About Us
Our project is centred around providing education for Dalit children in India. (For more information about dalits go to
www.dalitnetwork.org )
Wimbledon College, a comprehensive boys school, administered by the Society of Jesus ( The Jesuits) has been supporting Pannur Mission in the poor rural region of North Karnataka in Southern India since 2002. Jesuits working in the village of Pannur and surrounding hamlets have sought to empower the people of the downtrodden Dalit caste; the so called 'untouchables' of Indian society. Their work has concentrated on raising the status of women through the establishment of women's groups and credit unions; and the building of a school for bonded labourers and children condemned to a life in the fields as goatherds and cowherds.
For the past five years students and teachers from the College have travelled to India to spend a month working on the project and in particular building a primary school. £125,000 has been raised towards the building costs of the primary school.
In 2007 Sixth Formers from the Ursuline High School , Wimbledon joined the group. The Project is now focussing its efforts on raising money to build a secondary school. 60% of Dalit children leave school by the age of 11. A secondary education and vocational training will open up further opportunities for children to improve the quality of their own lives and those of their families and communities.
As of 2001 India
census, Manvi had a population of 37,555. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Manvi has an average literacy rate of 47%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 55%, and female literacy is 39%. In Manvi, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.
The surrounding area is largely agricultural producing rice,cotton and sunflowers. Much of the land is owned by absentee landlords. Dalit adults are largely employed as 'coolies' or field hands, working for a daily rate of approximately £1 per male and 50p per female.
