Self Sustaining Children‘s Village At Thotapally
HEAL’s latest and biggest project so far…
Paradise: a Self Sustaining Children‘s Village at Thotapally
Work is finally underway on our most ambitious project to date – the construction of an eco-friendly children’s village, named ‘Paradise’, which will provide a home for 1000 orphaned and underprivileged children from Andhra Pradesh and other parts of India.
It is our desire to take care of more children in a holistic environment that will help them to develop to their potential. To achieve this the Paradise Village - a gurukul that is self sustaining - uses the latest technologies of energy generation and conservation.
In June we purchased extensive land, a 20 acre site, and this has already been cleared for construction.
The site is nestled amidst beautiful surroundings, its borders demarcated by the expanse of Lake Brahmalingam to the South East and canals to the North East and South West, which provide irrigation for the local farming communities. Entirely self-contained and secluded from the busy highway that connects the village to the city of Vijayawada, the site provides the perfect setting for the harmonious growth and development of the children who will come to call it home.
An array of sustainable techniques and systems like solar and wind power, Hydroponic vegetables gardens, solar cooking are incorporated within the site’s design proposals, including the recycling of waste materials to create energy. The village will have extensive green cover. Planting of fruit bearing and shady trees have already been started which will increase the scope for self-sustainability.
HEAL’s vision is for this centre to be a model of excellence in design, sustainability and management, which will care for the most needy children and prepare them for adult life with education, skills, an awareness of their responsibility to protect valuable resources, and a caring attitude to the less fortunate people in society. HEAL hopes that other charities will follow its lead in reaching for the highest standards.
Our vision for the children’s village branches in many directions, to ensure an enriching community environment in which the children will thrive. Plans are in place for the construction of a school, family-style dormitories and a range of recreational facilities, not to mention a visitors’ centre, auditorium, artistic and manual workshops, which will combine to maintain the traditional Indian ‘gurukul’ system, whereby residential students are provided with education, values and life-skills.
Individuals and businesses can help us to speed this project along by sponsoring a classroom, a dormitory, a workshop or arts building, or by providing funds for tree planting, or eventually by sponsoring individual children. Sponsors can have rooms and buildings named after themselves, a business or a loved one, and trees can be planted in memory of a loved one, and a named plaque attached.
If you would like to support the project, and help to improve the lives of thousands of Indian children in the future, please contact us at healsec@hotmail.co.uk