Education  India Project #32565

Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers

by Tigers4Ever
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Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Education Helps to Save Wild Tigers
Tigers4Ever Education Packs for Bandhavgarh's Kids
Tigers4Ever Education Packs for Bandhavgarh's Kids

Thank you for your amazing support throughout 2022. Your donations have helped us to provide education packs for another 250 children living with wild tigers bringing the total for 2022 to 700 children helped. This makes a huge difference to the rural Indian families whose children lost so many educational opportunities whilst the schools suffered extended closures during and after the COVID pandemic. Our attempts to resurrect the pop-up nature schools in rural villages for children without access to state schools continues to be hampered by a lack of volunteer teachers, so we continue to look for new solutions to help. Your generosity means that another 250 children have education packs with essential writing materials so they can learn to read, write and protect their forest home and give wild tigers a wild future.

Time for Change

The lack of education in some of the rural communities around Bandhavgarh has been a concern for some time. This year we have witnessed an increase in human wildlife conflict, injuries and even deaths due to a lack of understanding of basic safety protocols and an increased dependency on scarce forest resource. Human-Elephant conflict is very high as the wild elephants continue to raid crops, destroy buildings and attack whatever is in their path. Historically, there were no wild elephants in Bandhavgarh, until mining activity in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh drove these magnificent animals from their native home into pastures new. It’s little wonder that they have a dislike of humans given their reason for arriving in Bandhavgarh. Nonetheless, if the elephants, like the wild tigers, are to have long term futures in Bandhavgarh, it is essential that the human and wildlife communities can live together in harmony.

In order to improve both education and safety, plus restore harmony where human-wildlife conflict exists, we are now working towards producing safety and awareness handouts to be issued by our anti-poaching patrols when they encounter humans in the forest. These simple handouts will provide advice in pictures, Hindi and English, for animal encounters including tigers, leopards, elephants and snakes. It is hoped that the villagers will in time recognise the words as well as the images and take notice of safety notices posted at the entrances to the forest. By saving human lives, we can reduce the risk of retaliatory attacks on wildlife and thus maintain the ecological balance.

More Educational Resources Too

In July 2022, we received a pledge from a corporate partner to donate £15000 in lieu of Global Tiger Day, to assist our efforts to give wild tigers a wild future. Thus far we have received donations of £7500 towards our waterhole project (https://goto.gg/34315) and a further £2500 towards our education projects, which has been a tremendous help in these challenging times. We are now in discussions as to how the final donation of £5000 will help and which project will benefit. As always, we will ensure that we can achieve the maximum benefit for the wild tigers’ future, whichever project is chosen.

The latest distribution of 250 education packs was undertaken in conjunction with open days at state run schools in four villages. It offered children in the villages a chance to go to the schools and meet potential new friends, whilst helping to ensure that the children already attending the schools had the basic reading and writing materials to enable them to continue their schooling. Future donations of educational resources will continue to explore new initiatives to ensure the best outcomes for reducing human-wildlife conflict.

The Record so Far

When the most recent donation of 250 education packs took place it increased the number of villages where Tigers4Ever has helped children living with wild tigers to 30. It also took the number of children helped to 3015, something which seemed almost impossible this time last year.  

We want to continue this valuable project across as many villages as possible and to help all the children who otherwise wouldn’t have chance to go to school. In order to do this we will need to raise funds for many more education packs. If you’re able to help us do this, please donate now at: https://goto.gg/32565, even the smallest donation can have a big impact in the lives of these children.

Although we couldn’t help every child in need this year, we have helped to prevent at least 700 children missing out on schooling by ensuring that the education packs we’ve distributed benefited children in these three key age groups:

  • Early learners – Aged 4 – 7 years
  • Junior learners – Aged 8 – 11 years
  • Older learners – Aged 11 – 14 years

For every £1400 (US$1800) we raise, we aim to send 450 children living with wild tigers to school. We will try to distribute this evenly across the three age groups with one third of the packs for each. We will continue to distribute all education packs in the hardest hit villages, and will try to raise further funds so that we can also help the pop-up schools when these resume. (https://goto.gg/32565).

Making a Difference

Another 250 children who didn’t have access to remote learning due to poverty, no electricity and lack of technology throughout the schools’ lockdown now have the opportunity to start or resume their education, thanks to your generosity. If you are able to help us help more children to have an education and become tiger protectors rather than foragers, please consider a new monthly donation as it’s never too late to make a difference: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-saves-tigers/?show=recurring.

Thankfully, due to your amazing support and donations we’ve provided education packs to support the learning of 250 children, this time. Sadly, there are still thousands more children who desperately need your help! https://goto.gg/32565

Long Term Impact - Help is Still Needed

Our experience has shown us over the last 12 years, that without education, the prospects for the poorest children will be limited to picking tendu leaves, mahua flowers, amla fruit, from the forest to sell. Others will chop down trees and clear precious forest habitat to create more land for agriculture. Children from the poorest families still have no access to online learning facilities, as they live without electricity or access to technology. https://goto.gg/32565

Your support for our work is amazing. We definitely couldn’t keep wild tigers safe without it. As the world tries to rebuild its lives, we hope that we can provide a brighter future for some of Bandhavgarh’s poorest children. If you can help to support the education of Bandhavgarh’s poorest rural children by starting a new monthly recurring donation from just £5 (US$8) per month, you will make a huge difference for at least 15 children in a year: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-saves-tigers/?show=recurring.

In Bandhavgarh, for the thousands of young children with no access to schooling, without computers or mobile phones, without electricity in their homes, a bleak future awaits. These are the children who Tigers4Ever has always tried to help with books and basic writing materials which give them hope. With your help we give them a chance to go to school which otherwise they may not have.

You Can Make a Difference Today

We want to ensure that the poorest children get a chance to complete their education. We want to do more but we need your help to provide education packs so children can go to school right now. Your donation of £25 (US$40) can make that happen for at least 5 children right now: https://goto.gg/32565.

Remember: when we provide education packs and scholarships for children living with wild tigers we are reducing the risk of future tiger habitat destruction AND ensuring that these children have the opportunity to become future tiger protectors.

For those who are celebrating during the festive season, I hope that your celebrations are happy and peaceful, thank you for all your support in 2022. I hope that 2023 will bring a better year for all: Happy New Year.

I would like to thank you for your generosity and support on behalf of the wild tigers, which we are keeping safe; on behalf of the children who we have helped to get an education (and their families who have food because of this help); and on behalf of the wider tiger community in Bandhavgarh, which benefits from providing books and writing equipment for inclusion in the education packs which we distribute. Stay Safe.

A Young Boy with his Tigers4Ever Education Pack
A Young Boy with his Tigers4Ever Education Pack
Seasons greetings from Tigers4Ever
Seasons greetings from Tigers4Ever

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Children of all Ages can benefit
Children of all Ages can benefit

Thank you again for your amazing support in these challenging times. Your donations over the last few months have helped us to provide education packs for another 240 children living with wild tigers. This means a great deal to the rural Indian families whose children lost so many opportunities for education whilst the schools suffered extended closures following the COVID pandemic. Our attempts to resurrect the pop-up nature schools in rural villages for children without access to state schools is still being hampered by resource shortages, so we are trying different solutions to help. Your generosity means that another 240 children have education packs with essential writing materials so they can learn to read, write and protect their forest home and give wild tigers a wild future.

Something Different

This year we have recruited more volunteers, including some in India, who have helped to distribute education packs to the children in rural villages and to gather new ideas to help educate these children about the importance of wild tigers and their forest home. We will continue to work with our new volunteers to ensure that learning about the forest and the wildlife within it will be fun for the children who will provide the next generation of wild tiger protectors. We’ve also worked with our new corporate partners, the Tiger Chi Community to develop some fun resources to help the youngest children to learn to draw and colour. By taking these new art resources into the villages, we can give every child an opportunity to learn about wild tigers.

We’re also developing a new volunteering partnership which will enable us to create bi-lingual educational resources on forest safety and protection for all age groups, including adults, so that our anti-poaching patrollers can distribute these when patrolling around villages and encountering villagers in the forest. We also hope to develop an audio resource which can be delivered by volunteers in the villages as part of a wider awareness and environmental protection programme.

Distribution Challenges

In our last report, we told you how we’ve had to use our patrollers to distribute education packs whilst on duty, due to our own resourcing issues. This has presented an even bigger challenge since the start of the monsoon season on 01 July when we increased our patrolling to quadruple standard patrolling as we address the increased risk to wild tigers in the peak poaching season. If you’ve read our recent report on the work of our anti-poaching patrols: https://tigers4ever.org/peak-poaching-season-and-a-late-monsoon/ you’ll be aware that the monsoon rains are extremely late this year in Bandhavgarh which will have a huge impact on the farming community too.

The latest hardship will mean that distributing educational resources for both children and adults will take on greater importance than ever. Thus we need to find new ways to raise funds for the essential educational resources and new ways to ensure distribution without impacting our other work. One of these solutions is the distribution of education packs via open days in state run schools.

Working with Village Schools

We have made arrangements to distribute the 240 education packs at three schools in the villages of Barwara, Sakariya and Chakaria in the Dhamokhar Buffer Zone of Bandhavgarh. In each village, the teachers will call the children in their villages to the school where Tigers4Ever representatives and volunteers will distribute the education packs and talk to the children about wild tigers and the forest. We want to continue this initiative across a wide number of schools as we hope that when the children go to school to get their education packs, they will meet new friends and enjoy learning so they will keep going back. In order to do this we will need to raise funds for many more education packs, even if we select the schools in the smallest villages. If you’re able to help us do this, please donate now at: https://goto.gg/32565, even the smallest donation can have a big impact in the lives of these children.

Although we can’t help every child in need right now, we can help to prevent at least 240 children missing out on schooling by ensuring that the education packs we distribute will benefit children in these three key age groups:

  • Early learners – Aged 4 – 7 years
  • Junior learners – Aged 8 – 11 years
  • Older learners – Aged 11 – 14 years

For every £1400 (US$2000) we raise, we aim to send 450 children living with wild tigers to school. We will try to distribute this evenly across the three age groups with one third of the packs for each. We will continue to distribute all education packs in the hardest hit villages, and will try to raise further funds so that we can also help the pop-up schools when these resume. (https://goto.gg/32565).

Making a Difference

Another 240 children who didn’t have access to remote learning due to poverty, no electricity and lack of technology throughout the schools’ lockdown now have the opportunity to start or resume their education, thanks to your generosity. If you are able to help us help more children to have an education and become tiger protectors rather than foragers, please consider a new monthly donation as it’s never too late to make a difference: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-saves-tigers/?show=recurring.

In the meantime, we will work hard with our now volunteers and partners to develop and distribute the educational resources which our current funding allows. Thankfully, due to your amazing support and donations we’ve provided education packs to support the learning of 240 children, this time. Sadly, there are still thousands more children who desperately need your help! https://goto.gg/32565

Long Term Impact - Help is Still Needed

Our experience has shown us over the last 12 years, that without education, the prospects for the poorest children will be limited to picking tendu leaves, mahua flowers, amla fruit, from the forest to sell. Others will chop down trees and clear precious forest habitat to create more land for agriculture. Children from the poorest families still have no access to online learning facilities, as they live without electricity or access to technology. https://goto.gg/32565

Your support for our work is amazing. We definitely couldn’t keep wild tigers safe without it. As the world tries to rebuild its lives, we hope that we can provide a brighter future for some of Bandhavgarh’s poorest children. If you can help to support the education of Bandhavgarh’s poorest rural children by starting a new monthly recurring donation from just £5 (US$8) per month, you will make a huge difference for at least 15 children in a year: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-saves-tigers/?show=recurring.

In Bandhavgarh, for the thousands of young children with no access to schooling, without computers or mobile phones, without electricity in their homes, a bleak future awaits. These are the children who Tigers4Ever has always tried to help with books and basic writing materials which give them hope. With your help we give them a chance to go to school which otherwise they may not have.

You Can Make a Difference Today

We want to ensure that the poorest children get a chance to complete their education. We want to do more but we need your help to provide education packs so children can go to school right now. Your donation of £25 (US$40) can make that happen for at least 5 children right now: https://goto.gg/32565.

Remember: when we provide education packs and scholarships for children living with wild tigers we are reducing the risk of future tiger habitat destruction AND ensuring that these children have the opportunity to become future tiger protectors.

I would like to thank you for your generosity and support on behalf of the wild tigers, which we are keeping safe; on behalf of the children who we have helped to get an education (and their families who have food because of this help); and on behalf of the wider tiger community in Bandhavgarh, which benefits from providing books and writing equipment for inclusion in the education packs which we distribute. Stay Safe.

A wild male Tiger roaming through the forest
A wild male Tiger roaming through the forest
Educational Resources
Educational Resources

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Children in Badrehal receiving Education Packs
Children in Badrehal receiving Education Packs

Thank you for your kind donations which meant that we were able to give new beginnings to 450 children living with wild tigers. This was 50% more than we had anticipated in our previous project report which is amazing. The new COVID protocols are still in place for many of the schools in India and this is still impacting our attempts to resume the pop-up nature schools in rural villages with children without access to state schools, but we are still trying. Your generosity has enabled us to help 450 children with education packs containing essential writing materials so they can finally access learning.

Distribution Continues

With so many children disadvantaged by the COVID pandemic coupled with the impact of human-animal conflict on their parents’ livelihoods, it is a near impossible task to choose which 450 children to help first. We’ve also had resourcing issues ourselves, as our patrols have been operating at triple standard patrolling for over a year and work continues to provide year-round water to as many tigers as possible as the drought season takes hold. Thus we have asked our patrollers to take education packs on the patrolling vehicle and distribute these to the neediest children in villages which have suffered the greatest losses due to human wildlife conflict. As a result, these education packs can reach children in some of the remotest villages, thereby having a positive impact for wild tigers in those communities.

We haven’t forgotten the children in the villages living closest to the wild tigers; in fact we’ve recently distributed education packs in the villages or Badrehal and Pathari in the Dhamokhar Buffer forest. For many villages around Bandhavgarh, human-wildlife conflict has been increasing year on year following the arrival of the wild elephants which are now claiming Bandhavgarh as home. These elephants have destroyed forest watch camps, a school, many crops and have killed many villagers as they tried to protect their livelihood. This when coupled with crop raiding monkeys, deer and wild boar plus livestock rustling predators, puts many villagers on the brink of extreme poverty. This poverty then equates to a lack of educational opportunities for the affected families’ children.

Helping the Children in Schools

In recent weeks, we have spoken to teachers at a number of schools in the villages around Bandhavgarh about distributing education packs in conjunction with the schools; however, most have been reluctant because we haven’t had sufficient education packs to ensure every child at the school will receive one. In order to do this we will need to raise funds for many more education packs, even if we select the schools in the smallest villages. If you’re able to help us overcome this obstacle, please donate now at: https://goto.gg/32565, even the smallest donation can have a big impact in the lives of these children.

For some children, our help has arrived too late, they have already reached 14 years old and thus no longer qualify for free state driven education. For those whose parents can’t afford to pay school fees there will be no opportunity to complete their education. As we reported in January, this is a concern for charities all across India, as this “lost generation” of young adults as the impact on their lives, their families and the forests will be felt for many years to come.

Although we can’t help the “lost generation” right now, we can help to prevent further youngsters falling into the same trap by ensuring that the education packs we distribute will benefit children in these three key age groups:

  • Early learners – Aged 4 – 7 years
  • Junior learners – Aged 8 – 11 years
  • Older learners – Aged 11 – 14 years

For every £1400 (US$2000) we raise, we will aim to send 450 children living with wild tigers to school. We will try to distribute this evenly across the three age groups with one third of the packs for each. We will continue to distribute all education packs in the hardest hit villages, and will try to raise further funds so that we can also help the pop-up schools when these resume. (https://goto.gg/32565).

Making a Difference

Around 450 children who didn’t have access to remote learning due to poverty, no electricity and lack of technology throughout the schools’ lockdown now have the opportunity to start or resume their education, thanks to your generosity. In this newsletter, we have shared some of the images of the smiling children’s faces who you have helped.

If you are able to help us help more children to have an education and become tiger protectors rather than foragers, please consider a new monthly donation as it’s never too late to make a difference: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-saves-tigers/?show=recurring.

In the meantime, we will work hard with our Indian based education partner, GTCS, to try to restart the pop-up schools in the most remote villages as soon as the latest restrictions and funding allow. Thankfully, due to your amazing support and donations we have been able to provide education packs to support the learning of 450 children with education packs, this time. Sadly, there are thousands more children who desperately need your help! https://goto.gg/32565

Long Term Impact - Help is Still Needed

Our experience has shown us over the last 11.5 years, that without education, the prospects for the poorest children will be limited to picking tendu leaves, mahua flowers, amla fruit, from the forest to sell. Others will chop down trees and clear precious forest habitat to create more land for agriculture. Children from the poorest families still have no access to online learning facilities, as they live simple lives without electricity or access to technology. https://goto.gg/32565

Throughout the pandemic, your support for our work has been amazing. We definitely couldn’t have kept wild tigers safe without it. As India’s people try to rebuild their pre-pandemic lives, we hope that we can help to provide a brighter future for some of Bandhavgarh’s poorest children. If you can help to support the education of Bandhavgarh’s poorest rural children by starting a new monthly recurring donation from just £5 (US$8) per month, you will make a huge difference for at least 15 children in a year: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-saves-tigers/?show=recurring.

In Bandhavgarh, many people have faced the biggest challenges of their lives since the onset of the pandemic. For the thousands of young children with no access to schooling, without computers or mobile phones, without electricity in their homes, a bleak future awaits. These are the children who Tigers4Ever has always tried to help with books and basic writing materials which give them hope. With your help we give them a chance to go to school which otherwise they may not have.

You Can Make a Difference Today

We want to ensure that the poorest children get a chance to complete their education. We want to do more but we need your help to provide education packs so children can go to school right now. Your donation of £25 (US$40) can make that happen for at least 5 children right now: https://goto.gg/32565.

Remember: when we provide education packs and scholarships for children living with wild tigers we are reducing the risk of future tiger habitat destruction AND ensuring that these children have the opportunity to become future tiger protectors.

I would like to thank you for your generosity and support on behalf of the wild tigers, which we are keeping safe; on behalf of the children who we have helped to get an education (and their families who have food because of this help); and on behalf of the wider tiger community in Bandhavgarh, which benefits from providing books and writing equipment for inclusion in the education packs which we distribute. Stay Safe.

Tigers4Ever Education Packs for Kids in Pathari
Tigers4Ever Education Packs for Kids in Pathari
Tigers4Ever doesn't want any child to miss out
Tigers4Ever doesn't want any child to miss out

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Young Children wondering is there one for me?
Young Children wondering is there one for me?

After almost 20 months of closure, the phased return of children into Indian schools, with new COVID protocols in place, is almost complete. We’re still awaiting authorisation and capacity to resume the pop-up nature schools in the rural villages without access to schools but that is in hand. Thanks to your generosity over the last few months we are now in a position to help up to 300 children with education packs containing essential writing materials so they can finally return access learning.

An Almost Impossible Choice

We are now faced with the near impossible task of choosing which 300 children to help first. With many of the poorest children having no access to remote learning during the schools’ lockdown we want to prioritise getting them into/back to school as a matter of urgency. Many families have suffered financial hardship during the pandemic due to a combination of factors including: lack of paid work, loss of crops due to herbivores and elephants raiding or destroying them; loss of livestock and even a combination of all three. For some children the help will be too late, they will have already reached 14 years old and thus no longer qualify for free state driven education; if their parents can’t afford to pay then they will never complete their education. All around India, charities are concerned about this “lost generation” of young adults. The impact on their lives, their families and the wildlife habitat will surely be felt for many years to come.

Some villages have suffered more than others with monkeys entering the fields before the harvest of fruit and vegetables to feast on the spoils. The same villages lose the new shoots of their crops to grazing herbivores and when the crops are established, many have been trampled and crushed overnight by rampaging wild elephants. If the loss of crops to eat or sell wasn’t hard enough, some farmers have lost their livestock to habitual predators such as wild tigers and leopards too. The compensation from the forest department hasn’t been the quickest to arrive or in many cases has been insufficient to cover the losses which fuels the problem and leads to unrest. Desperate villagers enter the forest and send their children in to gather food for their families to eat or to sell. As they go deeper into wildlife habitat, they risk human-wildlife conflict, even their own lives and those of their children in the process.  

The Fortunate Few

Although we can’t help the “lost generation” at this stage, we can help to prevent further youngsters falling into the same trap by ensuring that the education packs we distribute will benefit children in three key age groups:

  • Early learners – Aged 4 – 7 years
  • Junior learners – Aged 8 – 11 years
  • Older learners – Aged 11 – 14 years

We will aim to split the education packs with around one third for each age group and with around 175 packs overall distributed in the hardest hit villages with roughly 125 set aside for the pop-up schools if we receive the news that these can recommence. In the absence of authorisation, we will look to distribute all education packs in the hardest hit villages, and will try to raise further funds so that we can help the pop-up schools next time. (https://goto.gg/32565).

Making a Difference

Around 300 children who haven’t had access to remote learning due to poverty, no electricity and lack of technology throughout the schools’ lockdown will soon have the opportunity to start or resume their education, thanks to your generosity. In our next newsletter, we will share some of the images of the smiling children’s faces who you have helped. In the meantime, if you are able to help us help more children to have an education and become tiger protectors rather than foragers, please consider a new monthly donation as part of your new year’s resolutions. (https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-saves-tigers/?show=recurring).

We will continue to work hard with our Indian based education partner, GTCS, to try to restart the pop-up schools in the most remote villages as soon as the latest COVID restrictions and funding allow. Thankfully, due to your amazing support and donations we will be able to provide education packs to support the learning of at least 300 children with education packs, this time. Sadly, there will be thousands of other children also needing basic writing materials and books who we won’t be able to help until we raise more funds. Thus, we anticipate that the impact of lost schooling together with the economic effects of COVID19 will be felt by the forest and its wild tigers for many years to come.

Long Term Impact - Help is Still Needed

Our experience has shown us over the last 11 years, that without education, the prospects for the poorest children will be limited to picking tendu leaves, mahua flowers, amla fruit, etc., from the forest to sell; and to clearing forest habitat to create land for crops. The children from the poorest families had no access to online learning facilities, as they live simple lives without electricity or access to technology.

Throughout the pandemic, your support for our work has been amazing. We definitely couldn’t have kept wild tigers safe without it. Now, as the latest wave of infection brings further challenges, India’s people are trying to rebuild their former lives. We hope that we can help, in a small way, to provide a brighter future for some of the poorest children around Bandhavgarh. If you want to support the education of the poorest rural children in Bandhavgarh, you can make a huge difference by starting a new monthly recurring donation from just £5 (US$8) per month, which will ensure that we can offer educational resources for at least 15 children in a year: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-saves-tigers/?show=recurring.

In Bandhavgarh, many people have faced the biggest challenges of their lives with no work and the schools having been closed since 25 March 2020. For the thousands of young children with no access to schooling at all, there is the question as to whether they will ever return to education. These children without computers or mobile phones, without electricity in their homes, are the children which Tigers4Ever has always tried to help. By giving these children books and basic writing materials we give them hope, we give them a chance to go to school which otherwise they may not have.

If We Could Make a Difference We Would

We want to ensure that the poorest children get a chance to complete their education too. We still hope to do more in the future, but in the meantime, we need your help to provide education packs to enable children to return to the state schools right now. You can help to make that happen with every donation of £25 (US$40) we can send 5 children to schoolhttps://goto.gg/32565.

Remember: when we provide education packs and scholarships for children living with wild tigers we are reducing the risk of future tiger habitat destruction AND ensuring that these children have the opportunity to become future tiger protectors.

I would like to thank you for your generosity and support on behalf of the wild tigers, which we are keeping safe; on behalf of the children who we have previously helped to get an education (and their families who will have food because of this help); and on behalf of the wider tiger community in Bandhavgarh, which benefits from providing books and writing equipment for inclusion in the education packs which we distribute. We’d like to wish you all a happy and healthy New Year. Stay Safe.

Tiger Cubs Have To Learn Too
Tiger Cubs Have To Learn Too

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Education packs distributed in a village at night
Education packs distributed in a village at night

In June this year, we didn’t know when the schools around Bandhavgarh National Park would start to reopen. India was still in the grip of the Delta variant of COVID19 and there seemed no possibility of reopening the schools, which had remained closed since March 2020, in the near future. Three months on and there is a small light at the end of this long tunnel. Just last week, we received news that India was beginning to re-open its schools for the year 9 and above students. These students are in the age group where their parents must pay school fees for them to continue their education; and the children are in the age group where India has rolled out its vaccination programme. Success will be monitored and the remaining younger children will have a phased return to school subject to appropriate distancing measures and other COVID safe protocols being in place. We don’t know at this point when the phased returns will complete, but the schools reopening will bring new hope for Bandhavgarh’s children: Those desperate to see their friends, those who haven’t been fortunate enough to have remote schooling, and those desperate to get the qualifications they need to follow the career of their dreams.

Long Term Impact and Your Amazing Support

We still worry about the long term impacts of no schooling for more than 18 months for Bandhavgarh’s poorest children, some of whom will now be too old to return to school for free education so will not return unless their parents can afford their school fees. These children will most likely need scholarships to fund their education, but the funds are simply not there. We will work hard with our Indian based education partners, GTCS, to try to restart the pop-up schools in the most remote villages as soon as COVID restrictions allow. Thankfully, due to your amazing support and donations we will be able to provide education packs to support the learning of at least 125 children with education packs via the pop-up schools, but there will be thousands of other children also needing assistance with basic writing materials and books who we won’t be able to help until we raise more funds. We anticipate that the impact of lost schooling together with the economic effects of COVID19 will be felt by the forest and its wild tigers for many years to come.

Our experience has shown us over the last 11 years, that without education, the prospects for the poorest children will be limited to picking tendu leaves, mahua flowers, amla fruit, etc., from the forest to sell; and to clearing forest habitat to create land for crops. The children from the poorest families had no access to online learning facilities, as they live simple lives without electricity or access to technology.

Help is Still Needed….

Throughout the pandemic, your support for our work has been amazing. We definitely couldn’t have kept wild tigers safe without your help. Now, as the latest wave of infection seems to be under control, India’s people will try to rebuild their former lives, and we hope that we can help to provide a brighter future for some of the poorest children around Bandhavgarh. If you’d like to be involved in supporting the education of the poorest rural children in Bandhavgarh, you can make a huge difference by starting a new monthly recurring donation from just £5 (US$8) per month, which will ensure that we can offer educational resources for at least 15 children: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-saves-tigers/?show=recurring.

In Bandhavgarh, many people have faced the biggest challenges of their lives with no work and the schools having been closed since 25 March 2020. For the thousands of young children with no access to schooling at all, there is the question as to whether they will ever return to education. These children without computers or mobile phones, without electricity in their homes, are the children which Tigers4Ever has always tried to help. By giving these children books and basic writing materials we give them hope, we give them a chance to go to school which otherwise they may not have.

If We Could Make a Difference We Would

We want to ensure that the poorest children get a chance to complete their education too. We’re still hoping to fund scholarships at a new school in Bandhavgarh, when this reopens. In the meantime, we need your help so we can provide education packs to enable children to return to the state schools when their chances arrive.

The sense of despair and uncertainty which has been brought about by COVID19 has to end sometime, hopefully soon. So it would be truly amazing if out of this despair we are able to give at least 200 more children a chance to return to school and learn the skills which they will need if they are to become tiger protectors, teachers, nurses or doctors in the future. You can help to make that happen with every donation of £25 (US$40) we can send 5 children to schoolhttps://goto.gg/32565.

Remember: when we provide education packs and scholarships for children living with wild tigers we are reducing the risk of future tiger habitat destruction AND ensuring that these children have the opportunity to become future tiger protectors.

I would like to thank you for your generosity and support on behalf of the wild tigers, which we are keeping safe; on behalf of the children who we have previously helped to get an education (and their families who will have food because of this help); and on behalf of the wider tiger community in Bandhavgarh, which benefits from providing books and writing equipment for inclusion in the education packs which we distribute. Stay Safe.

Tiger Cub in Forest
Tiger Cub in Forest

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Organization Information

Tigers4Ever

Location: Warrington - United Kingdom
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Twitter: @Tigers4Ever2010
Project Leader:
Corinne Taylor-Smith
Dr
Warrington, United Kingdom
$2,901 raised of $28,650 goal
 
27 donations
$25,749 to go
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