She wants to study. College is hours away.
In rural Andhra Pradesh, girls from poor villages ride buses for hours to reach college, or give up their dream altogether. The Franciscan Sisters want to change that with a hostel.
The project
The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary run a college in Kanchikacherla, near Vijayawada. They plan a safe residential hostel for 80 to 100 college girls from poor rural families, many of them Dalit or Adivasi. It will have study rooms, a dining hall and kitchen, and female wardens who look after the girls.
- The land is owned by the Sisters.
- The building plans and the engineer’s cost estimate are ready.
- Construction is expected to take 15 to 18 months.
- The girls themselves are part of the project: they research, document and tell its story.
The plan in brief
The architects’ plan is a two-storey building of about 1,300 m² on the Sisters’ own land, with a lawn and green space around it. It includes:
- 13 bedrooms with attached toilets, spread over two floors
- A dining hall and kitchen with stores
- Study and tuition rooms, two multi-purpose training halls and a STEAM learning lab
- A counselling room, an infirmary and rooms for the wardens
- A prayer room, a lift and clothes-washing areas
The cost. The engineer’s estimate is roughly EUR 325,000 to 400,000 (about INR 3.5 to 4.3 crore). The exact figure is being confirmed.
Phases and ideas for support. The project can be funded step by step: first the foundation and ground floor, later the upper floor. Supporters could also take on a single room, the study hall, the kitchen or a scholarship fund for fees and books. For private donors in Europe we think of “sponsor a bed”.
How you can help
Every kind of help counts. A gift helps, and so do an introduction or an idea.
- Support the building. If you would like to contribute, write to me. I will put you in touch with Fr. Prasad and the Sisters, because gifts go to their organisation and not through me. A whole room, a study hall or a scholarship are possible, and so is a small gift.
- Introduce us. Do you know a foundation, a company with a CSR programme, a church or aid organisation, a Rotary or Lions club, or a person who supports girls’ education? Send me a name, or pass this page to them.
- Not for you? That is ok. Then please tell me: do you have another idea? Someone who might care, another way to help, or something that would make this project clearer. A no often leads to the next good thought.
Who I am
I am Manuela Stoerzer. Years ago I volunteered in a children’s home in India for children from 4 to 14 years old. I saw how much a safe place and one person who believes in a child can change. Today I support this project as a volunteer advisor to Fr. Prasad Kalaparthy: I help him plan the outreach and prepare conversations with possible supporters.
I am not the one carrying out the project, and I am not collecting money myself.
Fr. Prasad has worked for children’s rights in India for over 25 years and guides the project. The hostel will be built and run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Immaculate Heart of Mary Society, founded in 1998).
Where the project stands today. These are early ideas, and the numbers may still change. For gifts from Europe we are still looking for a partner organisation that can issue tax receipts, so I cannot promise those yet.
Get in touch
A name, an idea or a question is all it takes to start.
Manuela Stoerzer, volunteer advisor to Fr. Prasad Kalaparthy for the girls’ hostel project of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Kanchikacherla, Andhra Pradesh, India.
