The Marica Story

Many of our old friends are familiar with the Marica story, for our new friends we are proud to give you a brief history of the development of the society and the schools that we are delighted to offer our young students.

Marica started as a simple little school in a quiet and pleasant district of Hyderabad known as Masab Tank. With a handful of students which included a young handicapped child, orphans and the founder's eldest daughters, Marie Solange and Caroline, the school settled down to learning within the principles of the school motto. With a lot of determination from the founder and a small team of dedicated teachers, the school became popular in the locality.

As the years went by, the efforts of the teachers and the support workers began to bear fruit and the school became a happy active centre of learning, harmonising children from all walks of life, including those that were physically challenged.



Those of you that know India, are fully aware of the colour, humour, variety and even tragedies that are so apparent here. During the developing years, the school went through many experiences, too many to relate within this story. But the important thing was that whatever came our way, the school never stopped growing, as the need to reach out to the children that needed our help became increasingly urgent.

One of the areas that concerned us most, was the need for the education of children that lived way beyond the city limits, many of these youngsters were living in extremely poor and basic conditions, with little hope of achieving a reasonable education. Initial appraisals of their requirements indicated a need for complete support, which included food supplements, clothing, health checks, and of course school equipment and good education.

To do this we needed land, transportation, teachers and most of all, forbearance and generosity from our friends. In the fullness of time, the family of the founder and other kind friends rallied round and sufficient funding was created to build a new school in the country to reach out to these children. After eight long months toiling in the hot Indian sun, the building project was finally completed and the teaching of youngsters within the same principles of our motto began.

Like the city school, the early days were not without various trials and tribulations, but with the hard work of teachers and several young volunteers coming out from Europe, the school gradually developed into a harmonised unit, bringing health and education to those youngsters that would otherwise not have had any real future to look forward to.

In 1999, during our investigative trips round the locality of the country school, it was noted that a large number of migrant workers were working in the local granite quarries. Conditions are very hard for the families living there, mostly migrant workers from further outlying villages, the family live in rude bamboo leaf shelters, with no sanitation, power or basic privacy that is accepted as the norm in Indian cities and developed
countries.

Transporting the youngsters in these worker camps to the village school would have been beyond financial and logistical resources. It was therefore decided, as in the case of Marica 2, to bring the school to the children. With the aid of local worthies, a hut school was created, using the same material used by build the children's homes.

Every morning the school rickshaw driver loads the three wheeled vehicle up with school equipment, teachers, and even a nutritional porridge that does wonders at the village school. Thus loaded, the rickshaw makes its way across the ramparts of a local dam, then into the heart of the quarrying area. Yet another achievement of Marica.



Whilst all this rural activity was going on, the original school in the city was in dire need of relocation. Due to the massive influx of people to the city and the rapid development of construction in Masab Tank, the services to the school such as water and drainage were proving to be hazardous to students and teachers alike. An urgent quest for new premises began.

A land was found at Tolichowki.
Whilst still maintaining our efforts in the rural area, a new city school is now available to us, built on the success of our other schools. We now look forward to several hard months of organisation and construction, eagerly waiting for the day when we are able to open yet another set of school gates to welcome the youngsters that will benefit from our basic principles of Love, Peace & Harmony, offering a brighter and better future for them and their families.