Projects with Underserved Communities Team India 2021-2022
Our Story
We are a group of five interdisciplinary engineering students at the University of Texas at Austin (hook 'em!) looking to create an impact in a community in Tamil Nadu, India. We are a part of a unique year-long program at UT called Projects with Underserved Communities or PUC. This program allows young engineers to develop a hands-on learning experience to design, coordinate, and implement a project in a community abroad in need of resources. Students will partner with a local NGO to obtain a better understanding of the community’s needs. Additionally, students are tasked with budgeting and fundraising the funds for their respective projects. Since the founding of the program, PUC has successfully implemented projects across 10 countries.
Our Project: The Kalathupatty Children's Library
We are partnering with CASA, an Indian NGO, to build a children’s library in Kalathupatty, Tamil Nadu. The Kalathupatty Children’s Library (KCL) will house CASA’s Bridge Course Program to tutor children who are not attending school. Tamil Nadu's economy is heavily agriculture-based and has high levels of poverty in rural areas. Children often come from the lowest caste and work to support their families. To reduce child labor in Tamil Nadu, CASA provides education for children and financial support to their families. Additionally, the library will serve as a multiple-purpose center for other individuals in the community to gather and connect to the internet. This project will only be a small step on the path to education rights and we hope that this initial investment will bring more resources to the community so it can continue to flourish.
Our NGO
The NGO partner PUC India is working with is CASA (Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action). CASA is an Indian development and humanitarian organization founded in 1947. CASA is committed to working for individuals of the lowest caste from all religions, genders, and political affiliations. Its mission statement is “people helping people” and the organization focuses on education, health, nutrition, livelihood, humanitarian response, climate change, and gender injustice. CASA has impacted over 8.2 million lives in India and that number continues to increase. The University of Texas PUC program has been working with CASA since 2014 and has seen great success throughout the partnership. Our team has been working closely with Poul Luther, CASA's chief zonal officer of South India, throughout the design and implementation of this project. Team PUC India 2022 is excited to continue to work with CASA to build the Kalathupatty Children's Library!