The Thistle - An E-Newsletter of Scotch College, Perth, Western Australia

Service and Citizenship

Mukti – Educate and Empower

"A quality education has the power to transform societies in a single generation, provide children with the protection they need from the hazards of poverty, labour exploitation and disease and give them the knowledge, skills and confidence to reach their full potential."  – Audrey Hepburn

In December 2019, six Scotch College students and three teachers travelled to Maharashtra, India and spent a week working at Mukti Mission. The Mission was founded by Pandita Ramabai to educate disadvantaged and marginalised women and children. Ramabai established the school in 1889 in Mumbai with the opening of the Sharada Sadan, a school of learning for child widows. She proceeded to establish a residential community in Pune,  providing a home and loving community to all women in need. The intention was to ensure that women were accepted, nurtured, respected and equipped to take their place in Indian society.

Mukti Mission continues to be a place of empowerment and transformation – a Christian community committed to Christ's teachings. This community still provides shelter and a loving community to over 500 destitute women and children. The Mukti campus also has a hospital, nursing home, dental clinic, two primary and high schools, a special needs school, a nursery for abandoned babies and a church. It is estimated that Mukti has helped over 100,000 women and children since Pandita Ramabai first started the mission in 1889.

At Mukti, the Scotch College students and teachers were given the opportunity to participate in educational programmes and be a part of the Mukti Community. They experienced an organisation that cares for all: children loved and protected from exploitation; children empowered by education; children with hope for a better future.

Upon their return to Perth, the students and staff have entered into a partnership with the Mukti leadership and teachers to develop educational resources that will be beneficial to all who are involved. To that end, the student have proposed the following:

  • Develop a website that links Scotch College and Mukti. Guided by Mukti teachers who will specify their academic needs, Scotch teachers and students will create teaching resources and make them available online to Mukti teachers and students.
  • Fundraise to provide data projectors, improve internet facilities and transport textbooks.
  • Curate secondhand laptops to be used in Mukti classrooms by teachers and students.
  • Provide professional development for teachers through links with Scotch teachers.
  • Create support mechanisms for Mukti students struggling with the curriculum.
  • Devise support mechanisms to assist Mukti students to improve their proficiency in English, which is a language that provides more job opportunities in India.

This is a community service proposal fashioned by six students who appreciate the value of their Scotch education and wish to extend these opportunities to others.

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Mr Michael Scaife
English Teacher