Welham Girls' School (WGS), among the Top 5 best schools for Girls in India, makes headlines for the committed, talented, energetic and driven young women that graduate every year. WGS has a very robust, extensive and rigorous Award Programme and 20 Gold Level completions have happened in the last three years, making it the largest number of Gold Award completions in one Award Operating Unit in India.
Gold Award participants engage in exciting and innovative activities that range from learning traditional India dance forms from Gurus such as Birju Maharaj, to learning digital media, exploring different art forms, foreign language, sport including leading in basketball, athletics, badminton, karate, etc, to making their presence felt in the communities in Dehradun with their Service.
The 'sulabh shauchalay’ project, with partnership with Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation or HESCO (http://www.hesco.in/) at Donkwala village is a recent Residential Project completed by the Gold Awardees at Welham this year. The HESCO-Welham partnership, operational since over five years has transformed lives of villagers in the Uttarkhand region and of the young Gold Award participants.
The school students and teachers undertook construction work from 21 September at the village. While Welham Girls provided the financial input for raw material and the labour to complete the project, HESCO empowered the girls with their technical input. Toilets are built with bathrooms- an essential hygiene empowerment tool. Identified beneficaries say that through this initiative by HESCO and WGS, Welhamites learn about the need for and the importance of sanitation in villages, and the local people are encouraged to work for better living conditions.
The 5 day project was attended by Kunwar Singh Rana and Jaipal Singh Chauhan from HESCO, WGS teachers Sonia Bawa, Sapna Sharma, Sudhir Kailthola, Vishal Rawat and 20 Gold Award participants from WGS. At the concluding ceremony, the founder of HESCO, Dr Anil Joshi, praised the work done by the students. He pointed out that the poor faced a range of difficulties in obtaining a better life, which is why it was important to work in the rural environment. One needed to use one’s resources for the good of others.
It is important to note that Alumni and Award Holders from WGS have been active in Volunteering and Exploring Opportunities with The International Award Programme in India. Since the set up of the National Office in Delhi, Gold Holders and Welhamites have spearheaded the Open Awards Centre campaign, provided invaluable support in Digital and Print media for the Communications team and in operations and monitoring of the Award Programme in India.
It is important to note that Alumni and Award Holders from WGS have been active in Volunteering and Exploring Opportunities with The International Award Programme in India. Since the set up of the National Office in Delhi, Gold Holders and Welhamites have spearheaded the Open Awards Centre campaign, provided invaluable support in Digital and Print media for the Communications team and in operations and monitoring of the Award Programme in India.
- Excerpts from The Garhwal Post (26/09/2011) and from National Office Archives and NAA team feedback