SHIVA Charity

SHIVA Charity was established in 1995 to improve the quality of education in Asia through child sponsorship and individual projects. We believe that education is the key that unlocks the prison cell of poverty, and that children around the world have the right to learn in a safe and comfortable environment. In Nepal 500,000 girls have never attende... d school, and 400,000 boys. Of those that do go to school, many are pulled out before they complete their education. Mostly these are for financial reasons, as the child can go to work on the farm, helping to add to the family income, rather than going to school and paying fees, or money for school uniform. Many girls never reach secondary level, and leave schooling at the age of 9 or 10. They are still considered to be of less value than boys, and they often must learn to cook and sew and do the farming work in the fields, while their brothers continue with their education. In Nepal we help many primary and secondary schools (many combine the two) that otherwise would close because parents cannot afford to pay fees. We subsidise the teachers' pay and put equipment into the class rooms, and we often rebuild and improve the structure of the school, and add much needed facilities. You can see these projects by clicking the link on the right of the screen. Some projects are still waiting for sponsors, and there are hundreds of schools we would really like to help. Child sponsorship is only five pounds monthly, but for a child it is a future. Ampara, on the East coast of Sri Lanka, was the worst area to be affected by the Asian tsunami in December 2004. Bob Uppington, the Chair of Trustees, was in Sri Lanka when the waves swept away all the children from one of the SHIVA nursery schools. He vowed to rebuild as many as possible in this neglected region of the island. Now the charity has rebuilt 28 schools there, and one on the West coast. Each school is made of brick, with a tiled roof and floor, so that the children have a clean and spacious place to play with ...Read More