Elaine’s Indian school grows as donations all the difference

EVERY year, Elaine Jones returns to visit her Celtic Cross primary school in Raidighi village outside Calcutta, India, where there are little improvements: an auto rickshaw instead of a bicycle cart, a filtered water tap or a new surface in the school yard.

On her latest trip in January, Elaine was delighted to see a European toilet with a flush installed in the school: “It used to be a nightmare,” said Elaine. “We had a hole in the ground. There’s no electricity. You go into that toilet with your phone and you have the torch on it and you’re trying to balance it on the ledge of the door.” 

They did install a bulb a few years ago, but the European flush is an upgrade. “It’s amazing. There’s even a hose if you need to shower yourself,” she said laughing.

The site of the new toilet was once an old local man’s house and a paddy field. “There was straw in front of his house for shelter,” she noted.

Donations from the Irish National Teachers Organisation, the Model School in Kilkenny and friends made it possible to knock down the crumbling house and make it into a proper office for the seven teachers in the school.

“I couldn’t believe the transformation,” said Elaine. “That office is bigger than what the whole other building was.” 

In a second room beside the office, they created a computer room with nine computers donated by people over the years. The 52 secondary school students, who attend weekdays from 6.30am-9am, now come in on Sundays for computer lessons.

“It really was magic” to see the kids working away, said Elaine.

And there is a staircase so that when the school secures more funding, the building can expand upwards.

This January, Elaine travelled to Riadighi with Mairéad and Aoibhe Darcy, Ramona Chiorean, Florin Iovan, Catherine Kearney and Regina Carpenter, Kevina Nolan and Hilary Porter.

Like the computers, Elaine’s travelling companions also donated sewing machines to give those who are less academic a way out of working in the fields. “Initially when it started, there were 14 girls and two sewing machines. There are now 14 sewing machines and 27 girls. Now they have a skill and they make uniforms for me every year.” 

To hold all this industry, Elaine made an adjoining sewing room out of what was once the veranda at the end of the school. Outside the door, there is a plaque saying ‘Lil’s Room’ in honour of a dressmaker who donated several machines.

During the trip in January, the other eight people travelling with Elaine surprised her with money to buy new uniforms for all 145 primary school children in the school. “I didn’t have the extra funding because all mine has to go on wages first. So they covered it all.” 

 Packing all that needs to be done into ten days or two weeks is stressful: “I only get five hours’ sleep any night. The others would be gone to bed and I’m sitting here with this book every night and writing down what needs to be done.” 

While visiting, she organised school tours for the children, bought cows for families so that they can support themselves and called in on people in the area.

At one such school event, the annual ‘Celebration of Life parade’, Sampa, a lady who was sponsored years ago, showed up with her 12-year-old daughter Shruti. She was trying to get help for Shruti to continue her studies.

Sampa “opened her bag and she took out this photograph. I look and see these are my nieces. I start crying in front of her and she didn’t know why I was crying. It’s actually my brother-in-law and wife and my nieces who sponsored her.” 

Elaine’s nieces had sponsored Sampa’s education using their First Communion money and sent Sampa a photo and letter. “To think how it has come full circle ... That photo was given to her in 2009.” 

Sampa ended up leaving school in 2011 and entering an arranged marriage. She is now a housewife in Calcutta and her husband is 90% deaf, so can only work as a daily labourer, meaning they are very poor. “She said that she was sorry she got married young,” said Elaine.

Another encounter Elaine had last month was visiting Janmenjay, one of the first six students she organised sponsorship for in October 2006. He grew up in a brick wall house with a mud floor, using dried cow dung as fuel to cook in a clay oven. His father, who is in a wheelchair, runs a chai stall on the side of the road.

Elaine’s mother’s friend, Marion O’Brien from Rathvilly, sponsored his entire education and Janmenjay completed a BA in English in 2018. Now he works in the bank, is married and has a five-year-old daughter. With his hard-earned money, he has completely transformed his family home. It is now all tiled and painted and they have a kitchen inside.

“I was gobsmacked,” said Elaine. “You never ever see a house like that in the village.” Elaine has many success stories of former students, but she said: “People don’t realise what it actually does for me. I’m helping so many when I’m there, and it’s so rewarding and so fulfilling. It heals you, too. It makes you grateful for what you have.”