Rural Development

Foundation

Making a lifelong difference through education.

Teach a boy and he will educate his sons.

Teach a girl and she will educate her FAMILY.

Directors Annual Report

December 2009
Chief Executives Report
The last year was a year of consolidation
consolidating what we have and not
expanding beyond our means. We have
also expended much energy in preserving
the RDF culture that was so
painstakingly nurtured over the last 13
years for which RDF stands out.
The General Body, at the last (2008) AGM
conducted on the 20th of December,
reflecting the views of the Founders,
endorsed the concept that sustainability
was more important than replication. This
was further set in stone by the board at
their first meeting immediately after the
AGM, mandating the Office Bearers to
achieve sustainability within the next three
years. Consequently the year 2008-2009
has been devoted to achieving
sustainability without sacrificing the
quality. Efforts for achieving sustainability
have been multi directional. They
included:
1. Making the beneficiary
community share a bigger
percentage of the operating costs,
2. Increasing internal revenues,
3. Reducing costs,
4. Getting free services from
volunteers,
5. Enlarging the donor base.
Beneficiary community contribution
During 08-09, the five schools beneficiary
community contributed about 20% of the
operating costs. In earlier years it used to
be about 16%. For the year 2009-10, on
account of the increase in fees, which the
community has willingly accepted, this
figure is likely to come up to 38%.
Raising internal resources
Action has been taken to
improve the efficiency of our
agricultural operations by introducing
drip irrigation in two acres of land
where it is proposed to raise the entire
vegetable requirement (amounting to
about Rs. 4,00,000 per annum) for the
3 RDF schools in Warangal district.
Kitchen waste is also being
used as feedstock for wormi-culture.
Bank interest income has
increased substantially on account of
parking the money in fixed deposits.
Reducing costs.
Systems have been put in place to monitor
and prevent unauthorized expenditure. The
monthly budgetary requests are scrutinized
to distinguish between the must haves
from the nice to haves that are
summarily slashed. This practice has
resulted in greater participation of the
school staff in fund raising at the grass
roots level. They have become very
proactive in raising in-kind donations
for items that they think the head office
might not approve!
One experimental rocket stove has
demonstrated that it can save firewood
consumption of about 67%. Several are
under manufacture and will be standard
issue at all RDF institutions.
On account of the steep rise in the price of
rice, thought is being given to the idea of
serving idly sambar a couple of times a
week. Idlys can be made from broken rice,
and hence reduce the cost of the meal
substantially and at the same time increase
the nutritional value.
Free Services from Volunteers
A large number of volunteers have
donated their time to impart special skills
not covered under the normal curriculum.
Our only expenditure has been the cost of
food. More details of their activities are
mentioned further below.
Increasing the donor base
During the last year, the donor base has
been expanded substantially. Several new
corporate donors, Cargill Global, Ivy
Computech and Microsoft have given
substantial donations under their
Corporate Social Initiative Programs. We
have also received our first Corpus Fund
donation from Ashna Reddy, a six year old
donor. Class and individual sponsors have
increased in substantial numbers.
Donations
Donations continue to form the
cornerstone for sustaining the foundations
activities. Another year has been
successfully concluded only because of
the generosity of the donors. It is therefore
fitting to acknowledge their contribution
through this annual report.
Corporate donors
Several corporations have taken it upon
themselves to support us through their
Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.
Among them are:
Cargill Global
Cargill was introduced to us by a well
wisher and past donor, Mr. Dilip
Advani of New York. After some
telephone exchanges and a day long
meeting at Cargills offices in New
Delhi they took a decision to support us
on a regular basis. Several of their
employees donated money and became
child sponsors. Their official, Mrs.
Jayashree Ramaswamy took the trouble
of visiting the RDF School at Kalleda.
Subsequently, Cargill conducted a
campaign within their branches
worldwide and raised more money and
promised to support us on a year to year
basis. Their total support during the last
year amounted to Rs. 6,31,591.
Ivy Computech
A Hyderabad based IT company,
headed by Mr. Sachin Wagh was
introduced to us by Mr. Ahlad Ninoy, a
nephew of our chairman Mr. Manohar
Prasad. After several meetings and a
visit to our schools, they decided to
sponsor 50 of the poorest children on an
annual basis. Apart from this they have
spent another three lakhs and odd to
purchase education materials for the
schools. IvyComputechs and its
employee contributions upto now
amounts to Rs. 6,43,001.
Microsoft
Microsoft employees have been
donating money to us on a regular
basis. Their donations have been
matched on a rupee for rupee basis by
Microsoft. This year, we were invited to
several meetings with them and allowed
to publicize our activities at their
premises over several days. We are
hopeful that Microsoft will select us to
be one of their preferred NGOs.
SIS Infotech Pvt. Ltd.
A long time supporter of RDF, have
donated 50 computers and a large
number of tables.
Cosmos Ignite Innovations
Through an initiative of one Mr. Anil
Tata, a native of Warangal and now
resident of San Diego, USA who came
to know of us through our website,
managed to get us a donation of 50
Solar Powered LED Lights worth Rs.
82,000. These lights are to be used at
the VAPV hostel to help the students
study in the nights whenever there no
electricity available.
Spoorthy
A grass roots level organization based
in Siddipet of Medak District has been
supporting the RDF School at Matendla
on a regular basis. The efforts to
develop this contact and make them
into a regular donor are entirely to the
credit of the school staff and their head
master Sri Vishnu Murthy.
Traditional Corporate Donors
We are always grateful to our regular
corporate donors, without whose support
things would have been difficult if not
impossible. We gratefully acknowledge
support from ValueLabs, Tulip Granites,
AngAuto, JK Tyres, Yellowline Heavy
Equipment, Kala Jyothi Printing Press,
IRDF and Washington University.
Corpus Fund
We are thankful to six year old Ashna
Reddy for becoming our first corpus fund
donor by donating Rs. 60,000.
Corporate Donors
Contributions
In Upto
Company 2008-09 Nov 2009
Total

IRDF 9,258,800 2,319,500 11,578,300

Value Labs 1,100,000 900,000 2,000,000
ANG Auto 1,020,000 375,000 1,395,000
Washinton University 831,680 838,414 1,670,094
Yellow Line Heavy Equipments & Spare parts 463,850 463,850
Tulip Granites P. Ltd. 451,500 451,500
Silver Oaks School 402,100 402,100
J.K Tyres & Industries Ltd. 339,000 250,990 589,990
GAR Corporation Private Ltd 300,000 200,000 500,000
M/s. Cargill Global Trading India 250,000 436,000 686,000
Ranee Shankaramma Memorial Trust 100,000 100,000
Wanaparthy Education and Charitable Trust 100,000 100,000
KKPC Mumbai 59,820 59,820
Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt. Ltd. 35,000 500 35,500
Anigos Creations Pvt. Ltd. 25,000 25,000
Microsoft Matching Grant (through CAF, India) 24,885 27,360 52,245
Kapil Foods 8,000 8,000 16,000
Green Crop 2,500 2,500
Eurokids 2,000 2,000
Dietron Engineers Pvt. Ltd. 1,500 1,500
CFBT 700 700
Spectrum Creations 300 300
M/s. IVY Comptech Pvt. Ltd 318,000 318,000
Child In Need Institute (CINI) 73,850 73,850
Sri Venkateshwara Water Plant 10,000 10,000
Spoorthi Circle, (Siddipet) 1,050 1,050
Mor Jewellers (Rishika) 266 266
Grand Total 14,776,635 5,758,930 20,535,565
Donors (in-kind)
Contributions (Notional Value)
In Upto
Company/Individual Purpose
2008-09 Nov 2009
Total

Kakatiya School Furniture for RDF Institutions 150,000 150,000

S.I.S Infotech Private Ltd. Furniture for RDF Institutions 258,000 258,000
Discarded Paper for all schools -
Kala Jyothi Printing Press 75,000 25,000 100,000
will save on paper budget
Friends of Digital Photo Camera, Video
24,000 1,590 25,590
Mrs. E. Vanditha Rao Camera, CD's & Cassettes
Friends of
Dell Monitors 30 Nos 30,000 30,000
Mr. E. Rammohan Rao
Mr. Venkateshwarlu Inverter for RDF School Kalleda 15,000 15,000
Hand held Microphone for RDF
Mr. T. Rajeshwar Rao 800 800
School Kalleda
Mr. Dinakar Babu 20 Kg Rice 460 460
Medicines for RDF School
Dr. Narsimhachary 15,000 15,000
Matendla
Camel Pencils and Skech pens for
Dr. Vikram 3,281 3,281
RDF School Matendla

Vasavi Club Fans for RDF School Kalleda 3,000 3,000

Govt. Hospital, Medicines for RDF School

2,130 2,130
Chinnakodur Matendla
Pendrives for for RDF School
Mr. Aravid & Venu Reddy 2,000 2,000
Kalleda & Matendla
Vishwas Agriculture Long Note Books 100 Nos 1,500 1,500
Text books for RDF School
Through Govt. School 1,060 1,060
Matendla
Dictionaries for RDF School
Mr. Srinivas 720 720
Matendla
Tape Recorder, Walkman for RDF
IVY Comptech. Employees 500 500
School Kalleda
Mr. Bhaskar,
Diaries for RDF School Matendla 130 130
Ramagundam
Grand Total 265,260 343,911 609,171
Individual Donors Contributions
In Upto
Name of Donor 2008-09 Nov 2009
Total

Mrs. Rasika Reddy + Kalahita 218,588 218,588

Mr.Vidya Sagar Rao 203,000 203,000
Mr. Subba Rao Dukkipati 163,285 64,840 228,125
Smt. B. Nirmala Rao 125,000 125,000
Mr. Collin Gent 84,170 118,800 202,970
Mr. KVL Narayana Rao 50,000 50,000
Mrs. Neena Rao 50,000 50,000
Mr. Erik Kaeding 32,200 32,200
Microsoft Employee (Through CAF, India) 25,885 25,885
Mr. Nomula Ramachandra Reddy 25,000 25,000 50,000
Mr. Nick Horsehurough 20,000 20,000
G. Aravind 12,500 12,500
Smt. Jayashree Ramaswamy, (Cargill) 10,000 22,500 32,500
Mr. & Mrs. Ramesh / Kamala Venkateswaran 10,000 6,500 16,500
Mr. Subba Rao/ Mr. Sai Ram 10,000 10,000
Mr. E.Vasant Rao 10,000 10,000
Ms. Javidi Radhika Amarenderreddy 6,000 6,000
Mr. Amit Saini (Cargill) 5,000 6,250 11,250
Mr. Subramaniam Ganapathy (Cargill) 5,000 5,000
Mr. S.Vamshidhar (Khairatabad) 5,000 5,000
Mrs. Samantha Reddy 5,000 5,000
Wng. Cmdr. K. Prabhakar Rao 5,000 5,000
Mr. Sarvamangal V Parupudi, M/s. Anagha 5,000 5,000
P. V. Srinivas 5,000 5,000
Mr. T. Bhargav Kumar 5,000 5,000
Miss Fouzya - Kalleda Alumni Student 5,000 5,000
Mr. B. Naresh 5,000 5,000
Mr. Saidulu S.I of Chinnakodur 4,500 4,500
Mr. E. Ramohan Rao & Familey 4,496 4,496
Mr. Bhikshapathi 4,000 4,000
Misc Cash 3,904 3,904
Ms. Ipsita Aggarwal (Cargill) 2,500 2,500 5,000
Mr. Manish Sachdeva (Cargill) 2,500 2,500 5,000
Mr. Rajanarsu 2,500 2,500
P. Balraju 2,500 2,500
Mr. Kanakaiah RMP 2,500 2,500
Ms. Aparna Karnakar 1,001 1,001
Anna Liza, Euro kids Teacher 1,000 1,000
Mr. Joshila Sainath, Euro kids Teacher 500 500
Ms. M. Saroja [E.T.T] 500 500
Mr. Devraj Alumni 500 500
Mr. Srinu Alumni 500 500
Mr. Katerapally Praveen 500 500
Ms. Nageshwari, Euro kids Teacher 200 200
Mr. B. Swamy Raja 10 10
Sub Total 1,139,739 248,890 1,388,629
Individual Donors (contd.) Contributions
In Upto
Name of Donor 2008-09 Nov 2009
Total
Brought Forward 1,139,739 248,890 1,388,629
Mr. Bala Brahmanandam 100,000 100,000
Ms. Isabela Labak 94,700 94,700
Miss Ashna Reddy (Krithiga) 60,000 60,000
Ross Hamou Jennings (Cargill) 49,591 49,591
Mr. Irfan Hussain 25,000 25,000
Dr. T. Dharma Reddy 25,000 25,000
Mr. U. Srinivas 15,000 15,000
Sudhakar Prasad (IVY) 13,000 13,000
Sachin Prakash Wagh (IVY) 13,000 13,000
Luiz Prethi (Cargill) 11,684 11,684
Mrs. & Mr. Girija & J.N. Jagannath 9,000 9,000
Ravindra Babu K (IVY) 7,150 7,150
Ananth Krishnan C S (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Sivanand Akella (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Sriram C (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Aditya Satyadev (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Renuka Nair (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Sreenadh Murthy Kondru (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Sivaramakrishna Gutta (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Anita Mankala K (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Murali Bhavani (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Prabodh Saha (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Arun Kumar Kokku (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Shinoj V. Gangadharan (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Subramaniam (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Sudhir Kumar. P (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Srikanth Sadagopan (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Ravishankar. T (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Siva Gurusamy (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Dinesh Kandakatla (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Rajagopalan S (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Venkateshara Rao Sanka (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Naveen Reddy Alka (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Anirudh Rao Gauravaram (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Annamraju Raghava Krishna Mohan (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Seshadri Avatharam (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Sridhar Chavali (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Prashanth Reddy R (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Arun Kumar Kokku (On behalf of FSS Team) (IVY) 6,500 6,500

Ramesh Kumar Navrang Ram (for Client Support

6,500 6,500
Team) (IVY)
Manish Kumar Trivedi (PVR Team) (IVY) 6,500 6,500
Mr. Atul Kumar Verma (Cargill) 6,250 6,250
Sub Total 1,139,739 866,765 2,006,504
Individual Donors (contd.) Contributions
In Upto
Name of Donor 2008-09 Nov 2009
Total
Brought Forward 1,139,739 866,765 2,006,504
Mr. Ravi Parmeshwar (Cargill) 6,250 6,250
Mr. Santosh Lalchand Diwani (Cargill) 6,250 6,250
Ms. Jitesh Kantilal Avlani (Cargill) 6,000 6,000
Sun Bin (Cargill) 5,659 5,659
Mr. A. Raju 5,157 5,157
Ms. AVBK Harini 5,000 5,000
Smt. Jayashree (Khairatabad) 5,000 5,000
Mr. Naseeruddin Mohammed 5,000 5,000
Mr. Kiran Addala 5,000 5,000
Mr. Ch. Kanakaiah 5,000 5,000
Nagendra Kumar (IVY) 4,500 4,500
Mutyam Vissamsetti (IVY) 3,500 3,500
Rachna Pande (IVY) 3,250 3,250
Rajanikanth Mandava (IVY) 3,250 3,250
Prakash V Sajjala (IVY) 3,250 3,250
Smruti Ranjan Dwibedy (IVY) 3,250 3,250
Akshay Tandon (IVY) 3,250 3,250
Praveen Kumar B (IVY) 3,250 3,250
Venkata Ramana Sasanapuri (IVY) 3,250 3,250
Ashwin Kumar S (IVY) 3,250 3,250
C. Vamsi Chandra (IVY) 3,250 3,250
Ms. Namita Kapoor (Cargill) 3,000 3,000
Praveen Kumar Devatha (IVY) 3,000 3,000
Mrs. E. Vandita Rao 2,765 2,765
Arudra Kumar (IVY) 2,600 2,600
Sripathi Rajagopal (IVY) 2,600 2,600
Ms. Kuldeep Choudhary (Cargill) 2,500 2,500
Kammela Dasaradhi (IVY) 2,500 2,500
Prabhakar Reddy Nomula (IVY) 2,167 2,167
Raja Rao Yerra (IVY) 2,167 2,167
Sudhakar Gurram (IVY) 2,167 2,167
Ms. Neelam Dhingra (Cargill) 2,000 2,000
Karumuri Vanisri (IVY) 2,000 2,000
Ramachandra Rao Baru (IVY) 2,000 2,000
Anil Kumar Samudrala (IVY) 2,000 2,000
Veeresh Meesala (IVY) 1,500 1,500
Ahlad Ninoy V (IVY) 1,500 1,500
Sumeet Chug (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Neeraja Sanem (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Ankit Malik (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Leela Maheswarao Kollipara (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Phaneendra Kumar Divi (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Subba Rao. L (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Sub Total 1,139,739 1,002,597 2,142,336
 Individual Donors (contd.) Contributions
In Upto
Total
Name of Donor 2008-09 Nov 2009
Brought Forward 1,139,739 1,002,597 2,142,336
Kamiya Maini (IVY) 1,300 1,300
K. Srinivasulu (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Abhishek Patnaik (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Ratheesh Radhakrishnan (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Sridhar Sajja (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Ravikanth Tadikonda (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Pinky Sinha (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Majeet Chayel (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Anshul Kulshrestha (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Swaroop Kumar Kokkula (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Suresh Kommavarapu (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Manikanda Pandian Rajan (IVY) 1,300 1,300

Sri Venkata Surya Viswa Rama Krishnam Raju 1,300

Nadimpalli (IVY) 1,300
Shyam Kumar K V (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Mallikarjuna Rao Janga (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Uma Maheswari S (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Mallikarjuna Gumidelly (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Bharathi Arun Makkala (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Riju Bhargava (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Ravikiran Ponugupati (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Rakesh Kumar Maini (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Prashant Anil Ranade (IVY) 1,300 1,300
Mr. S. Raju 1,160 1,160
Raghavender Reddy P (IVY) 1,000 1,000
Dindigala Venu (IVY) 1,000 1,000
Christopher Joseph Domingo (IVY) 1,000 1,000
Mr. A. Narsaiah 1,000 1,000
Ms. V. Swetha 935 935
Mr. Shetty Nitin (Microsoft) 500 500
Vijay Anand Myakala (IVY) 500 500
Grand Total 1,139,739 1,038,292 2,178,031
Volunteers
Erik Keading
RDFs first volunteer from the US,
continues to visit us. During the last 18
months he has had two stints with the RDF
Schools. His report on the Narsimpalli
children aroused sufficient emotion at the
Toast to Education fundraiser in New
York and brought in substantial donations
to us through IRDF. Eriks main focus is on
empowering the teachers to constantly
improve and innovate. He also feels that
they have come a long way and that they do
not need his help any more!
Isabella Labak
A young student of Columbia University,
New York and of dual nationality (US and
Austrian) was introduced to us by
Karishma, daughter of Mr. Rammohan and
Mrs. Vandita. She spent four weeks
teaching English both at Kalleda and
Matendla. She lived on the food that was
served to the students and managed to ward
off any and all illnesses. At the end of her
stay she not only insisted on paying for her
maintenance costs, but upon her return to
Austria she raised 20,000 Euros as a
donation! The board is for ever grateful to
her for this gesture of support.
Marena Lin
A student from Harvard, came to
learn of RDF through our website
and wrote of her interest in
volunteering for a month. After
several email exchanges and phone
conversations, she was invited to do
a project on teaching English using
the Linguaphone. She spent an
entire month teaching two sessions
of students. Her report on her work
is included in the annexure.
Village India Program 3
The Washington University, St.
Louis, USA, concluded their
program for the third year in a row
at the Vanitha Achuta Pai
Vidyalaya in Kalleda. This year,
their team was led by Professor Ken
Botnick. He brought a total of eight
students with him. A large number
of our first year students were
inducted into the program and were
taught various subjects which
included architecture, debating,
interview techniques, videography,
art etc. This year it was organized
to have the least impact with their
regular classes. Only their last
regular period was eliminated.
It is noteworthy to mention that
during the admissions for the 2009-
10 academic year, several aspirants
cited the Village India Program as
the reason for their desire to come
to our Vidyalaya. As expected, our
students enjoyed the interaction
with the WashU students.
This year several of the WashU
volunteers fell sick for extended
periods of time. In some cases the
 sickness was caused by some of the
volunteers consuming local ice cream and
other snacks. One student had to return pre-
maturely.
The Village India program was originally
started by Professor Glenn Stone, a well
wisher of our foundation and the founder of
our photoblog & videoblog groups. The
intention was to both help RDF increase its
revenues by charging the Washington
University a fee for hosting the program
and to provide their students an opportunity
to experience Indian rural life. City
comforts were never an issue in question.
The program worked well for the first two
years. However, this year there was
evidence of a subtle shift in expectations
from the Washington University side. If this
program has to continue, then there has to
be a better understanding of what the intent
of the partnership means to both sides.
Elizabeth Sewell and Elizabeth Herb
They were introduced to RDF by Nikhilesh
Rao and are our newest volunteers and plan
to spend the better part of six months with
the RDF Schools.
They are from Seattle, Washington, USA
and have a very rich background in
international Cultures. Miss Sewell is well
versed in Chinese (Mandarin) and has
visited many countries. She has taught in
schools in Thailand and China. Together
they will be teaching Spoken
English and develop teen leadership
programs in the RDF villages.
Volunteers proposing to
come
Medical Yatra
This program is to be conducted by
a team of doctors from Ohio State
who come every year to Gujarat.
This year, they are proposing to
come to Kalleda also. A member of
their team, Dr. Satish Wagray has
in the past workied at the
Paravathagiri Primary Health
Center (PHC). They plan on
coming on the 24th of January,
(subject to peace in the state) and
conduct one day general medicine
clinics at the PHCs in Vardhanapet,
Paravathigiri, Nellikudur and
Nekonda.
Sammy Katta
A third year student at the
university of California at Berkeley
studying biology is interested in
volunteering at RDF schools this
coming summer. She would like to
teach the science teachers how to
conduct new experiments in the
science labs. After teaching the
teachers, she plans to observe the
them as they teach their students. In
addition to teaching labs, she wants
to help out in the primary English
classes.
University of Iowa, USA
I had the opportunity to meet with
Prof. Rajagopal, at Iowa City, USA.
Each year he conducts several
three-week study programs in Rural
India. Unlike the WashUs Village
India Program, where their students
act as teachers, in the Iowa
program, the US students continue
to be the students and it is the
NGOs who do the teaching. They
pay for their expenses and also give
the participating NGOs a lot of
publicity for their effort. Prof.
Rajagopal has expressed interest in
working with RDF.
Schools/College News
Vital Statistics

Five Schools student enrollment and staff strength:

Students Staff
2008-09 2009-10 2008-09 2009-10

Non Non
Boys Girls Boys Girls Teaching Teaching
teaching teaching
RDF School, Kalleda 306 276 314 272 37 15 37 15
RDF School, Matendla 211 179 201 167 31 7 29 5
RDF School, Redlawada 49 56 47 65 9 1 9 3
RDF School, Wadlakonda 57 79 72 93 7 1 10 3
RDF School, Narsimpalli 41 22 25 40 7 1 8 5
Sub-Totals 664 612 659 637 91 25 93 31
Grand Totals 1276 1296 116 124

Vanitha Achuta Pai Vidyalaya student enrollment:

2008-09 2009-10
Second Second
FIRST YEAR First Year First Year
Year Year
Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls

MPC 26 22 37 24 49 37 24 16
BPC 12 6 4 3 15 25 10 4
CEC 24 12 15 10 54 36 23 12
Sub-Totals 62 40 56 37 116 100 58 31
Sub-Totals 102 93 216 89
Grand Totals 195 305

Vanitha Achuta Pai Vidyalaya staff strength:

2008-09 2009-10
Teaching 15 14
Non teaching 14 13
Totals 29 27

Hostel usage:
Boys 90
Girls 46
Total 136

Mid-day meal program

The free mid-day meal program now for the first time includes all the five RDF
schools. The total number of meals served per day in the schools is approximately
1420 costing around Rs.10,000 per day.
RDF School at Kalleda
The board regretfully announces the sad demise of one of its oldest
employees, Sri Mahboob who worked as an attender for many years. He died
on July 10, 2009 due to a sudden cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife
and a young daughter. The children of the school decided to forego their
mid-day meals for two days and contribute the money saved to buy a small
piece of land in the name of his minor daughter. The school staff also
decided to donate a days wage for the same purpose and RDF has
earmarked a donation of Rs. 3,000.

The flagship school of the RDF system (Kalleda) is now in its 14th year of existence.
It continues to excel in the quality and variety of education being provided to the
students. The school has excelled in district level science contests and district level
sports. It has also done will in and state and national level archery events.

Extensive use of the computer lab is being made to teach typing and many young
children have learnt to type with all ten fingers! Good English pronunciation is also
being taught via downloaded BBC programs and through the Linguaphone CDs.

Panoramic view if the Kalleda RDF School building

The school, taking queue from the RDF School at Matendla, successfully
experimented with the concept of Student Teachers. Bright students were encouraged
to teach classes when teachers were not available. This has brought about a new vigor
in the learning process. The picture on
the right shows a Student Teacher
discussing about the human heart.

Finances in the school have vastly

improved, thanks to the ready
acceptance of an increased fee by all
the parents. The school still reserves
10% of the seats for the poorest of the
poor from whom nothing is required to
be paid. This school also has a large
number of Class Sponsors who donate
in excess of Rs. 1,25,000 per year.
RDF School at Matendla
This school has now entered its 12th year of existence. So far four batches of students
have completed their matriculation.

During the last year there was a large turnover of teachers at the school. This was on
account of a large number of teachers who were aspiring to become government
servants going on leave to prepare for the District Service Commission exam. This
absence caused a necessity which mothered an invention. The headmaster along
with his remaining staff
undertook an experiment and
let the students teach the
classes. Several of the
directors of RDF were
personally present at some of
these sessions and have all
praises for the manner in
which the students prepared
the subject, delivered the
lesson and involved the other
students in the whole process.
In doing this, they have learnt,
that teaching is the best form
of learning.
A Student Teacher busy giving a lesson in the sciences

The practice of students teaching students is used only in emergencies and the school
has since filled all the staff vacancies.

Children of the RDF School, Matendla continue to excel in athletics and they are
doing very well at the district and division level events. Twenty students participated
in the district level sports events of whom eight were selected to the State level event.

Mike Gents Lab

Colin and Alma Gent of England, who
have been donating money on a regular
basis over the last several years, in
memory of their son Mike Gent, have
again made a specific donation to
improve the usage of the computer lab
named after Mike. The money was
utilized to buy 11 dedicated UPSs to
help keep the computers running all
the time. With these UPSs installed,
the utilization of the computers at
Matendla will certainly go up. Our
grateful thanks to Colin and Alma.
RDF School at Redlawada
This school, by choice is limited to the 5th class. On account of difficulties faced with
the teaching staff, a decision was made to replace all of them. A village committee
has also been formed with Sri Chandraiah as the chairman. The school has since been
functioning in a satisfactory manner. It is proposed that a new primiary school
building be constructed in a green and cost effective manner for which funds
would be made available from the principal donors for this school.

RDF School at Wadlakonda

As mentioned in the previous years report, several rooms in the existing building
were not safe for occupation. A temporary structure consisting of six class rooms was
constructed during the summer and all classes have been moved into these rooms.
Budget permitting, a new primary school building will be constructed in land
belonging to the foundation.

RDF School at Narsimpalli

The school has finally shifted into the schools new
own building which were handed over to the
Foundation by the project manager Sri Ram Subba
Reddy on the 10th of August 2009. A small inaugural
function cum puja was performed by Smt. and Sri J
Ramudu, the principle donors of the 20 acre plot on
which the school is built. Ribbons to several class
rooms were ceremoniously cut by various dignitaries
including the oldest school parent. Children, parents,
staff, workers and the visiting dignitaries were
served a lunch before dispersing.

The board has to now grapple with the question of

how best to utilize the premises which far exceeds
the current requirement of just seven classrooms
from nursery to the 6th class.
The RDF School at Narsimpalli inauguration
 RDF Vanitha Achuta Pai Vidyalaya (Junior College)
At a meeting of the board, before the current academic year began, the board took a
decision that unless the enrollment of new students was above 400, the Junior College
should be converted into a vocational school. This figure of 400 (plus the existing 100
who would go into the 2nd year) was needed to make the college more viable. In
retrospect, it appears that the decision was flawed because of the conditionality.
Having made a concerted enrollment drive, it was not possible to tell the aspiring
candidates to go elsewhere in case of insufficient enrollment. In view of this
predicament, the college continues to function as a Junior College in spite of the fact
that a mere 200 enrolled. The General Body and the new Board must consider and
decide what direction to take in the future.

The first batch of students has passed out last year and the one glaring fact that is
evident from the results is that the students who stayed in the hostel fared far better
than those who lived outside. So it appears that if we are to continue running the
Junior College and serve the community well, we must establish proper hostel
facilities (rather than use classrooms). This can only happen if there are sufficient
funds. And is something for the AGM to discuss in depth and decide.

During the summer months of 2009, a freak storm created extensive damage. The
entire sheet metal roof of the administrative building lifted off as one mass due to an
aerofoil effect induced by the shallow slope of the roof. The roof has since been
replaced by RCC at a considerable expense of about 4.5 lakh rupees.

Building after laying the new RCC roof

Poor power conditions still plague the computer lab. Substantial investment is needed
in either opting for 24 hour power supply or a generator and UPS systems.

An incident of ragging of juniors recently marred the peaceful and fraternal

atmosphere of the Vidyalaya. The main culprits, very surprisingly were members of
the anti-ragging committee which was constituted under the directions of the local
police. The erring students were first rusticated for a period of 30 days. However,
after a week this was commuted to community service which included the cleaning of
bathrooms. Hopefully, this will never happen again.
Alumni
The Foundation continues to hold hands with the students who pass out of the RDF
system. Whether they are pursuing higher education or a career in sports, RDF has
been helping them realize their potential. After taking a glimpse of what they are
doing, it can certainly be said that RDF is making a difference in most of their lives.
From amongst those who have passed out of the RDF Schools at Kalleda and
Matendla the following give a general idea of what they are doing now:
24 are gainfully employed having fairly decent jobs, some getting 5 figure
salaries;
1 has joined the Indian Army;
2 are pursuing a career in sports;
4 have entered the labor force;
4 are pursuing post graduate studies;
38 are in engineering colleges, one of them being at the IIIT in Basra;
2 are studying medicine;
18 are pursuing other short term professional courses in hotel management,
pharmacy, nursing, teacher training, multi media and medical lab technician;
60 are in other degree colleges pursuing sciences and arts;
11 are in Industrial Training Institutes/Polytechnics;
151 are in Junior Colleges;
3 are in foreign countries;
and unfortunately 67 have discontinued studies, 12 due to marriage.

From amongst the approximately 81 students who passed out of the RDF Vanitha
Achuta Pai Vidyalaya, 80 of them are pursuing higher studies. Some of these are also
alumni of the RDF School system.

Several of the Alumni students are being financially supported by generous donors,
without whose help these children would not have been able to pursue their dreams. It
is fitting to recognize some of these benefactors.
Sri Dukkipati Subba Rao (ex-director) and his wife Smt. Kavita regularly support
several children to continue higher studies. The beneficiaries this year are all girls
and they are Izrat Fatima, M.Lavanya, V.Swathi, U.Bhagyalakshmi and
K.Devalikashimi some pursuing intermediate and some degree courses.
Sri Harsha Reddy and Malla Reddy of USA are supporting three engineering
students. They are Miss D.Lavanya, Miss K. Chaitanya and Mr. R. Karthik. Miss
Lavanya has finished her engineering and is seeking employement.
Sri Vikram Reddy of USA, a multinational hotel manager himself, is supporting
B.Narasimhulu in a course in Hotel Management.
The Burroughs School, St. Louis, MO., USA, with which Mr. Glenn Stones son,
Jordan Stone was associated, has provided college scholarships to two students.
The beneficiaries are Miss G. Rani and Mr. A.Abhilash both pursuing
engineering.
The Rubin Foundation has provided two scholarships. The beneficiaries are Mr.
Santosh and Miss Swaroopa both of whom are pursuing engineering.
Many alumni regularly volunteer at the schools helping in teaching, student
counseling, publicizing the schools and bringing visitors etc.. It is proposed to give
them more duties in accounting and purchases to start with.
Accounts Graphical Representation
Income Sources

Source & Amount

20,000

18,000

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Accounts - Auditors Report
Marena Lins report on Linguaphone
Preamble
RDF students have a kind of eagerness and passion for their studies that
seems so hard to find these days even in the best schools in the U.S., and
I hope they never lose this as they continue their education.

Procedure
Before each class, I transcribed each Linguaphone track onto a word
document. I identified difficult words in each exercise (are, when, well,
etc.) and had the students repeat them before learning the conversation.
After we listened to the track three or four times, I would read through the
conversation with my students, allowing each student a chance to say the
more difficult parts of the conversation aloud. During this time, they would
copy the actual conversation down, and we would listen and repeat
several times. I would then pair them and ask them to practice before
presenting. During their presentation, I would often note the sounds they
had trouble with and have them repeat that part of it until they got it right.
Every student had many opportunities to speak during the 40 minute
period, and we would often practice a sound by going around the room.

The following sounds were especially difficult for my students:

Pronouncing w: well, where, were, wear, was.

Distinguishing between w and v. A good test of this is

teaching them very well with finger gestures. V is two fingers, and
w is three.

They also had trouble distinguishing between f and p.

They often dont pronounce the -ed at the end of words like
finished.

s was also often left out. Mothers name was often just
mother name.

English teachers should enforce a rule that students only speak

in complete sentences. For example, there are many words that
students use on a day-to-day basis for which they could use complete
sentences.

o Finish or completed should be I have completed the

assignment, or I am finished.

o Bell not ring should be The bell has not yet rung.

o Power maam, no should be The power is out.

He, she, it, and general pronouns should be practiced at length. Its
important that these references become almost second nature, and this
skill just comes with both hearing it repeatedly and being made to repeat
popular constructions. They have, they are, he is, she is, etc.
This list is by no means complete, and I will improve on it as more sounds
come to mind.
Brief Review of Each Class
Youve heard a lot of what I have had to say about each class, but this is a
brief rundown.

4th and 5th Class

These students had a much shorter attention span with Linguaphone, but
once it became clear what certain phrases meant, they were all ears and
very creative with their responses. Their instruction will be very much
improved by having a Telugu-speaking teacher who can translate the
phrases to them.

6th and 7th Class

Students need to make sure they review the material at least five times
before they present the conversation to the class. They are always very
eager to present what they have learned before having adequately
practiced it. Of course, if theyre working alone on a computer, and they
are being graded, theres much less of an incentive to rush through the
material, so this is not likely to be a problem.
I was very impressed by many of the students ability to improvise on the
Linguaphone tracks. For example, one conversation might read as follows:

A: Are you Chinese?

B: No, Im from Belgium.

Some students would change the nationality for themselves, and other
students might jokingly chime in, Hes from Pakistan.

8th and 9th Class

This class was very mature and had great discipline in learning the
conversations. Their greatest weakness was pronunciation, and second to
that was sentence structure. However, after listening repeatedly to the
Linguaphone tracks, they were able to correct one other in pronunciation.
This class would probably benefit most immediately from the Linguaphone
program.

Conclusion
Linguaphone is an excellent resource for students and teachers to better
their understanding of correct pronunciation, and certainly, with repeated
listening, they will excel. In addition to listening, however, I strongly
believe that speaking practice is just as essential. Perhaps the most
immediate evidence for this is that even after having heard thirteen
students pronounce the word well correctly before him, the fourteenth
student still said vell, and only after trying three more times was he able
to get it correctly.
r is especially difficult for French-speakers. We practiced with him on
several occasions, and only with this was he able to improve his rs.
It may just be, however, that speaking practice becomes less important
with more advanced sentence construction but is essential when students
are only beginning to learn the proper phonics.

Additional Recommendations
As we discussed, the sky is the limit with these students when they have
access to the resources. Free listening and written resources are
abundantly available online for students once or as they become well-
versed with Linguaphone.
A couple things that are possible with current resources are making use of
free podcasts that can be subscribed to via iTunes, making American films
available to the students, and downloading news articles (The New
Scientist, The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc.).

Podcasts
The BBC, NPR, and many major newspapers have podcasts on every
possible topic and in nearly every genre. Once students are weaned from
the Linguaphone program, it may not be a bad idea to have a weekly
reserve of podcasts on a central computer that they can access. I know of
a Chinese student of one of my friends who picked up a British accent just
from constantly listening to and repeating the BBC on his internet radio.
To access podcasts, one downloads and installs iTunes and accesses the
iTunes store on the left tab. A search of the iTunes store (top left field)
should yield both podcasts and music tracks, and the former should be
free. Next to free, you can click subscribe to download. NPR and BBC
publish amazing weekly programs that iTunes can subscribe to and
download automatically.
Some great ones are the following:
Wait, wait, dont tell me!
Cartalk
This American Life
BBC World News

American Films
Young children respond well to animated films regardless of the language
in which the film is produced, and a video library might better engage
them in the language. Disney films are great for engaging the younger
children, but as we discussed, we wont be able to use these films without
a projector.
Rural Development
Foundation

Registered Office:
502, Kaarnik Towers,
6-2-967 Khairatabad,
Hyderabad - 500 004
INDIA

Phones:
Mobile: 91 94901 62640
Landline: 91 40 2307 8805

Email:
ceo@rdfindia.org

www.rdfindia.org