Our Work - Educate
LES - Loyola Evening School
The Loyola Evening School is an initiative of the organization in collaboration with St. Xavier's Loyola School for less privileged school going and non-school-going children of nearby localities. The programme has opened the doors of one of the prestigious schools of Ahmedabad for the less privileged children. Children come to the school premises to study, play and develop into citizens for a better tomorrow. They avail of all the facilities on the campus, experiencing their childhood in a different world altogether, the one which they are normally deprived of. It was formally inaugurated on 31 July 2007, the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Located at the Loyola School premises, the LES focuses on the overall development and progress of children through three inter-related approaches, that is Educational Development, Personality Development and Physical Development. All the major activities of the programme are geared towards this focus. Moreover, the approach of the programme is to bring the different strata of society together.
Educational Development
The LES aims towards an overall development of children coupled with good education to make them capable of succeed in today’s competitive world. The LES believes in education in a classroom and education outside a classroom. Thus, the LES offers regular classes for students of Standard I to X; provides motivation to study and continue schooling by giving material and non-material assistance.
The Loyola Evening School has an additional dimension of education, that is, computer education. In the new educational system computer literacy is part of the regular curriculum. We have set up a Computer Education Centre for the Loyola Evening School which was inaugurated on the 28 April 2008. The centre is well-equipped with a lab of the latest computers and a classroom for theoretical inputs. It is a special gift from Loyola School. Students of std. 7 onwards are given computer education in these classes.
Personality Development
Besides the regular remedial classes the LES aims at an all round development of its students. Competitions and celebrations are organized to increase the confidence and creativity of the students. Recognizing the need of psychological and intellectual development of children leadership camps, various creative activities and games are conducted. The English course designed for our children has now become an attraction of summer vacation for the children.
Physical Development
The children coming from poor and marginalized sections are often deprived of the health related needs i.e. nutritious food, regular physical exercises, health and hygiene care, etc. "Space" is important for physical development. Poor living conditions and the non-availability of basic amenities like water, toilet, open space etc. often restrict the overall development of a child. For the physical development of children, LES provides facilities for games and sports; nutritious snacks on daily basis; health education and check-ups by professionals. It is our objective that children have a healthy experience of childhood.
The Loyola Evening School brings people together
One of the objectives of the LES is linkage. Over the last year, efforts have been made to bring people together in order to reach out to the poor and deprived children of our section. Effective networking and involvement of the parents in their children’s progress has been the programme’s main achievement. A number of volunteers and educators give their services to this initiative. Different programmes are organized every year to bring the people of the upper and lower strata of society together. A number of well-wishers from the well-to-do sections of society have come forward to celebrate occasions like birthdays with the children of the LES. There are the generous well wishers who also shared their joy with the children by providing gifts, snacks and educational material. Children of the privileged and less privileged strata come together share their joys and time together on a number of occasions like Children’s Day.
Around 300 children come regularly to Loyola Evening School.