Donate to our New School
The Gift of Education
We’re aiming high on this one… a new school for our community! We passionately believe this is the most valuable, long-lasting gift we could possibly give to our local kids— an education.
Our school kids in Irupalai village (on the outskirts of Jaffna) have been through a lot over the past few years. The old community church was converted into a temporary school many years ago, but due to extreme age, weather and disrepair, it soon began to fall around the ears (literally!) of the children as they studied...
The younger year groups were situated temporarily in a local home, but this is no longer available to use. We’ve been able, to a certain degree, to fund and update the old church/temporary school, but it’s simply not big enough for our community's needs.
Currently, Paalam International School Jaffna (our school), can accommodate 40 students. Our goal is 120.
The students range in age from 4 to 16 years, right up through General Level (O Level) and Advanced Level (A Level). In the new school, we will be focusing on the Children’s 6 core subjects— English, Maths, Science, Social Studies, Word Building and Literature. The children will learn Sinhala, Tamil and English languages, as well as Sri Lankan history. As the students get older, they can choose electives in the Science Fields, Business, Languages (French/Spanish), Arts, Culture (Human Resources), English Literature, etc.
We will have—
-
a specialized room for Computer Studies,
-
a Library,
-
a Science Room and Lab.
BREAKDOWN COSTS OF OUTFITTING NEEDS
Each Classroom (x 6) - £2,500
** All 6 Classrooms Sponsored!! **
chairs, desks, teacher’s desk, test-taking tables, white board, markers, clock, wall paint, stationery
Curriculum PACE Books - £3,140
(ages 7 - 12) for Maths, English, Social Studies, Word Building, Science and Literature
Score Keys - £3,140
(ages 7 - 12) for all subjects
ACE, ABC, and Spoken English Kits - £1,150
for ages 3 - 6
Administrator's Office - £2,200
office tables, chairs, lockable cupboards, shelving, filing cupboards, photocopy machine
Staff Room - £2,850
2 large tables for staff meetings, 25 chairs, fridge, kettle filtered water stand, staff lockers
Medical Room - £1,100
** Medical Room kindly sponsored, in Steadfast Memory of a loved one **
advanced first aid kit, shelving, store unit, chair, bed, sink, blanket, pillows
Library Furniture - £550
** Library is Kindly Sponsored **
shelving, chairs, bean bags, study tables, clock
Books - for Primary Kids £300
Books - for Secondary Kids £300
** Books are Kindly Sponsored **
Science Lab (‘Physics Room’) - £4,000
shelving, tables, microscope, scales, goggles, beakers, diagrams, half-size skeleton, health and safety, materials, etc.
Computer Room - £1,900
white board, large work table, 10 computer desks and chairs, internet installation and network, lockable storage cupboard, printer, air conditioning unit, etc.
10 Computers - £2,500
** 10 Computers Sponsored! **
(If you have any spares to donate, let us know!)
Principal's Office- £600
desk, chair, bookshelves, binders, filing cabinet and cupboard
Safe Store Room - £400
** Safe Store is Kindly Sponsored **
shelving, lockable steel cupboard, stationery, laminating machine
Sports Store Room - £750
** Sports Store is Kindly Sponsored **
shelving and ball bins, racks for hanging, cricket sets, rugby tags, volleyballs, footballs, skipping ropes
Basic Outdoor Playground - £2,000
** Playground is a GO **
freestanding basketball/netball hoops, swing-sets, seesaw, football goals, ball pit and tunnels for the little ones
Girls' Toilets - £2,000
** Girls' Loos Kindly Sponsored **
4 toilets, sinks, mirrors, tiling, wall paint, plumbing
Boys' Toilets - £1,800
** Boys' Loos Kindly Sponsored **
2 toilets, 2 urinals, sinks, mirrors, tiling, wall paint, plumbing
CCTV Coverage - within and without £2,500
Security Room - £2,000
outbuilding for Security personnel on duty and to man the gates
'An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.'
Benjamin Franklin
On our Dream List...
A Playground
Study is vital. So is play! Even leading companies like Google and Apple have realised the importance of ‘off-time’ and play for their employees. It’s part of a child’s brain development, and an extremely important building block of life.
We’d LOVE to see our kids have a playground! Right now they only have a dirt patch, yet they still romp and use their imaginations. How much fun would they have with a slide, swings, seesaw?! Dreamy.
Sports Field & Court
It’s also a dream to be able to provide our kids with the ability to play sports and potentially compete with other Jaffna school teams. Courts for basketball, netball, badminton… and a cricket net for the kids to practice Sri Lanka’s favourite sport! Our boys are AVID cricket players.
Sports keep the kids out of trouble, teach them teamwork, sportsmanship, perseverance, how to compete with grace... so many good things, along with physical benefits!
A Musical Band
Again, another one for the Dream list. A school band. To be able to provide our students with musical instruments and music books, so they’d have a chance to learn one— to make sound, to make music together, to enjoy being creative with brass and reeds and strings... What a joy that would be!
About the children in our village -
Most of these students’ parents work as trishaw drivers, tailors, builders, house maids working in the Middle East, and farmers. Many of these parents do not realise the importance of educating their children in order that they have a greater chance for success in life than what the parents, personally, have had.
Paalam School’s mission is to give underprivileged children in the Jaffna area an education that will give them the opportunity to be able to establish themselves in society. We believe that it is essential in these days to provide children with a sound education in English, Tamil and Sinhala. Education is essential for self-esteem, financial security, social justice, health, and in the long run, for community and economic development. It will enable these students to be effective citizens and participate in community decision-making. There is a need to provide children with the opportunity to be educated well in Jaffna.
The success of any developed country lies in its literacy. We at Paalam are endeavouring to make education available to all classes of society— irrespective of caste, religion, race or economic standing. We believe not only in educating the underprivileged, but also in creating awareness so that we can empower and integrate them more into society. We are also dedicated to the protection of vulnerable children, their needs and issues.
Land has been made available to the Paalam School to build a new school building. We have been working with another Charity in Sri Lanka, (CCS - College for Construction Skills) who train young men in construction and plumbing skills. The Director of the school, Mr Reudi Stark, and his team will be helping us with the construction of the new school.
If you decide to cover the complete cost of a project, whether it is a community building, a well or a home, we will arrange for a plaque with your name or business to be displayed on the construction. Alternatively, you might like the plaque to be made in memory of a loved one.