Marion Public School
Public mixed English-speaking day school
The "Marion Public School" was founded in 2000 and since 2009 has had its own school building on top of one of the St. Therese Residential School adjoining property. With each school year there was a new class train and more classrooms were built. Since 2014, the training can be completed up to and including the age of 18.
Approximately 800 children between the ages of 3 and 18 attend this English-speaking mixed day school. The children are picked up daily from the surrounding villages by school bus and brought back after the end of classes.
Since 2016, five trained nuns who have completed their training in the Carmelite Convent have been teaching with great pride in the Marion Public School, for which they receive a salary. At the same time, they complete a distance learning course with the aim of obtaining a bachelor's degree (natural science, English).
The parents of these children are poor and poorly educated. They would normally not send their children to school on a regular basis and cannot help them with their homework.
What is special about this school is the guiding principle of enabling children from disadvantaged families in the rural region to receive an education in English. English language schools are widespread in the cities of India, but only private. The children of the "Marion Public School" have the same curriculum as students of the city private schools.
The legal guardians pay, whenever possible, 500 rupees per month (≈ 6.40 EUR - as of 05/2019) as their own contribution to the school costs of their child, but the majority of the costs are covered by BETHSAIDA.
Extended use of the school premises
The "Marion Public School" was continuously expanded. That three-story building is finished and also the patio has been redesigned: There are two ball sports fields and a large lawn with flowers for the older pupils to exercise and for meetings. In June 2017 the classrooms for computer science, chemistry, physics and biology were completed.
Since June 2017, all pupils have been able to learn to swim in the school's own teaching pool. If they can move safely in the water, the chances of them drowning are reduced. Unfortunately, every year many children and adults lose their lives in the sea because they never learned to swim.
Farm and vegetable gardens : In BETHSAIDA, great importance is attached to the availability of healthy food and the children to learn where they come from and how they grow. In the BETHSAIDAS schools, the subject of "Environment and Nutrition" is being introduced, which not only teaches theory but also provides practical gardening and caring for the animals.
So the farm has grown, has new stables for various animals, and in the middle there is a large vegetable garden with ocra, zucchini, etc. In the prevailing climate, the vegetables grow very quickly and produce quick yields. Typical for BETHSAIDA - everything is sustainable. There is also an efficient and sustainable process chain here:
In the future, fish will swim in the large concrete water basin. The pigsty is very hygienic, the animals look healthy. There are still dairy cows, ducks, quails, rabbits and goats. The ducks mainly provide eggs.
(As of 05/2019).