Learn for Life Foundation
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Sunbird Pinjang School

“The Archdiocese of Imphal thanks Learn for Life Foundation and Sunbird Trust for their sponsorship of the construction of a new primary school for the Rongmei Naga and Kuki tribal children in the Pinjang area of the Manipur"  

Fr. Varghese Velickakam, Archdiocese of Impahl, Manipur

History

Founded in 2014, Sunbird Trust is a non-sectarian and non-religious Civil Society Organization striving for Peace in conflict affected parts of North East India. Core objectives of Sunbird Trust are to bring communities to live and work together in harmony and to build bridges between people and the Armed Forces. The Trust engages with local communities through educating and empowering underprivileged children. 


Sunbird Trust is headed by its Founder-CEO, Col Christopher Rego (Retd.), who served 32 years in the Army, including spending over eight years in North East India. During his tenure in Manipur prior to retirement, Col Chris experienced the conflict firsthand and gained a deep knowledge of the issues that were fueling it and costing society heavily. Using this knowledge, he crystallized his strategy of “Peace Through Education”.

Old Pinjang School

Old Classroom

Old Classroom

Old Classroom

Since rural Manipur tribal families cannot pay even nominal school fees, there is very little money available for school building, tables, chairs, nor is there electricity or Internet. 

Old Furniture

Old Classroom

Old Classroom

The old Pinjang school classroom furniture was dilapidated. 

Crowded Classes

Pinjang School Pledge Request

Pinjang School Pledge Request

Despite the poor facilities, the classes were full of interested students

Pinjang School Pledge Request

Pinjang School Pledge Request

Pinjang School Pledge Request

The budget for the construction of the Sunbird Pinjang Freindship School was approximately USD 64,000 (INR 48 Lacs). The budget for the construction of a hostel for students from remote villages was USD 20,000 (INR 15 Lacs). The Sunbird Network and Friends in the USA raised the amount required in less than 30 days and the construction projects were  completed ahead of schedule and under budget.    


Sunbird Mission

Sunbird Trust seeks to build peace and harmony by engaging with communities in the conflict zone through educating and empowering underprivileged children. Three primary areas of focus are:


  • Child sponsorship to provide financial access to education
  • Building schools and hostels to provide physical access to education
  • Fostering National Integration and Peace through multiple initiatives to improve the livelihood of the people in this area

New School Construction Updates

11 November 2021 - Clearing and leveling of the land in preparation of the school construction and excavation of the road to the site at Pinjang began. 

The road to the site was cut to start hauling materials to the site. 

Land leveling and cutting was done with the help of local MLA by way of the mud excavator (JCB). 

28th December 2022 - Laidd initial foundation of the school.  Rev. Fr. Dr. Varghese Velickakam the procurator of archdiocese of Imphal, and priests from neighboring parishes, accompanied by numerous people from the community took part in this event.

Local members of the community began collecting rocks and materials.  

The people of the village in rural Manipur are impoverished. Although they are not able to provide monetary support,  they  contributed to the construction using manpower. Some folks collected and carried building materials to the job site.  Since the road is steep,  we contracted a local (Shaktiman), with a 4 x 4 vehicle, to haul sand and stone to the site. 

The foundation level is progressing at a rapid rate, thanks to our skilled laborers working diligently to complete the foundation within a 2 week time frame.

30th January 2022 - Work is progressing and tireless laborers alongside enthusiastic members of the community are working hard to complete the construction work 

The children are actively helping as well. There is acute water scarcity throughout the area. We have an onsite water holding/collection tank. The children brilliantly collect any overflow from the catchment tank along with bathing water captured in the pit, covered with the polythene. They collect the used water for the construction of their school. 

25 February 2022 -  The Photo Gallery provides a visual of the project progress

We hope to complete the work by mid-March, 2022.

17 March 2022 - The success in the planning and construction of the Pinjang School is evident because of the dedication and determination displayed by our "team" from Sunbird Trust, Learn for Life and CESM, down through our magnificent committee of teachers/staff and our locals and students alike  who have worked tirelessly to have this beautiful  school built on time and on budget for our current and future Pinjang students. We couldn't be more proud. Construction should be complete by the end of April 2022.

15 May 2022 – Construction of the school water tank and leveling of the playing ground and basic leveling of the campus was completed in May 2022. This is a ferro cement cost effective water tank with 50,000 Litres of capacity. The technical team who constructed the tank came from Kerala. Plumbing for the water tank and electrification of the class rooms will be done this week. With this, the total work of the school will be completed. The furniture and the teaching aids have been ordered and they will be supplied by mid of June 2022.

New School Construction In-Progress

Pinjang School Access Road

Pinjang School Access Road

Pinjang School Access Road

The Pinjang school is in a remote area which required an access road to be created 

Leveling the ground

Pinjang School Access Road

Pinjang School Access Road

The Pinjang School is in a hilly area which required the land to be leveled before the foundation is built

Water Catchment

Pinjang School Access Road

New School Foundation

Water catchment at the construction site used for building and mixing concrete. 

New School Foundation

School Construction Cont'd

New School Foundation

Foundation being built on freshly broken ground with the help of local contractors and civilians.  

New School Construction

School Construction Cont'd

School Construction Cont'd

Every brick and stone laid by all these hard working individuals is another day closer to completion.

School Construction Cont'd

School Construction Cont'd

School Construction Cont'd

Stone laid down to absorb the mud in order to put nice flooring down.

Two New Water Reservoirs

Two New Water Reservoirs

Two New Water Reservoirs

Here we have our official sistern/water reserve tank. So proud of the progress!

Due to insufficient water supply and reserve, we built TWO new holding tanks (cisterns), that hold about 3,500 litres of water each.  

Preparation for the roof

Two New Water Reservoirs

Two New Water Reservoirs

A proper roof is vitally necessary due to heavy rainfalls.

Raise the Roof

Two New Water Reservoirs

Raise the Roof

Let's 'raise the roof' for the nearly complete Pinjang School!

New School Building with Completed Roof

New School Building with Completed Roof

New School Building with Completed Roof

How beautiful does this new building look! In such a short time, it is complete!

Building a Rain Harvesting Tank

New School Building with Completed Roof

New School Building with Completed Roof

In order to collect their own rain water, the Pinjang School had to start from scratch building their own Rain Harvesting Tank

Rain Harvesting Tank Completion

Rain Harvesting Tank Completion

Rain Harvesting Tank Completion

The Pinjang school is collecting its own water with a Rain Harvesting Tank to ensure there is safe running water on campus. 

Classrooms being painted

Rain Harvesting Tank Completion

Rain Harvesting Tank Completion

The classrooms are coming together! Ready to furnish!

New Pinjang School Inauguration

Col. Chris Rego saluting the flag

Col. Chris Rego saluting the flag

Col. Chris Rego saluting the flag

The Indian Army unfurled the flag at the new Pinjang School as part of Sunbird's  Peace through Education initiative

Partnership with Indian Army

Col. Chris Rego saluting the flag

Col. Chris Rego saluting the flag

The Indian Army maintains the peace in the region which ensures the next generation stop the cycle of tribal warfare

US Donors Recognition Plaque

Classes are back in session!

Classes are back in session!

The Sunbird Friends helped raise the corpus needed to fund the construction of the new school and hostel

Classes are back in session!

Classes are back in session!

Classes are back in session!

The new school was constructed in six months in time for the commencement of the new academic year. 

Inauguration

It started with a request from the Diocese of Imphal to build a new school for the tribal children in Pinjang in December 2021. Sunbird Trust and Learn for Life Foundation swung into action and in less than six months the funds were raised, the land levelled and a new school was built from the foundation up, thanks to the incredible efforts of the diocese leadership and local leaders and volunteers..

Patrons Recognition

A special thank you to all the patrons and donors who made large and small donations which helped us reach our budget within two weeks of making the initial request. Your generous contributions will help educate generations of children and bring peace to this war-torn region of India. Thank you!

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Learn for Life Foundation

EMail: learnforlifefoundation@gmail.com

Call: +1 973-442-2999

Learn for Life Foundation is a non-profit organization staffed by volunteers. LFL is a New Jersey registered non-profit (Registration#: CH3558800) and a United States registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. EIN/Tax ID: 45-5070897 DLN:17053319302022

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