HOME - Arunachala India Village Charity Foundation

OUR MISSION

• Supporting Education in rural India

• Offer Perspectives for disadvantaged Children

• Provide Facilities for Sustainable and Healthy Living

OUR MISSION

• Supporting Education in rural India

• Offer Perspectives for disadvantaged Children

• Provide Facilities for Sustainable and Healthy Living

We support the Arunachala Village School near Tiruvannamalai.
This beautiful school not only provides underprivileged children with a safe place to learn and grow, but also teaches them to cultivate and share love.

Priority admission is given to children who are orphaned or abandoned, from single-mother households, or extremely poor families — with priority given to girls.

Philosophy
Arunachala Village School is founded on a holistic educational philosophy, guided by the following core principles:

🕊️ Helping Others

🕊️ Respecting Others

🕊️ Loving Others

With School Managing Trustee Ramya

in February 2025 we found the school and had several touching Meetings with the school and their young and vibrant managing trustee Ramya, who was herself a student of the school in her childhood.

MEET RAMYA NOW

She stays now at Open Sky House until the beginning of June, then she moves to Open Sky Oasis in Spain.

She is available to meet you and to give a talk, illustrated with photographs.

Priority admission is given to children who are orphaned or abandoned, from single-mother households, or extremely poor families — with priority given to girls.

Children attend the School Now

From simple village backgrounds, aged 4-10. Most would not have the financial means to attend school otherwise.

Children have graduated from the school

After graduating, kids go on to high school and higher secondary school. Some even advance to university, with financial support from AVS. Some return after their studies to give back—by teaching the next generation at AVS.

0 €

Yearly Budget per child

MEET RAMYA – THE MANAGING TRUSTEE

She stays now at Open Sky House until the beginning of June, then she moves to Open Sky Oasis in Spain.

She is available to meet you and to give a talk, illustrated with photographs.

The Arunachala Village School Offers Children

An Opportunity to Grow Beyond their Life Circumstances

Orphanhood

Many Children in rural areas grow up with only 1 or no parents. Women often commit suicide after pregnancy due to the pressure they have to bear.

Early Labour

Due to a lack of financial means children have to support the family’s agriculture

Poverty

Many rural families live in extrem poverty, children suffering from malnutrition

Alcoholic Parents

Alcohol abuse is common in poor rural families and children suffer under physical abuse

Forced Marriage

including cases where girls as young as 12 are married off to much older men. So by age 14 they can easily have their first child.

A Future of Possibilities, Dignity and Purpose

Self-Worth

Confidence into Oneself

Skills

Acquiring a wide range of Academic & Practical skills

Family Life

Building Emotionally healthy and stable Families

Education

Secondary School & University

Awareness

About Onself, other Beings and the Planet

Why is Arunachala Village School so Special?

Educational Philosophy

Arunachala Village School is founded on a holistic educational philosophy, guided by the following core principles:

🕊️ Helping Others

🕊️ Respecting Others

🕊️ Loving Others

Click on the Photos to make them bigger:

🌟 Not Chasing good marks

The school is about life exploration, freedom of children to decide what they want. Children use this freedom really well.

🌿 Individual Attention to every child

Teachers know the family of each child and keep track of the children's situation daily, to support them or the family if necessary.

🌟 Everybody is treated as equal

Indigo children – kids with special needs – are fully included. Every child is unique and receives the support they need.

🌍 Preparing for Life, Not Just Exams

Beyond academics, students gain real-world skills, civic awareness, and the courage to imagine—and create—a better future.

❤️ Education Rooted in Compassion

Core values such as helping, respecting, and loving others are woven into everyday life, nurturing kind, socially aware young individuals who take responsibility.

Creative Saturday (No Book Day)

Philosophy

The spirit of Creative Saturdays at Arunachala Village School is built upon these core ideas:

– Exploring Creativity

– Learning by Doing

– Growing Through Play

Click on the Photos to make them bigger:

Color, Create, Explore!

🎨 Hands-On Creativity

Every Saturday, children explore their imagination through arts, crafts, and handmade projects that spark innovation and joy.

🏃‍♂️ Active and Energized

Fun dance and sports activities build teamwork, strength, beauty and confidence—turning every Saturday into a celebration of movement and play.

🔬 Curious Young Scientists

Interactive science workshops encourage discovery, critical thinking, and the excitement of understanding the world through experiments.

🌟 Skill Building for Life

Creative Saturdays teach practical skills, boost creativity, and nurture talents that stay with children far beyond the classroom.

Glimpses of the Daily School Life

Happy Morning

Everyday
Teachers greet all children each morning with a hug and often a dance.

Cirlce Time

3 Times per week
Children come together with their teachers in a circle to share openly about their situation and feelings.

Sustainability

Nothing is wasted
Food waste is used as fertiliser, other waste recycled or reused as craft or building material

Farming

Everyday
Children grow their own vegetables and can decide what they do with them.

How You Can Support

Academic Education

Education

Arunachala Village school offers education for economically disadvantaged children from villages around Tiruvannamalai.

You can support 1 child's education by donating 30€ per month.
You can also support a teacher at a rate of 150€ per month.

Creative Education

Creativity

Children of the school receive remarkable chances to participate in various creative processes in the school.

You can support the schools capacities and facilities for creative and scientific exploration: musical instruments, tools, science kits, arts & craft materials and costumes.

LArger Projects

Facilities

The school needs:
– A New School Bus
– Extend Sanitation Facilities
– Computers, Phones & Ipads
– Extend the Library

• We would like to help to develop a Secondary School

Higher Education

University Scholarships

Students who graduate from AVS and wish to pursue higher studies are encouraged and supported on their way. Several go on to build meaningful careers, some return to AVS as dedicated teachers—giving back to the community that nurtured them.

How Open Sky Got Involved

Meeting Arunachala Village School.
Finding A Profound Project In The Making.

We discovered Arunachala Village School (AVS) through John David’s children, who travelled with us to India in early 2025, during our annual retreat at the mountain Arunachala — a place our hearts feel deeply connected to. Shortly before that, a friend from Poland had visited us in Germany and told us about AVS and its wonderful atmosphere. Inspired by this, John David’s children spent a week at the school — and the experience deeply moved and transformed them.

Curious to learn more, we visited the school and invited the president and her father for a conversation, and discovered the school urgently needs financial support.

Several of us have since visited the school and were deeply touched and impressed by the vibrant energy in the classrooms and the heartfelt and creative way learning takes place — as well as the love, care and dedication invested in every aspect of the children’s education. Therefore John David decided to start a charity foundation here in Cologne, Germany, to support Arunachala Village School.

Get to know the passionate Teachers behind the Organization.

The heart of Arunachala Village School is its team of warm, 29 dedicated full- and part-time teachers who bring not only knowledge but also deep compassion into the classroom. Some of them have themselves been students in AVS and teach with passion, patience, and a true sense of purpose.

Ramya (Managing Trustee)
and Madhan (Patron)

Meet the Organizers

The Arunachala Village School was founded in February 1999 by Mrs. Aldis Jaspers and Mr. Raja Kandaiah, starting with 42 kindergarten children under a simple coconut-thatched roof. In 2001, Mr. Madhan Mohan took over, envisioning a joyful school where learning becomes a path to wisdom. His dedication has shaped the school’s spirit and quality of education ever since.

In 2024, he was honored by the Governor of Tamil Nadu for outstanding contributions to education and environmental care.

In 2022, former student Ms. Ramya became Managing Trustee. Madhan Mohan remains the school’s patron and academic director, joyfully supporting his dream that AVS students will one day lead the school — a dream now becoming reality through Ramya’s return.

Frequently Asked Question.

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