DONATION YOGA DAY FOR ARUNACHALA VILLAGE SCHOOL

DONATION YOGA DAY
SATURDAY FEB 8TH
Welcome to join as many classes you want on this day! We have put together a beautiful day of donation yoga to support Arunachala Village School in Tamil Nadu, India. You book, here on our website. You can join online or in the studio. You do any donation you want and join the class. We are so happy to have you along on this journey where we all can unite in doing something good for marginalized children
08.30–09.30 HATHA WITH PETRA
10.00–11.30 YIN/MEDITATION WITH HANNA
12.00–13.00 BHANGRA/BOLLYWOOD DANCE WITH SUSHEEL
13.30–14.30 VINYASA WITH ALEX
15.00–16.00 YANG/YIN WITH SUDHEESH
1. YOU BOOK THE CLASSES HERE
2. YOU DONATE HERE
3. SHOW UP & SHOW THE DONATION TO THE TEACHER.
4. ENJOY YOUR CLASS!
YOUR DONATION IS COMPLETLEY UP TO YOU, BUT OUR RECOMMENDATION IS from 200 SEK.
ABOUT ARUNACHALA VILLAGE SCHOOL
The Arunachala Village School in South India is where education transforms lives. Nestled in a rural community in Tiruvannamalai, this primary school is unique in its ethical, playful, and children-led approach. It is completely free and focuses on providing education to highly marginalised children. Founded in 1999, well-known local social worker Madhan Mohan developed it as an innovative learning school for socio-economically deprived children, using many innovative teaching methodologies. Since the recent dondor passed away the school faces significant financial challenges, and we need your help!
Why is this school so special?
The school offers education to some of the most marginalised children, including orphans, children from single-parent families, and those living below the poverty line, with a focus on girls. Students receive continuous support, including personal mentoring, yoga sessions, and free academic consultations outside school hours. The school emphasizes a flat hierarchy where teachers are addressed as ’Akka’ (older sister) instead of ’Mrs’ or ’Teacher.’ Students fully embrace their creativity through activities like dance, art, pottery and music.
The school prioritizes social and ethical values. The curriculum follows problem-solving, where children identify social issues and develop solutions while learning reading, mathematics, and other subjects. This approach is visible in practice — once a barren land, the school is now a green oasis of trees and flowers, with children and teachers creatively recycling materials to build playgrounds. The school has many inspirational stories where children have been rescued by the staff of the school, from sexual abuse, beating and horriffic conditions, now thriving in school and rebuilding trust to adults.
Why does the school need support now?
Due to changing funding landscapes, school donations have been facing a major drop recently. The school urgently needs funds to cover the expenses for the month of March 2025. These expenses include the following: Staff salaries, Insurance, School bus fuel, Food expenses, Maintenance costs. The cost per student is €352 for the whole year.
People Behind the School
Social workers Madhan and Giri Govindaswamy have dedicated their lives to serving their community in Tiruvannamalai. Inspired by their parents’ motto, ”True happiness comes by making others happy”. Madhan has initiated multiple projects, including:
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Menstrual awareness campaigns
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A mobile hospital
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A mobile library
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A girl’s orphanage
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Wildfire prevention initiatives
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Child marriage prevention activities
Fundraisers
Govind Radhakrishnan, a dedicated yoga teacher, along with his students from Europe, (including Hanna Backman and Robert Johansson from Little Peace) is organizing this fundraiser. For several decades, Govind has selflessly provided free trauma support for these children and offered individual consultations to teachers in the school community.
Hanna Backman, founder of Little Peace Yoga visited the school in January 2025 and immediately felt the urge to help the school to make it over the next two months. The horrific life stories of the children, along with seeing their healing and growth made it a ”no-brainer” to initiate Donation Yoga at Little Peace. Little Peace has earlier arranged donation yoga for Child Cancer Foundation, ECPAT, UNHCR from Ukraine and this year our contribution will go to the Arunachala Village School.
How can you support the school?
Join our Donation Yoga Day when 5 of Little Peace teachers offer yoga for free in return of any
donation. If you can´t join, any donation is still warmly welcomed!