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Literacy Project in Dhanbad, India

Letter from Nancy Barbee to fellow Rotarians

Dear Fellow Rotarians,

It was my pleasure to visit St. Anthony’s Catholic Church and School in Dhanbad, India several years ago with friends that are native to the area. As an educator, I was very interested in seeing schools in the local area and to find out what the educational system was like. The classrooms typically have 40-50 children with one teacher and the supplies are limited. I was impressed that the students were attentive and very respectful of their teacher and other classmates but aware of the limited library resources. Of course, being a Media Specialist, that is near and dear to my heart and coupled with being a Rotarian, literacy is foremost in my mind. I am a firm believer that education and especially reading is the key to freedom, understanding, and peace among nations.

I’d like to share some background information about how this woman from North Carolina ended up in India and how this project formed. While in London, I met two families that are natives of Dhanbad and also past teachers of De Nobili School. Allan and Maureen Barrett had been in the UK about 5 years at the time and Denis and Sylvia Greene for over 20 years. Denis and Maureen are brother and sister. She, her husband Allan, and brother Denis all grew up in the Hill Colony of Dhanbad.

Listening to their stories of life in India and their eventual migration to the UK, I was struck by the courage, perseverence, and determination to make a better life for their families. It renewed my faith in the will of the human spirit and warmed my heart. I was soon to learn that the UK would not allow Allan and Maureen’s oldest son to visit his family in the UK so after much struggle, a visa to the United States was arranged and Eric Barrett visited my family for a month in 2000. We were to meet the priest, Father Larry Hunt, who married his parents in India and with whom his Uncle Denis taught. Father Hunt began many schools in and around Dhanbad that we visited and was the parish priest at St.Anthony's. At 70 plus years, Father Hunt was still a priest and located in Winston Salem, North Carolina. It was a privilege to visit with him and for Eric to hear about his parents and grandparents. Small world or a coincidence? I don’t think so.

During Eric’s visit to my school I was able to see first hand the affect of bringing someone from a different country and culture had on the students. You see, learning about India became personal as he told them about his life there and how it was in his school when he was young. Four years later, those students still tell me news stories of India and continue to ask about Eric and his family. It was the children that alerted me to the struggle between Pakistan and India. It was the children who told me about the bombing of the Parliament in Delhi in 2001 and the battles over Kashmir.

In 2001, my son and I traveled to India to spend our Christmas holidays with the Barrett family. We spent a wonderful holiday traveling around India but the most memorable was to see where my good friends grew up and to see the school and to attend a church service where Father Hunt had been the priest. Now, Eric is visiting again and renewing his friendships with the students and staff at Maysville Elementary.

It is my honor to initial a Library Project for St. Anthony’s in Dhanbad, India. Once again, Rotary and Rotarians internationally will join forces to heed the call of those in need. God Bless all of you.

In Rotary,
Nancy Barbee
The Rotary Club of Maysville

Project Details

Twin Club Partnership and Contact Persons

In India

The Rotary Club of Dhanbad
Dhanbad, India
District 3250
Contact: Luv Kumar

In USA

The Rotary Club of Maysville
Maysville, North Carolina
District 7730
Contact: Nancy Barbee

Project Objective

To establish a library for St. Anthony’s School in Dhanbad, India that will be accessible to the school and community. This library will be housed at the school and maintained by school staff. The purpose is to promote early literacy and education for all members of the community.

Projected Vision

Ultimately, the vision is for video conferencing equipment (beginning with computers and web cams) to be installed so the children of St. Anthony’s can communicate with children in other parts of the world, beginning with Maysville Elementary School in North Carolina. Through this means, distance learning can take place as well. We envision, sharing of resources, ideas, joint research projects, health education, and cultural understanding and appreciation. On a larger scale, this will be the first phase of children in touch with children putting things on a more personal level then expanding world views and promoting peaceful solutions to world problems.

Club Roles

The Rotary Club of Maysville will:

  • pledge US$ 1,000
  • apply for District Simplified grant
  • apply for RI Matching
  • seek participation from District 7730
  • purchase and order books from Follett Library Resources
  • provide shipping of books to India

Note: Nancy will be in Dhanbad on Dec. 30 to represent the Maysville Club for a presentation to St. Anthony’s.

The Rotary Club of Dhanbad will receive books and transport to St. Anthony’s help St. Anthony’s set up the library help maintain and oversee the library coordinate with St. Anthony’s for the presentation.