A group of Northwestern students plans to build a school on a 10-acre plot of land in southeast India.
The Sanjeevani Project, the student initiative to build a school for 500 kids in the Andhra Pradesh province, is well underway, said Abhita Reddy, the project’s founder.
“We were hoping to obtain a plot and start a nonprofit by the end of Winter Quarter,” the Weinberg junior said. “But it all ended up happening so much faster than we expected.”
The group has already started fundraising, said Ruchi Behl, the project’s public relations/marketing co-chair. The group hopes to complete the project by May 2011, Behl said.
Their goal is to raise between $150,000 and $250,000, said Kurtis Fjerstad, fundraising co-chair.
“So far we have obtained a plot of the land for $10,000 and have raised $2,000,” the Weinberg freshman said. “The good thing is we don’t have to raise all of that through the Northwestern community.”
Veronica Mendez, fundraising co-chair, said the group’s first fundraising initiative was at Saturday’s SASA Show, where the group raised $500.
“A lot of people were really interested,” the Weinberg junior said. “I was really excited.” Fjerstad said the group would have more fundraising events in the future.
The group wants the NU community to be informed and involved in the project, Fjerstad said. They also plan on asking businesses for donations, he said.
“What makes people more interested is the fact that it’s very local,” Mendez said.Ideally, the school in India will maintain a relationship with NU even after all the committee members graduate, Reddy said.
“I’m really hoping that we’re able to keep this project close to the NU community,” she said. An ambitious goal would be to establish an exchange program in which NU students could go to the Indian school and teach English, Reddy said.
Construction of the school will begin in March, but it may be pushed back to summer when NU students will be going to India to build, she said.
Though the project is underway, a lot of work lies ahead, Fjerstad said.
“This is my way of getting involved and making a difference in the lives of kids,” he said. “I would love for everyone to take the opportunity to get to know about an issue that’s important to them because it really does make you feel great.” [email protected]
