Sustainable Sainji Project - 2026

Sainji:

Sainji village and the Van-Gujjars community is located in the Himalayas of Uttarakhand, India, where Jaunpuri - a dialect of Garhwali - is spoken. The villagers mostly live off the rice, wheat, corn and vegetables which they grow, yet Sainji is largely affected by the rapidly changing climate and the rural location means that funding for schools is low. The absence of teachers is prevalent in rural schools and private education is beyond the means of most subsistence farmers in and around Sainji. As a result, most children from Sainji and its surrounding villages have until recently had little prospect of gaining an education which could help them improve upon a life of physical hardship and poverty.

There is no healthcare in Sainji, so traditional healers are commonly turned to, and the nearest hospital, Landor Community Hospital, is a 45 minute drive away. Other hospitals in the area are 2-3 hours away. Safe water is limited in Sainji, and families will often go without or can contract illnesses from parasites or bacteria. Children often suffer from diarrhoea, worm infestations, skin infections and fevers, which reduce their capacity to attend school, develop properly, and later to gain employment.

Garhwal English Medium School (GEMS):

Lori McFadyen and Kunwar Singh Chauhan have created GEMS to provide quality and affordable education for the children in Sainji. Through this, education is inclusive for all children and they can learn skills to later make an income through employment and raise family resilience.

Teaching in English provides a skill for pupils to be better prepared when competing for employment. Lori and Kunwar can only just provide finances which are sufficient to fund the school in order to allow the poorest families to access education.

Despite the continued lessons over whatsapp during lockdown, the lasting effects of covid have also meant that children must catch up on lost education, especially those from poorer families. Girls make up about 40% of the pupils at GEMS, which opposes the priority of male education.

Volunteer Roles:

Volunteers are regularly hosted at Sainji and are vital to the children’s English and education. They work with both the teachers and children, which enables lasting change to be made as the teachers can improve their own English skills and continue to pass on what they have learned to the children after the volunteers have left.

For 6 years, Anglia Ruskin University has worked together with GEMS to provide funding, medical aid and education, both in the school and the local community. Volunteers teach local women about feminine hygiene and basic first aid for those who live there, as well as teaching classes to children in the school and aiding construction of new facilities, which enable a higher quality of education for the children. The volunteers will address the most urgent needs of Sainji, which can change from year to year.

Medical students may focus on teaching first aid to locals, as living in an area where there are venomous snakes and food is cooked on open fires means that the treatment of burns, bites and seizures must be handled well. Dispelling out-dated treatments will also be important.

Puberty is little talked about in rural villages like Sainji, and therefore can be scary for children. The lack of understanding can also foster inappropriate comments towards girls, impacting their self-esteem and sometimes leading to missing out on school. Volunteers are vital to professionally and sensitively impart knowledge to children between 9 and 14, which allows them to grow up in a less frightening and more respectful way when they are going through puberty. The staff also benefit from the volunteer-run sessions.

Volunteers become role-models to the children; encouraging them to simply wash their hands with soap can create a huge difference to prevent common health issues.

Your Donations:

Funding for school facilities is vital to provide proper education to pupils. In the past, funding has been used to build an outdoor shelter as an extra classroom and for assemblies. A project on safe water supply is also greatly needed at Sainji, as the infrastructure is old and rusty. A new system is unlikely anytime soon, however increasing water storage tanks, preventing leaks and teaching the importance of water sanitation would create a huge impact. There are many projects which volunteers will engage in, like the control of the invasive weed, parthenium hystophorus, which can cause skin and breathing issues, and sharing public health messages which will create lasting change in Sainji. Volunteers spend a few days getting to know the community before getting involved in order to decide where the funding and aid will be most effective.