With the walls receiving a new coat of paint and the flooring laid anew, the auditorium of Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Ashok Nagar is looking better than before.
The auditorium was heavily damaged in the 2015 floods. This damage was undone only recently with a restoration work that was supported by the Tamil Nadu Foundation Inc., United States, an organisation of NRIs of Tamil origin.
“For over a week, water up to a height of 6.5 ft, was within the auditorium. The wooden doors, window panes and walls were badly damaged,” says R.C. Saraswathi, headmistress of the school.
Besides replacing damaged items, including electrical appliances, additional fans and tube-lights have been installed. The entire project was taken up at a cost of ₹12 lakh.
Additional appliances
“The corridor of the auditorium and its washroom have also been renovated. Now, plumbing works are on to provide water supply to the washroom,” says Vasumathi Benny, executive director – projects, Tamil Nadu chapter of Tamil Nadu Foundation Inc.
The Foundation came to know of the requirements of the school through one of its exchange programmes.
“The Foundation tries to involve children of its members in such projects, often to help them understand problems faced by the marginalised,” says S. Rajarethinam, IAS (Retd), chairman of Tamil Nadu chapter of Tamil Nadu Foundation Inc.
Earlier projects
In 2016, the Foundation renovated the Ashok Nagar Circle Library in Ashok Nagar at a cost of ₹50 lakh; and the library and a few classrooms of Government Higher Secondary School at MGR Nagar in K.K. Nagar six months ago, both of which were ravaged during the floods of December 2015.
