number

of our first year students were

inducted into the program and were

taught various subjects which

included architecture, debating,

interview techniques, videography,

art etc. This year it was organized

to have the least impact with their

regular classes. Only their last

regular period was eliminated.

It is noteworthy to mention that

during the admissions for the 2009-

10 academic year, several aspirants

cited the Village India Program as

the reason for their desire to come

to our Vidyalaya. As expected, our

students enjoyed the interaction

with the WashU students.

This year several of the WashU

volunteers fell sick for extended

periods of time. In some cases the

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sickness was caused by some of the

volunteers consuming local ice cream and

other snacks. One student had to return pre-

maturely.

The Village India program was originally

started by Professor Glenn Stone, a well

wisher of our foundation and the founder of

our photoblog & videoblog groups. The

intention was to both help RDF increase its

revenues by charging the Washington

University a fee for hosting the program

and to provide their students an opportunity

to experience Indian rural life. City

comforts were never an issue in question.

The program worked well for the first two

years. However, this year there was

evidence of a subtle shift in expectations

from the Washington University side. If this

program has to continue, then there has to

be a better understanding of what the intent

of the “partnership” means to both sides.

Elizabeth Sewell and Elizabeth Herb

They were introduced to RDF by Nikhilesh

Rao and are our newest volunteers and plan

to spend the better part of six months with

the RDF Schools.

They are from Seattle, Washington, USA

and have a very rich background in

international Cultures. Miss Sewell is well

versed in Chinese (Mandarin) and has

visited many countries. She has taught in

schools in Thailand and China. Together

they will be teaching Spoken

English and develop teen leadership

programs in the RDF villages.

Volunteers proposing to

come Medical Yatra

This program is to be conducted by

a team of doctors from Ohio State

who come every year to Gujarat.

This year, they are proposing to

come to Kalleda also. A member of

their team, Dr. Satish Wagray has

in the past workied at the

Paravathagiri Primary Health

Center (PHC). They plan on

coming on the 24th of January,

(subject to peace in the state) and

conduct one day general medicine

clinics at the PHCs in Vardhanapet,

Paravathigiri, Nellikudur and

Nekonda.

Sammy Katta

A third year student at the

university of California at Berkeley

studying biology is interested in

volunteering at RDF schools this

coming summer. She would like to

teach the science teachers how to

conduct new experiments in the

science labs. After teaching the

teachers, she plans to observe the

them as they teach their students. In

addition to teaching labs, she wants

to help out in the primary English

classes.

University of Iowa, USA

I had the opportunity to meet with

Prof. Rajagopal, at Iowa City, USA.

Each year he conducts several

three-week study programs in Rural

India. Unlike the WashU‟s Village

India Program, where their students

act as teachers, in the Iowa

program, the US students continue

to be the students and it is the

NGO‟s who do the teaching. They

pay for their expenses and also give

the participating NGO‟s a lot of

publicity for their effort. Prof.

Rajagopal has expressed interest in

working with RDF.

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Accounts - Auditor’s Report

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Accounts – Graphical Representation

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

Ru

pees

in

Th

ou

sa

nd

s

Donat

ions

- Fore

ign

Donat

ions

- India

Fees

Build

ing F

und

Farm

Inco

me

Donat

ions

in k

ind

Donat

ion (a

t Sch

ools)

Oth

er In

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e

Inte

rest

Mis

c. S

ales

etc

.

Sch

olors

hips

Mem

bersh

ip F

ee

TOTA

L

Income Sources

Source & Amount

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

Ru

pees

in

Th

ou

san

ds

Salar

ies

Mid

-day

Mea

l Pro

gram

Gen

eral

Exp

ense

s

Rat

es &

Tax

es

Studen

t Am

eniti

es

Aca

demic

Act

ivtie

s

Telep

hones

Alu

mni F

ees

Sports

& E

xtra

Curr

icula

r Act

ivtie

s

Gra

nts

Villag

e In

dia P

rogra

m

Farm

Exp

ense

s

Util

ities

Rep

airs

& M

ainte

nance

Cap

ital E

xpen

diture

TOTA

L

Share of Expenses

Accont Heads & Amounts

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Accounts - Budget 2009-2010 Budget Summary

for 2009-2010

For remaining 3 months of

fincancial year 2009-2010

Revenue Expenses 13,300,291 3,325,073

Capital Expenses 4,190,000 4,190,000

Total Requirement 17,490,291 7,515,073

Present Cash Balances (as on 21 December 2009) Bank Balances

RDF Head Office SBH Rupee A/c 394,500

RDF Head Office SBH Foreign A/c 120,786

RDF Head Office SBH FD A/c 2,500,000

RDF Head Office SBH FD A/c 500,000

RDF Head Office SBH FD A/c 1,500,000

RDF School, Kalleda Current A/c 18,369

RDF School, Matendla Current A/c 13,939

RDF School, Redlwada Current A/c 19,903

RDF School, Wadlakonda Current A/c 42,845

RDF School, Narsimpalli Current A/c 15,518

RDF School, VAPV Current A/c 27,236

5,153,096

Cash Balances

Cash at Head Office 0

Cash at RDF School, Kalleda Current A/c

36,858

Cash at RDF School, Matendla Current A/c

749

Cash at RDF School, Redlwada Current A/c

1,030

Cash at RDF School, Wadlakonda Current A/c

2,524

Cash at RDF School, Narsimpalli Current A/c

26,834

Cash at RDF School, VAPV Current A/c

2,625

70,620

Cash Advances

For Rocket Stove material 50,000

Fees Expected 2,899,204

Additional Donations Expected

975,000

Total available 9,147,920

Surplus expected as on 31-3-2010 1,632,847

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Buildings

Kalleda toilets 10,000

Matendla - Teachers quarters 250,000 Dr. Mrs. Surekha Reddy has pledged this amount

Wadlakonda - Classrooms + toilets 50,000

VAPV - Building completion 2,500,000

Redlawada - Primary School Building 1,000,000 Rs. five lakhs has already been contributed for this purpose.

3,810,000 Furniture

VAPV 150,000

Lab Equipment

VAPV 50,000

Computers & Peripherals

Matendla - UPS's 110,000 This amount was donated by Mr. Colin Gent from England and has been spent

Narsimpalli - Keyboards & Speakers 10,000

120,000

Kitchenware - Rocket stoves for:

Kalleda 10,000

Matendla 10,000

Redlawada 10,000

Wadlakonda 10,000

Narsimpalli 10,000

VAPV 10,000

60,000

Grand Total 4,190,000

HeadOffice Kalleda Matendla Redlawada Narsimpalli Wadladonda VAPV RDF - Combined

08-09 Bal 09-10 Req'd 08-09 Bal 09-10 Req'd 08-09 Bal 09-10 Req'd 08-09 Bal 09-10 Req'd 08-09 Bal 09-10 Req'd 08-09 Bal 09-10 Req'd 08-09 Bal 09-10 Req'd 08-09 Bal 09-10 Req'd

Land 73,500 0 726,500 0 85,921 0 0 0 0 80,000 0 0 0 965,921 0

Land Improvement 0 860,332 0 11,000 0 0 0 0 871,332 0

Buildings 0 10,000 2,494,158 250,000 9,196 1,000,000 4,340,782 215,799 50,000 12,308,480 2,500,000 19,368,415 3,810,000

Generator 0 0 0 0 0 0 24,445 24,445 0

Lab Equipment 0 206,190 50,000 206,190 50,000

Furniture Fittings & Appliances 5,858 244,604 27,967 3,263 14,213 1,520 509,069 150,000 806,494 150,000

Office Equipment 10,821 48,009 27,680 0 0 0 0 86,510 0

Computers & Peripherals 62,534 14,589 3,969 110,000 0 10,000 0 30,315 111,407 120,000

Audio Video Equipment 0 48,811 0 0 1,347 2,547 0 52,705 0

Kitchenware 0 9,296 10,000 13,321 10,000 22,439 10,000 136 10,000 939 10,000 45,932 10,000 92,063 60,000

Motor Cycle 6,453 0 0 0 0 0 0 29,708 36,161 0

Cycles 0 549 0 0 0 0 0 549 0

Total FIXED ASSETS 159,166 0 1,952,690 20,000 2,664,016 370,000 34,898 1,010,000 4,356,478 20,000 300,805 60,000 13,154,139 2,710,000 22,622,192 4,190,000

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PROJECTED REVENUES FOR 2009-2010

HeadOffice Kalleda Matendla Redlawada Narsimpalli Wadladonda VAPV RDF - Combined

09-10 08-09 09-10 08-09 09-10 08-09 09-10 08-09 09-10 08-09 09-10 08-09 09-10 08-09 09-10 08-09

DONATION

INDIA

Through Head Office 5937050 5673298 0 0 0 0 0 0 5937050 5673298

Direct to Schools 0 7142 72311 9036 41840 0 0 0 24000 56625 40178 170776

Total INDIA 5937050 5673298 7142 72311 9036 41840 0 0 0 0 0 0 24000 56625 5977229 5844074

FOREIGN 3203415 9146965 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3203415 9146965

Total DONATION 9140466 14820263 7142 72311 9036 41840 0 0 0 0 0 0 24000 56625 9180644 14991039

Donation in-kind 0 12377 190260 50208 0 0 0 0 190260

Interest (Income) 96610 51156 0 0 0 0 0 0 3542 96610 54698

Membership Fee- RDF 0 5000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5000

Fees 0 1765650 969479 890120 457300 144420 47950 85100 46700 321780 77000 2000000 1229288 5207070 2827717

Exam Fees 0 0 0 6150 0 0 0 62088 62088 6150

TC Fees 0 6480 6200 15384 6600 0 0 0 0 21864 12800

Scholarship 0 0 0 6800 0 0 0 423394 1092 423394 7892

Sale of Application form 0 18840 0 1440 210 0 0 20490

Farm Receipts 0 133390 228796 0 4916 0 0 0 0 133390 233712

MISCELLANEOUS SALES 0

Sale of Old Newspapers 0 0 1788 5280 1132 0 84 630 0 0 5910 3004

Sale of Broken Rice 0 5671 1635 0 0 0 0 0 5671 1635

Sale of Excess Cloth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Other Sales & services 0 384 2297 0 7440 0 0 0 15074 7824 17371

Total MISCELLEANEOUS SALES 0 0 6055 5720 5280 1132 7440 84 630 0 0 0 0 15074 19405 22010

OTHER INCOME

Membership Fee- RDF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5000 0

Miscellaneous Income 0 0 9350 0 0 0 0 0 0 9350

Fines 0 0 600 0 1425 0 0 0 0 0 2025

Excess Recoveries 21941 2323 10697 0 5833 1234 300 0 852 0 1066 0 0 18748

Other Receipts 0 192 33345 240 43728 1980 12 0 0 4008 6420 77085

Total OTHER INCOME 21941 0 2515 53992 240 50986 3214 312 0 852 0 1066 4008 0 11420 107208

Total INCOME 9259016 14876419 1952449 1526758 970268 575724 156514 48346 85940 47552 321780 78066 2513490 1305621 15176374 18458486

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Schools/College News Vital Statistics

Five Schools student enrollment and staff strength:

Students Staff

2008-09 2009-10 2008-09 2009-10

Boys Girls Boys Girls Teaching Non

teaching Teaching

Non teaching

RDF School, Kalleda 306 276 314 272 37 15 37 15

RDF School, Matendla 211 179 201 167 31 7 29 5

RDF School, Redlawada 49 56 47 65 9 1 9 3

RDF School, Wadlakonda 57 79 72 93 7 1 10 3

RDF School, Narsimpalli 41 22 25 40 7 1 8 5

Sub-Totals 664 612 659 637 91 25 93 31

Grand Totals 1276 1296 116 124

Vanitha Achuta Pai Vidyalaya student enrollment:

2008-09 2009-10

FIRST YEAR First Year Second

Year First Year

Second Year

Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls

MPC 26 22 37 24 49 37 24 16

BPC 12 6 4 3 15 25 10 4

CEC 24 12 15 10 54 36 23 12

Sub-Totals 62 40 56 37 116 100 58 31

Sub-Totals 102 93 216 89

Grand Totals 195 305

Vanitha Achuta Pai Vidyalaya staff strength:

2008-09 2009-10

Teaching 15 14

Non teaching 14 13

Totals 29 27

Hostel usage: Boys 90

Girls 46

Total 136

Mid-day meal program

The free mid-day meal program now for the first time includes all the five RDF

schools. The total number of meals served per day in the schools is approximately

1420 costing around Rs.10,000 per day.

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RDF School at Kalleda

The board regretfully announces the sad demise of one of its oldest

employees, Sri Mahboob who worked as an attender for many years. He died

on July 10, 2009 due to a sudden cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife

and a young daughter. The children of the school decided to forego their

mid-day meals for two days and contribute the money saved to buy a small

piece of land in the name of his minor daughter. The school staff also

decided to donate a day‟s wage for the same purpose and RDF has

earmarked a donation of Rs. 3,000.

The flagship school of the RDF system (Kalleda) is now in its 14th

year of existence.

It continues to excel in the quality and variety of education being provided to the

students. The school has excelled in district level science contests and district level

sports. It has also done will in and state and national level archery events.

Extensive use of the computer lab is being made to teach typing and many young

children have learnt to type with all ten fingers! Good English pronunciation is also

being taught via downloaded BBC programs and through the Linguaphone CDs.

Panoramic view if the Kalleda RDF School building

The school, taking queue from the RDF School at Matendla, successfully

experimented with the concept of Student Teachers. Bright students were encouraged

to teach classes when teachers were not available. This has brought about a new vigor

in the learning process. The picture on

the right shows a Student Teacher

discussing about the human heart.

Finances in the school have vastly

improved, thanks to the ready

acceptance of an increased fee by all

the parents. The school still reserves

10% of the seats for the poorest of the

poor from whom nothing is required to

be paid. This school also has a large

number of Class Sponsors who donate

in excess of Rs. 1,25,000 per year.

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RDF School at Matendla

This school has now entered its 12th

year of existence. So far four batches of students

have completed their matriculation.

During the last year there was a large turnover of teachers at the school. This was on

account of a large number of teachers who were aspiring to become government

servants going on leave to prepare for the District Service Commission exam. This

absence caused a “necessity which mothered an invention”. The headmaster along

with his remaining staff

undertook an experiment and

let the students teach the

classes. Several of the

directors of RDF were

personally present at some of

these sessions and have all

praises for the manner in

which the students prepared

the subject, delivered the

lesson and involved the other

students in the whole process.

In doing this, they have learnt,

that “teaching is the best form

of learning”. A Student Teacher busy giving a lesson in the sciences

The practice of students teaching students is used only in emergencies and the school

has since filled all the staff vacancies.

Children of the RDF School, Matendla continue to excel in athletics and they are

doing very well at the district and division level events. Twenty students participated

in the district level sports events of whom eight were selected to the State level event.

Mike Gent’s Lab

Colin and Alma Gent of England, who

have been donating money on a regular

basis over the last several years, in

memory of their son Mike Gent, have

again made a specific donation to

improve the usage of the computer lab

named after Mike. The money was

utilized to buy 11 dedicated UPS‟s to

help keep the computers running all

the time. With these UPSs installed,

the utilization of the computers at

Matendla will certainly go up. Our

grateful thanks to Colin and Alma.

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RDF School at Redlawada

This school, by choice is limited to the 5th

class. On account of difficulties faced with

the teaching staff, a decision was made to replace all of them. A village committee

has also been formed with Sri Chandraiah as the chairman. The school has since been

functioning in a satisfactory manner. It is proposed that a new primiary school

building be constructed in a “green” and “cost effective” manner for which funds

would be made available from the principal donors for this school.

RDF School at Wadlakonda

As mentioned in the previous year‟s report, several rooms in the existing building

were not safe for occupation. A temporary structure consisting of six class rooms was

constructed during the summer and all classes have been moved into these rooms.

Budget permitting, a new primary school building will be constructed in land

belonging to the foundation.

RDF School at Narsimpalli

The school has finally shifted into the school‟s new

own building which were handed over to the

Foundation by the project manager Sri Ram Subba

Reddy on the 10th

of August 2009. A small inaugural

function cum puja was performed by Smt. and Sri J

Ramudu, the principle donors of the 20 acre plot on

which the school is built. Ribbons to several class

rooms were ceremoniously cut by various dignitaries

including the oldest school parent. Children, parents,

staff, workers and the visiting dignitaries were

served a lunch before dispersing.

The board has to now grapple with the question of

how best to utilize the premises which far exceeds

the current requirement of just seven classrooms

from nursery to the 6th

class.

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The RDF School at Narsimpalli – inauguration

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RDF Vanitha Achuta Pai Vidyalaya (Junior College) At a meeting of the board, before the current academic year began, the board took a

decision that unless the enrollment of new students was above 400, the Junior College

should be converted into a vocational school. This figure of 400 (plus the existing 100

who would go into the 2nd

year) was needed to make the college more viable. In

retrospect, it appears that the decision was flawed because of the conditionality.

Having made a concerted enrollment drive, it was not possible to tell the aspiring

candidates to go elsewhere – in case of insufficient enrollment. In view of this

predicament, the college continues to function as a Junior College in spite of the fact

that a mere 200 enrolled. The General Body and the new Board must consider and

decide what direction to take in the future.

The first batch of students has passed out last year and the one glaring fact that is

evident from the results is that the students who stayed in the hostel fared far better

than those who lived outside. So it appears that if we are to continue running the

Junior College and serve the community well, we must establish proper hostel

facilities (rather than use classrooms). This can only happen if there are sufficient

funds. And is something for the AGM to discuss in depth and decide.

During the summer months of 2009, a freak storm created extensive damage. The

entire sheet metal roof of the administrative building lifted off as one mass due to an

aerofoil effect induced by the shallow slope of the roof. The roof has since been

replaced by RCC at a considerable expense of about 4.5 lakh rupees.

Building after laying the new RCC roof

Poor power conditions still plague the computer lab. Substantial investment is needed

in either opting for 24 hour power supply or a generator and UPS systems.

An incident of ragging of juniors recently marred the peaceful and fraternal

atmosphere of the Vidyalaya. The main culprits, very surprisingly were members of

the anti-ragging committee which was constituted under the directions of the local

police. The erring students were first rusticated for a period of 30 days. However,

after a week this was commuted to community service which included the cleaning of

bathrooms. Hopefully, this will never happen again.

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Alumni The Foundation continues to “hold hands” with the students who pass out of the RDF

system. Whether they are pursuing higher education or a career in sports, RDF has

been helping them realize their potential. After taking a glimpse of what they are

doing, it can certainly be said that RDF is making a difference in most of their lives.

From amongst those who have passed out of the RDF Schools at Kalleda and

Matendla the following give a general idea of what they are doing now:

24 are gainfully employed having fairly decent jobs, some getting 5 figure

salaries;

1 has joined the Indian Army;

2 are pursuing a career in sports;

4 have entered the labor force;

4 are pursuing post graduate studies;

38 are in engineering colleges, one of them being at the IIIT in Basra;

2 are studying medicine;

18 are pursuing other short term professional courses in hotel management,

pharmacy, nursing, teacher training, multi media and medical lab technician;

60 are in other degree colleges pursuing sciences and arts;

11 are in Industrial Training Institutes/Polytechnics;

151 are in Junior Colleges;

3 are in foreign countries;

and unfortunately 67 have discontinued studies, 12 due to marriage.

From amongst the approximately 81 students who passed out of the RDF Vanitha

Achuta Pai Vidyalaya, 80 of them are pursuing higher studies. Some of these are also

alumni of the RDF School system.

Several of the Alumni students are being financially supported by generous donors,

without whose help these children would not have been able to pursue their dreams. It

is fitting to recognize some of these benefactors.

Sri Dukkipati Subba Rao (ex-director) and his wife Smt. Kavita regularly support

several children to continue higher studies. The beneficiaries this year are all girls

and they are Izrat Fatima, M.Lavanya, V.Swathi, U.Bhagyalakshmi and

K.Devalikashimi some pursuing intermediate and some degree courses.

Sri Harsha Reddy and Malla Reddy of USA are supporting three engineering

students. They are Miss D.Lavanya, Miss K. Chaitanya and Mr. R. Karthik. Miss

Lavanya has finished her engineering and is seeking employement.

Sri Vikram Reddy of USA, a multinational hotel manager himself, is supporting

B.Narasimhulu in a course in Hotel Management.

The Burroughs School, St. Louis, MO., USA, with which Mr. Glenn Stone‟s son,

Jordan Stone was associated, has provided college scholarships to two students.

The beneficiaries are Miss G. Rani and Mr. A.Abhilash both pursuing

engineering.

The Rubin Foundation has provided two scholarships. The beneficiaries are Mr.

Santosh and Miss Swaroopa both of whom are pursuing engineering.

Many alumni regularly volunteer at the schools helping in teaching, student

counseling, publicizing the schools and bringing visitors etc.. It is proposed to give

them more duties in accounting and purchases to start with.

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ANNEXURES

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Proposed amendments to the Articles of Association

AMENDMENT 1

EXISTING ARTICLE AMENDMENED ARTICLE ARTICLE 5: EXECUTIVE BODY,

BOARD OF DIRECTORS (EXECUTIVE

COMMITTEE) AND OFFICE BEARERS

There shall be a Board of Directors

(Executive Committee) for managing the

affairs of the society. The Board of Directors

(Executive Committee) shall consist of TEN

people as described below

1. The Founder Members shall elect

three Directors for a period of TWO

years from either amongst

themselves or outside. At least one

Director shall be from outside the

Founder Member class and shall be

an eminent person who has special

knowledge or practical experience in

fields that are similar to the aims and

objectives of RDF.

2. The Patron Members shall elect two

Directors for a period of TWO years.

3. The Corporate Members shall elect

one Director for a period of TWO

years.

4. The Annual Members shall elect one

Director for a period of TWO years.

5. The Life Members shall elect three

Directors for a period of TWO years.

ARTICLE 5: EXECUTIVE BODY,

BOARD OF DIRECTORS (EXECUTIVE

COMMITTEE) AND OFFICE BEARERS

There shall be a Board of Directors

(Executive Committee) for managing the

affairs of the society. The Board of Directors

(Executive Committee) shall consist of

EIGHT members as described below

1. The Founder Members shall elect

TWO Directors from ANY CLASS

OF MEMBERS for a period of 2

years.

2. The Patron Members shall elect

TWO Directors from ANY CLASS


years.

3. The Life Members shall elect TWO

Directors from ANY CLASS OF

MEMBERS for a period of 2 years.

4. The Corporate Members shall elect

ONE Director from ANY CLASS


years.

5. The Annual Members shall elect

ONE Director from ANY CLASS


years.

6. At each AGM, as only half the

number of elected board members

will retire, the different class of

members will be eligible to elect

directors in the following manner:

a. Founder Members shall elect

1 Director

b. Patron Members shall elect 1

Director.

c. Life Members shall elect 1

Director.

d. Corporate Members shall

elect 1 Director on odd years

and

e. Annual Members shall elect

1 Director on even years.

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Terms and Re-election:

All elected members of the Board of

Directors (Executive Committee) shall hold

office for a period of TWO year from the

date of their election and shall vacate their

office at the SECOND annual general body

meeting to be conducted after the one in

which they were elected so as to enable that

annual general body meeting to elect persons

to the place vacated by them. Retiring

members shall be eligible for re-election.

Nomination to Casual Vacancies:

In the event of any casual vacancy arising

because of any member of the council

resigning or expiring before his term is over

or due to the termination of his membership

of the Society or due to any other cause then

the Board of Directors (Executive

Committee) may fill up such vacancy for the

period of the unexpired term of the member

by co-opting any other member of the

Society belonging to the same category of

members as the original member due to

whose vacation of membership of the council

the casual vacancy is caused.

Terms and Re-election:

All elected members of the Board of

Directors (Executive Committee) shall hold

office for a period of 2 year from the date of

their election and shall vacate their office at

the SECOND annual general body meeting to

be conducted after the one in which they

were elected so as to enable that annual

general body meeting to elect persons to the

place vacated by them. Retiring members

shall be eligible for re-election.

In case a particular class of members is

entirely absent at the AGM for any reason,

then members present and attending the

AGM shall exercise their vote to fill the

vacancies allocated to be voted in by the class

of members who are absent.

In case there are no or insufficient

nominations to elect the directors to fill the

vacancies, then the continuing directors along

with the elected directors if any shall

nominate directors from any class of

members to fill the remaining vacancies.

Nomination to Casual Vacancies:

In the event of any casual vacancy arising

because of any member of the council

resigning or expiring before his term is over

or due to the termination of his membership

of the Society or due to any other cause then

the Board of Directors (Executive

Committee) may fill up such vacancy for the

period of the unexpired term of the member

by co-opting any other member of the

Society.

Explanation: It is felt that having a smaller number on the board will make for a more cohesive

team. This amendment also removes a lot of ambiguity in the existing articles

regarding the election of directors by the different class of members.

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Marena Lin’s report on Linguaphone

Preamble RDF students have a kind of eagerness and passion for their studies that seems so hard to find these days even in the best schools in the U.S., and I hope they never lose this as they continue their education. Procedure Before each class, I transcribed each Linguaphone track onto a word document. I identified difficult words in each exercise (are, when, well, etc.) and had the students repeat them before learning the conversation. After we listened to the track three or four times, I would read through the conversation with my students, allowing each student a chance to say the more difficult parts of the conversation aloud. During this time, they would copy the actual conversation down, and we would listen and repeat several times. I would then pair them and ask them to practice before presenting. During their presentation, I would often note the sounds they had trouble with and have them repeat that part of it until they got it right. Every student had many opportunities to speak during the 40 minute period, and we would often practice a sound by going around the room. The following sounds were especially difficult for my students: Pronouncing “w”: well, where, were, wear, was. Distinguishing between “w” and “v”. A good test of this is teaching them “very well” with

finger gestures. “V” is two fingers, and “w” is three. They also had trouble distinguishing between “f” and “p”. They often don’t pronounce the “-ed” at the end of words like “finished”. “’s” was also often left out. “Mother’s name” was often just “mother name”. English teachers should enforce a rule that students only speak in complete sentences.

For example, there are many words that students use on a day-to-day basis for which they could use complete sentences.

o “Finish” or “completed” should be “I have completed the assignment,” or “I am finished.” o “Bell not ring” should be “The bell has not yet rung.” o “Power ma’am, no” should be “The power is out.”

“He,” “she,” “it,” and general pronouns should be practiced at length. It’s important that these references become almost second nature, and this skill just comes with both hearing it repeatedly and being made to repeat popular constructions. “They have,” “they are,” “he is,” “she is,” etc. This list is by no means complete, and I will improve on it as more sounds come to mind.

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Brief Review of Each Class

You’ve heard a lot of what I have had to say about each class, but this is a brief rundown. 4th and 5th Class These students had a much shorter attention span with Linguaphone, but once it became clear what certain phrases meant, they were all ears and very creative with their responses. Their instruction will be very much improved by having a Telugu-speaking teacher who can translate the phrases to them. 6th and 7th Class Students need to make sure they review the material at least five times before they present the conversation to the class. They are always very eager to present what they have learned before having adequately practiced it. Of course, if they’re working alone on a computer, and they are being graded, there’s much less of an incentive to rush through the material, so this is not likely to be a problem. I was very impressed by many of the students’ ability to improvise on the Linguaphone tracks. For example, one conversation might read as follows: A: Are you Chinese? B: No, I’m from Belgium. Some students would change the nationality for themselves, and other students might jokingly chime in, “He’s from Pakistan.” 8th and 9th Class This class was very mature and had great discipline in learning the conversations. Their greatest weakness was pronunciation, and second to that was sentence structure. However, after listening repeatedly to the Linguaphone tracks, they were able to correct one other in pronunciation. This class would probably benefit most immediately from the Linguaphone program. Conclusion Linguaphone is an excellent resource for students and teachers to better their understanding of correct pronunciation, and certainly, with repeated listening, they will excel. In addition to listening, however, I strongly believe that speaking practice is just as essential. Perhaps the most immediate evidence for this is that even after having heard thirteen students pronounce the word “well” correctly before him, the fourteenth student still said “vell,” and only after trying three more times was he able to get it correctly. “r” is especially difficult for French-speakers. We practiced with him on several occasions, and only with this was he able to improve his “r’s”. It may just be, however, that speaking practice becomes less important with more advanced sentence construction but is essential when students are only beginning to learn the proper phonics. Additional Recommendations As we discussed, the sky is the limit with these students when they have access to the resources. Free listening and written resources are abundantly available online for students once or as they become well-versed with Linguaphone. A couple things that are possible with current resources are making use of free podcasts that can be subscribed to via iTunes, making American films available to the students, and

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downloading news articles (The New Scientist, The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc.). Podcasts The BBC, NPR, and many major newspapers have podcasts on every possible topic and in nearly every genre. Once students are weaned from the Linguaphone program, it may not be a bad idea to have a weekly reserve of podcasts on a central computer that they can access. I know of a Chinese student of one of my friends who picked up a British accent just from constantly listening to and repeating the BBC on his internet radio. To access podcasts, one downloads and installs iTunes and accesses the iTunes store on the left tab. A search of the iTunes store (top left field) should yield both podcasts and music tracks, and the former should be free. Next to “free,” you can click “subscribe” to download. NPR and BBC publish amazing weekly programs that iTunes can subscribe to and download automatically. Some great ones are the following:

Wait, wait, don’t tell me! Cartalk This American Life BBC World News

American Films Young children respond well to animated films regardless of the language in which the film is produced, and a video library might better engage them in the language. Disney films are great for engaging the younger children, but as we discussed, we won’t be able to use these films without a projector.

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Directions to ValueLabs

(Venue of the 2009 Annual General Body Meeting)

From Jubilee Hills

Continue on Road 36 into Madhapur and Hitech City.

Make a left turn at Cyber Towers (circular building near the new flyover under

construction)

Make a right turn at the Cyber Gateway and proceed upto to the „Y‟ junction near

Dell.

Take the right fork of the „Y‟ junction (near Dell)

Proceed for another .25 kilometer.

ValueLabs is on the left immediately after Dell and opposite Oracle.

From Kukatpally

Take the road in front of JNTU and proceed towards Hitech City

At the Hitech City cross roads continue along the new flyover under construction.

Make a right turn at the Cyber Gateway and proceed upto to the „Y‟ junction near

Dell.

Take the right fork of the „Y‟ junction (near Dell)

Proceed for another .25 kilometer.

ValueLabs is on the left immediately after Dell and opposite Oracle.

Rural Development

Foundation

Registered Office: 502, Kaarnik Towers,

6-2-967 Khairatabad,

Hyderabad - 500 004

INDIA

Phones: Mobile: 91 98666 56101

Landline: 91 40 2307 8805

Email: [email protected]

www.rdfindia.org

rural development foundation · 2018-10-11 · irrigation in two acres of land where it is proposed...

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