Buddha Smiles is a humble grassroots initiative that aims to build a peaceful, nonviolent and just world. Buddha Smiles is a project of the Spirit in Life Movement, a registered Public Charitable and Educational Trust . Buddha Smiles is inspired by the Gandhian philosophy of Sarvodaya (Welfare of All)which recognises that the spiritual, moral, cultural, social, economic and political dimensions are all necessary components of holistic development.  The spiritual content of this initiative remains in recognition of the fact that there is a light in each of us that can help brighten not only own lives but also the lives of others.

Upcomin Programmes 

Recent Programmes

Project Description:

Among several problems and challenges facing humanity, this initiative addresses specifically the problem of basic health and education in India. It is vital to recognize that all our problems are inter-related and therefore it is hoped that attending to this particular problem is likely to have a positive impact on other areas of concern.  The education of children, especially the poor and marginalised, and the creation of equal opportunity for girl children deserves greater attention because of its impact on the overall transformation of our society. Our primary objective is to address the problems and challenges of primary education by creating community-based educational units. Our major emphasis is on primary education (formal, non-formal and informal) for disadvantaged children at the grassroots level.  We carry out this work with the help and co-operation of tertiary students, social activists and enthusiastic community members.   Education is a powerful engine for social change.  Also serves as a crucial basis for human and economic development in our societies.  The education of women has a much greater influence and impact on child care and development than any form of social action.  Therefore this initiative bases its basic health education and operation of health units as part of the formal/non-formal educational units of the Buddha Smiles project.

Objectives: 

 Buddha Smiles has the following basic objectives or aims to realize:

First, to build a national network of volunteer teachers at the grassroot level consisting of tertiary students, social activists and community members;

 Second, to help provide a primary education to the poor and marginalised sections of society in both rural and urban areas of the country with special emphasis on girls education and gender equality;

Third, to develop a self-sustaining village/urban neighbourhood educational unit in every part of the country;

Fourth, to identify and encourage resource persons within communities to serve as volunteer-teachers;

Fifth, to encourage the educated and unemployed youth in rural and urban areas to participate, with an emphasis on a greater role for and participation of women volunteers;

Sixth, to organize and establish mobile libraries and in the long run help build community library systems that can be managed by the community itself;

Seventh, to support poor and deserving students to pursue higher education at the college and university level through a scholarship programme meant for the economically poor and marginalised sections of the society;

Eight, to encourage and support the establishment of alternative schools based on holistic education and vocational training with spiritual commitment.  The basic curriculum of these schools will be based on mutual respect and co-operation with the mainstream educational system, but will also include Gandhian and other alternatives based on different philosophical and spiritual traditions;

Lastly, to establish community based health units as part of the formal/non-formal educational centres which are already active.   

It is crucial to observe here that Buddha Smiles is already engaged in working towards these objectives or goals outlined above. They are, in fact, based on our practical experiences/exposure at the field.  Every objective stated here relates to both our vision and a sustaining commitment/experience at the grassroots level.     

Educational Methodology:

Buddha Smiles is active in ten centres spread in different parts of the country.  In our learning centres,  volunteer-teachers conduct classes at the community level at least four times a week with each session lasting not less than two hours.  The students are given basic instruction in their mother tongue/native language.  The volunteer-teachers are in the process of developing an informal/non-formal education that will supplement the existing system of education at the primary level. It is envisioned to implement this project with a grassroot network of teachers, social activists, student-volunteers and the local community participants. This programme aims at a simple and cheerful interaction between the volunteer-teacher and the children through regular meetings that will result in a creative (supportive) social mechanism for developing interest in pursuing education.

In our non-formal learning centers, classes are held mostly in public places including temples, churches, street corners, public parks, community owned spaces and in certain cases within the homes of students whose parents take active interest in the education of their children and want to help other children as well.  However, Buddha Smiles has also recently built a new school in the village of Karumbapalayam of Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, that will offer a formal curriculum and education for children.

The foremost concern of this educational initiative is to reach the poor and marginalized sections of society in both the rural and urban areas of the country with a special emphasis on girls’ education. We seek to share and learn from the experiences of other people, societies and countries in the region and the world at large. This initiative is based on holistic approach to life and education.  Above all, it values the need for continuos education not only for children but also for teachers and communities, for the development and progress of our societies. We see this as a part of the global movement for peace, education and development.

On going Project Activities:

§         An Evening/Night School for Working Children has been functional since August 2001 in Vellore, Tamil Nadu.

§         Evening School for the Working Children engaged in weaving in Velapadi Village in Arni Taluk in Tiruvannamalai  District in Tamil Nadu  has been functional since  January 2002.

§         The Gandhian alternative school “ Garden of Peace” in Kurumbupalayam Village in  Vellore District in Tamil Nadu has become operational since 9^th June 2004.  The curriculum and working of this school is being undertaken with due appreciation of the need for self-help, vocational training and above all without undermining the role and  contribution of the mainstream education system in a country like India.            

§         Community Based Classes for the rural poor and socially marginalised communities in Gorari Village, District Aurangabad, Bihar has been functional since October 2000.

§         Buddha Smiles conducts evening classes for the poor children in a slum in Dr.Mukherjee Nagar in Delhi has been functional since June 2002.

§         Buddha Smiles conducts language Training Classes for the Burmese Refugee community members living in Vikaspuri in New Delhi has been functional since October 2000.

§         Buddha Smiles holds Creative Workshops for the orphan and street children held in SEWA Ashram in Singhu Border Road, Narela, New Delhi from June 2002.

§         Buddha Smiles has also been engaged with the SEWA Ashram in co-ordinating classes for the street children in Main Bazaar near the New Delhi Railway station.

§         Buddha Smiles extends moral and financial support to the Humpty Dumpyy school for poor and socially marginalized children in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, administered by Ms. Rajan Saini Kaur since July 2003. Buddha Smiles recognizes  the need for such initiatives and tries to extend support to organizations doing similar work when possible.

§         Buddha Smiles has also been providing financial support for poor and socially marginalised students to pursue higher education at the college/university level. 

In addition to continuing and improving its ongoing projects, Buddha Smiles aims to establish non-formal educational centres/units in other parts of the country.  Buddha Smiles is looking to find support for these schools in the near future. There is a also a need for an extension of network facilities and project co-ordination in the new areas/places with the help and co-operation of volunteer-teachers. One of the most immediate concerns this initiative is to address the need for work among sex workers and their children.  Also the introduction of community based health/environmental  education with the help of health/environmental  units established at the educational centres/units of the Buddha Smiles programme.   

Note on the Founder: 

This initiative was founded by Dr. Ramu Manivannan, Associate Professor in Political Science in Hindu College, Delhi University in 1998.  He was a Research Fellow of the United Nations University’s Major Programme on Peace and  Global Transformation in Delhi during the period 1983-1987.  He was also awarded the “Fellow of the United Nations University” in 1986.  He has authored/edited seven books including “Prospect and Retrospect of Alternative Education in the Asia-Pacific Region” published by the National Institute for Educational Research of Japan in 2002.  Zed Books, London has published a book on ‘ ASIAN FUTURE : DIALOUGUES FOR CHANGE’ edited by Ramu Manivannan with Pracha Hutanuwatr in December 2004. The Spirit in Life Movement, Thailand, awarded him Pridi Banyomeng Medal for his service and contribution towards the Centenary Celebrations of the Thai Statesman Pridi Banyomeng in 2002.  He is a consultant member of the “ Committee for National Health and Education” of the exiled people from Burma and engaged in dialogue with the Alternative Education Committee of the Tibetan Government in exile. He is an active participant in the movement for Alternatives in Asia.  He is a member of the Spirit in Education Movement, Thailand and an associate member of the Movement for JUST WORLD, Malaysia.  He is an Executive Member of the Nonviolent Peaceforce and also a member of the International Peace Research Association.  He had earlier served as the Convenor of the Nonviolence Commission of the International Peace Research Association.   He is also a Yoga Acharya and leads spiritual walks in the Himalayas for over a decade now. He is now engaged in experiments in natural buildings, recording oral traditions of the common people and working towards building a peoples’ university. 

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