A Day Out to IGIA, Jakkur, Yelehanka

It is my privilege to share my experience that I had on visiting the “Indira Gandhi International Academy” in Jakkur (Yelahanka) along with the Udhayam members MuthuSelvan, Sridhar, Murugan, Shanmugapriyan and Sivaraj.

We started our journey with open mind but on visiting, our minds were filled with undiminished thoughts.

We met the school warden Kokila and we came to know that there were 40 students who are in need of our service at present. She provided us with their requirements that have to be addressed immediately. Sridhar, Shanmugam and myself along with James, a student from the school went to the near-by market to purchase the grocery items. We purchased Rice (75kgs), Dal (10Kgs), Aata (20Kgs), Turmeric Powder (1/2 Kg), Chilli Powder (2Kgs), cumin (2Kgs), Fennel (1Kg), Mustard (1Kg), Powdered Salt (50kgs) and Stone Salt (50Kgs) which costs around Rs.4870. We traveled a little more distance and purchased vegetables, which included Carrot (5Kgs), Potato (10Kgs), Cabbage (10Kgs), Beet-Root (7Kgs), Onion (10Kgs), Tomato (20Kgs), Chilly, Ginger and Curry leaves costing around Rs.700. As it was a rainy day we could not buy more vegetables. Then we proceeded further to buy Buckets, Mugs and Mop sticks which cost Rs.920. At this instance we thank the almighty for giving us a wonderful opportunity to serve the needy.

Boys Hostel Room

School's Mess

In the meantime, remaining Udhayam members MuthuSelvan, Murugan and Sivaraj had an interactive session with the students. The students are sleeping in bunkers, with no/very minimal pillows and blankets. There are not much of buckets/mugs to the children. As all the students are from the Refugee camps in Tamil Nadu and they are used to have hot conditions, they are facing acclimation problems in Bangalore and they require immediate medical attention. We NEED to extend our service in this regard. Any pointers on this are welcome!

Apart from this it was hard to hear that they hardly have clothes. There is no proper facility to even dry their clothes. They use the parapet wall to dry their clothes where there are lots of chances to lose their clothes. Attention has to be paid in this regard too.

Believe it or not, the boy in the green/red T-Shirt, Surendar, studying 8th standard, was the incharge for hostel's mess. He knows how much of rice, dal, etc were spent on a particular day, and I was amazed on seeing how talented these kids were.


They don’t have adequate recreational facilities. It will be good if we further extend our helping hand by contributing few gaming equipments like Swing, See-Saw, Merry-go-around etc.

The location in and around the school is uneven which leads to water clogging during rainy days. This serves as a best place for the mosquitoes to breed. This leads to an unhygienic environment for the students. Hence the terrain has to be leveled.

They are planning to cultivate vegetables like brinjal, tomato and chilli which can reduce their grocery bill. We can contribute by helping them in preparing a good field for their cultivation. This can be taken immediately.





We finally ended the day by playing cricket with the young innocent minds.

Truly speaking, this day would be an unforgettable day that haunted our minds with unforgettable memories.
At this instance, I would like to extend my heartful thanks to all the members who are giving constant support to Udhayam.

~Mathiniraiselvan.K