Project Jatropha

When we work  at the project site in India, we see many kids from the nearby villages happily playing on the muddy roads unaware of their future. Many rural schools have poor learning conditions. The situation in Haiti is no better; We have heard heartbreaking stories about the poverty and misfortune the children face. With the recent earthquake the already depressed conditions have plunged into extremely dismal conditions for the children.  Our project sponsor, Michelle Lacourciere, Director of the Sirona Cares Foundation is dedicated to helping improve the lives of the children in Haiti.  Her foundation helps to provide the children what they need to thrive: like nutrition, access to clean water, clothing, shelter, and medicines.  She has been working with the Mission of Hope School to establish its first tri-lingual library.  We have been inspired by the work that is being done by organizations there, and we want to help too.  Most of the children in  Haiti are undernourished and lack basic necessities to thrive.  Our project has brought these children to our hearts and we cannot turn away from them.

Don't they deserve a better chance at life?  This question pricks  our heart almost every day, and this is why we came up with the idea of “Adopt a Rural School” venture.  We believe that the future lies in the hands of children!

The Program Goals

The fruit and vegetable food group is the heart of a healthy diet for everyone.  We at Project Jatropha believe it is important for every child to eat fresh fruits every day.  Firstly we are establishing a mini fruit garden in the school premises.

 By enabling the children to plant and care for fruit trees we will help them get some of the basic nutrition they need.  Learning the skills of maintaining a sustainable garden will benefit the rural school community.  They will discover and connect with the art of sustainable agriculture.  In addition, this effort will engage them in a creative activity and teach them lessons of responsibility and self-reliance. 

Secondly we are providing the essential books and help them establish  a mini library  in the school and  thirdly, we are providing the locally available science kits  to establish hands on  mini science labs  that will improve learning conditions in the schools.  During this process, we will also teach the students about environmental issues, like the importance of environmental protection, and the dangers of climate change. Our program is dedicated to creating positive change and improving the lives of the children in sustainable ways.

The first step was to secure seed funds to launch this program.  In the beginning of 2009, Ashoka Youth Venture was accepting applications for a seed grant of $1000 from bay area youth who wish to launch social ventures. We came up with a detailed plan. We chose Somana Halli Higher Primary school from Rural India and the Mission of Hope School from Haiti. Apoorva came up with a detailed program proposal for the school from rural India where as Callie took upon the task of writing a proposal for the school from Haiti. In March of 2009, we defended our proposal in front of a community panel and we were awarded the seed grant for the Adopt a Rural School program.