SSSIE School, Chennai
The Wings of Hope supports a school in Nemilicherry (Chromepet township) in Chennai, India.
The Wings of Hope have provided dedicated support to the school for fourteen years now, making this our oldest international project. The school provides free education to around 360 students between 4 and 16 years old. Emphasis is placed on value-based education, and the school’s maxim is “the end of education is character”.
17 dedicated teachers lead lessons in Mathematics, Science, and Social Science in multiple languages – English, Tamil, and Hindi. In keeping with the school maxim, there are also classes in drama, public speaking, vocational subjects, art courses, and field trips to take the school ethos into the outside world. Such a holistic approach to schooling is really unique.
everal students have gone on to receive top marks in national exams, and competed at a national level in areas such as science, yoga, and computer science.
One student was even invited over the UK to share his experiences and the impact of this school on his life, something he shares below.
Due to losing his business, my dad was unable to afford schooling, we were even living on empty stomachs and I was on the verge of dropping out of my studies to start working. About that time my mother heard about a school called SSSIE which doesn’t charge any tuition fees to the students. I was thrilled to hear that I can continue my education again. It was then that I got selected to represent the School with the Wings of Hope Achievement Award in London where I got a chance to tell my story and the benefits I was receiving from the donations of Wings of Hope. With the free education, text books and guidance from my teachers, I started performing well in academics and topped my class in Class X examinations. For my final years, I thankfully got a place in Kendriya Vidyalaya, a school run by the Government of India with subsidized fees based on the good marks I got in Class X. I took Science Stream to follow my dream of Engineering and worked really hard which ultimately paid off. I have cleared the All Indian Engineering Entrance Examination which enabled me to join the National Institute of Technology, Trichy, which is one of the Top 10 Engineering Colleges in India in civil engineering. After Engineering I was recruited by Larsen and Toubro Construction, the no.1 construction company of India and was given an opportunity to work overseas. I’m currently working in a prestigious FIFA Stadium in Qatar after working in U.A.E for Abu Dhabi Airport and I’m finally out of the grinding poverty for the first time in my life.
Many thanks to the Wings of Hope for providing free education to me and many other under privileged kids which has been a turning point in my life and without which I wouldn’t have reached this far. – Pradeesh K
Several students have gone on to receive top marks in national exams, and competed at a national level in areas such as science, yoga, and computer science.
One student was even invited over the UK to share his experiences and the impact of this school on his life, something he shares below.
Every year, the Overall Winners of WOHAA go on an expenses-paid trip to this school to meet the children whose lives have been changed by their hard work. Our UK students teach classes, sing songs and play with the students in an amazing trip of cultural exchange and learning both in and outside the classroom.
