Supporting children’s education in India: My 10k

One of my life ambitions was to visit India, but not as a holiday. I wanted to fully immerse myself in the culture and live within a rural community. We (me included) take so much for granted that it's easy to forget to recognise the lives of those from contrasting areas.

India has the most people living under the poverty line and is home to the largest population of illiterate adults in the world. It's eye opening that half of the country's children can't read and write, fueling the poverty crisis. Many schools in rural areas don't have basic amenities such as running water, electricity or even toilets. There is often one teacher for the entire school, meaning if they don't show up, there is no school. Access and quality of education is the main problem in rural schools as there aren't enough committed teachers, textbooks and teaching materials and this is unacceptable. Children's lives rely heavily on the education they are given to be able to fulfill their dreams of doing something great without being forced into manual labour and illegal work. Everyone has the right to an education but without the right funding it's almost impossible for these kids to break free from a life of poverty.

In July i'm heading to Faridabad in the north Indian state of Haryana where i'll be teaching in a rural school for a month and living with local people in their community. I'm training for a 10k run which is my fundraising incentive and my fitness is terrible right now so that in itself is going to be a challenge. I'll be running it a couple of months before i go but i will be raising money right up until my start date.

My aim is to raise enough money which will help fund my time on the project. I also plan to take over resources for the school that they are so in need of. With a little help i can reach my target and help to make a difference to children's lives by teaching them vocational and computer skills, reading and writing and giving them the confidence to stay in school and make something of their lives.

Any donations no matter how small would be massively appreciated and i'll keep you updated of my time there and what your contributions have gone towards.

Thankyou, Chloe :) x.