Seed the Change Founder, Anake Goodall, first met students from Gautama Buddha Free School in September 2017. The school is located in the region of Bodgyha, a place of pilgrammage for many Buddhists. Naresh Raj established launched Gautama in 2005, committed to providing quality education free from caste-based discrimination to remote villages not reached by governmental organisations. 

The school offers learning in blocks of time, just a couple of hours each, allowing children to continue supporting their families and helping at home during parents’ working hours.  Or, at least he did until the 31st of March. 

With educational establishments in India ground to a halt by Covid-19 and new cases now up to 100,000 each day, like much of the world, Naresh is in a holding pattern until the pandemic begins to subside.  Educational gatherings have been suspended for all children below the age of 14, with no announcement on when and how they might resume.  Like all primary schools, Gautama will need government support and protective equipment before they are allowed to reopen.

With an election looming, public trust is waning and there is a concern that politics are driving some districts to under-report new cases.  Many commuting workers are stuck in their home villages, unable to return to their former jobs in other regions.  “People are not living their lives any more.  They are struggling just to survive their lives,” Naresh says.  But he remains introspective.  “It is so bad in the slums where no one has work.  I hope that maybe those who are more lucky will see this and might give up their ego from their heart and be grateful for what they have.”

The government is trying to help with food – 5kg of rice and wheat per family each month – but it is not enough.  Starvation is rife but with a recent contribution from The Gift Trust’s partner organisation, Seed the Change| He Kākano Hāpai, Naresh has been able to help feed 20 local families.  Seed the Change Manager, Claire Newman says “It’s hard to grasp just how far a little can go.  A few hundred New Zealand dollars can make a world of difference to families in the Bakraur region.”

Naresh is eager to get back to his teaching work, but understands that food and food security are the most urgent needs in the village.  He continues to donate his own resources and time, with support from Seed the Change, to help his students and their families weather the pandemic storm.

Seed the Change is gratefully accepting donations via The Gift Trust on behalf of  Gautama Buddha Free School.