Many years ago, the rural community of Yamuna Khadar that resides on the bank of Yamuna in Delhi, lost its only school to demolition by the city’s development authority.
It being a slum, none of its inhabitants had any formal land title under their name, despite having lived in the area for decades. With eviction orders, most of the structures were brought down –including the NGO-run school for the children in Yamuna Khadar.
But the youngsters of the community didn’t lose hope. Led by Naresh Pal, they erected a structure using plastic sheets and bamboo fitments, where children could continue studying
But a structure made of plastic sheets is not as sturdy as concrete. So, imagine the plight of students during monsoons, who wouldn’t know what to expect – a leaking roof or probably no roof at all!
This is when two architects came up with the idea of constructing a school that could not only be easily dismantled, but also protect the children during bad weather days.
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The architects were approached by the community members almost two years ago.
It was called the ModSkool project, and was undertaken by community architects Swati Janu and Nidhi Sohane, with the aim of providing climate responsive, self-built and better sanitation solutions for the community.
“The community members had filed a Public Interest Litigation or PIL, following which they were granted permission by the government for rebuilding the school. This school could be let off from being demolished as long as it’s structure remained temporary,” explains Swati, who is the creative director of mHS CITY LAB, a social enterprise working for the homeless in India.
After coming up with the design of a low-cost and modular ‘anti-demolition’ school for 250 kids that could be disassembled, the duo joined hands with the community members and worked for almost a year to make the project a reality.
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The engineering expertise was provided by Mr. Vinod Jain, the director of Vintech Consultants, who was also the largest donor for the project.
However, the big task was raising funds. But it didn’t turn out as hard as they expected. “Our family members and friends happily volunteered for the cause and we were able to collect enough funds to go ahead with the plan immediately. Our agenda was to rebuild the school before the onset of monsoon,” says Nidhi.
Starting with just three members in June, Swati and Nidhi soon had over 50 volunteers on board with the help of social media and support from friends.
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The workforce included architecture students, photographers, journalists and even some parents from Yamuna Khadar, who took time off their busy schedule just to contribute for the cause. After three weeks of hard work, the dedicated group was able to raise the structure.
“The classes have been running for two weeks now. Despite many challenges, we have successfully managed to put the roof up in time for the monsoons and are now only left with the flooring, which will be completed after the monsoons,” she proudly mentions.
But the architects are not done yet!
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“By building the school, we feel that our engagement with the community at Yamuna Khadar has just begun and we hope to help in putting up more facilities such as a library and toilets next,” Swati says.
They also plan on taking forward the concept of such schools that can be dismantled.
To know more about the project, you can write to the folks at modskoolproject@gmail.com.
If you wish to contribute to their initiative, you can reach out on Facebook.