Post-Fani School Restoration

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April 27th, 2019

Picture this: You are a child. Your summer vacation ends, but your school is gone. The blackboard lies cracked. Your classroom has no roof. The place where you once learned alphabets, played with friends, and dreamed in color now echoes with broken glass and silence.

This was the reality for 180 children of Shishu Vikash Vidya Mandir, Khandagiri Bari, after Cyclone Fani struck on May 3rd, 2019. The school—a safe space for underprivileged children from LKG to Class VIII—stood battered and unusable. And as June 17th approached, the reopening date for schools, there was no sign of restoration.

But we could not let learning be another casualty of the storm.

With urgency in our hearts, Unmukt Foundation launched a fundraiser on milaap.org to raise the estimated INR 8 lakhs needed for school repairs. The response was slow. Funds trickled in. But the children couldn’t wait.

So, we began anyway.

Amidst financial and labour constraints, we started rebuilding walls, roofs, and resolve. We patched broken doors, restored classrooms, and cleaned debris. And when June 17th came, SVVM Khandagiri Bari reopened its doors—welcoming every child back, from LKG to Class VIII.

They returned not just to a building, but to belonging.

Segment of the population it served

180 children from low-income families enrolled in SVVM Schhol, Khandagiri Bari (LKG to Class VIII) 

Program Duration

Completed.

Focus Areas

1. School Infrastructure Restoration – repairing damaged classrooms, roofs, walls, and basic amenities.
2. Back-to-School Access – ensuring no child lost an academic year due to the cyclone

Despite limited funds, we took the risk and started rebuilding—because education couldn’t wait. Through borrowed time and borrowed tools, the classrooms were ready in time for reopening. SVVM welcomed back every child. Today, learning has resumed. Laughter fills the halls again. 

This was not just about bricks and benches.  It was about restoring childhood.