Baragora

The village of Baragora, east of Purulia in West Bengal, is home to a large proportion of indigenous ethnic groups. The Santhal people who live here are characterized not only culturally, but also by their own language. Although there are a sufficient number of state schools, the national language of tuition is Bengali. This is one of the reasons why children and young people from Santali-speaking families need special support to keep up at school. This is why AGAMEE founded a small school independently in 2020, where the children and young people of the Santhal receive additional courses in math, English and computers before and after regular school hours. In addition, theater, dance and sports activities are offered to comprehensively strengthen the children's self-confidence and also to preserve cultural aspects of their tribe. The demand is so great that the capacity of the school building and materials is now exhausted. The need for materials includes not only tables and chairs but also teaching materials such as sewing machines and computers. Additional rooms are also needed to be able to look after younger children.

Since 2020, 38 children have been taking part in the coaching class. There is also great demand for younger children, but the available space is exhausted. Since May 2024, preschool childcare has also been offered in a courtyard of an adjacent private building.

There is currently only one laptop available for the computer course and the pupils sit on the floor. We are working on raising funds to provide more computers as well as sewing machines and other teaching materials (photo by AGAMEE).

AGAMEE also promotes the cultural education of children and young people. Dance courses with traditional Santhal dances as well as theater courses and sports events strengthen the self-confidence of adolescents, preserve their cultural roots and provide a platform for important social issues and problems such as child marriages and violence (photo by AGAMEE).