Day Report — 15 August 2026
Independence Day at Z.P. Primary School, Kamatwadi
Celebrating Freedom by Restoring Dignity
On 15 August 2026, Lakshya Foundation returned to Kamatwadi, a remote tribal village in Murbad Taluka, Thane District, to celebrate India’s 80th Independence Day with the students, teachers, and villagers of the community.
Located approximately 5 kilometres from the main road, Kamatwadi remains deeply rural and underserved. But this visit was about more than a national celebration. It marked an important milestone in the Foundation’s growing relationship with the village—and the beginning of tangible work toward transforming its Z.P. Primary School.
Lakshya Foundation’s association with Kamatwadi began on 30 November 2025, when Shirish Patil and the Foundation team first visited the village. Since then, the team has returned regularly, spending time with villagers, children, and teachers and understanding the challenges facing the community.
One concern remained particularly urgent: the condition of the school.
After months of engagement and planning, the Independence Day visit became an opportunity to move from understanding the problem to beginning the solution.
A Morning of Patriotism
The day began at Z.P. Primary School, Kamatwadi, where students, teachers, villagers, and the Lakshya Foundation team gathered for the Independence Day celebration.
The National Flag was hoisted at the school grounds, followed by a Prabhat Pheri through the village.
Led by the schoolchildren, the procession moved through the village lanes with the Tiranga held proudly in their hands. Patriotic slogans filled the air as villagers joined the children and the Foundation team.
For a remote tribal community, such celebrations are about more than ceremony. They create a shared sense of participation and belonging, reminding children that the national celebration belongs to them as much as it belongs to every other citizen of India.
The morning brought together the school and the community around a common feeling of pride, participation, and hope.
From Celebration to Action
Once the celebration concluded, the Foundation’s attention turned to the school itself.
The Independence Day gathering also marked an important moment in the Kamatwadi Primary School Restoration Project.
The school had already been assessed during the Foundation’s earlier visits, and its condition had made one thing clear: meaningful improvement would require more than temporary repairs.
The classrooms were in poor condition, with damaged walls, a compromised roof, inadequate sanitation facilities, and an overall environment requiring substantial restoration.
The school also lacked basic facilities that children should be able to take for granted.
For Lakshya Foundation, the objective was therefore not simply to repair a building, but to gradually create a school that was safe, healthy, functional, and welcoming to children.
Phase 1: Restoring Sanitation and Hygiene
The first phase of the restoration focuses on sanitation and hygiene, beginning with the reconstruction of the student toilet facilities.
The work is currently in progress, with Lakshya Foundation overseeing the initial masonry and sanitation work.
This was deliberately chosen as the first intervention.
Before a school can become an inspiring learning environment, it must first provide children with basic facilities that protect their health, privacy, and dignity.
The toilet reconstruction is therefore not simply a construction activity. It is the first tangible step toward restoring the school environment.
A Basic Need: Clean Drinking Water
Alongside the sanitation work, Lakshya Foundation addressed another basic need at the school—access to purified drinking water.
Something as ordinary as having access to purified water during the school day is easily taken for granted in everyday life. At Kamatwadi, however, this basic facility was missing from the school environment.
On Independence Day, Lakshya Foundation donated a water purifier to Z.P. Primary School Kamatwadi.
The intervention may be modest in size, but it represents an important improvement in the daily lives of the students.
The water purifier will provide the school with access to purified drinking water and forms part of the Foundation’s broader effort to improve health, hygiene, and basic facilities for children.
Together, the toilet reconstruction and water-purification initiative mark the first practical steps toward creating a healthier and more dignified school environment.
A Community That Wants to Build With Us
An important part of the Kamatwadi restoration is the participation of the village community.
The initiative is being supported through Shramdaan, with local residents contributing their time and labour toward the improvement of their children’s school.
This is important to Lakshya Foundation because the transformation should not be something that is simply done for the village.
It should be something built with the village.
Community participation creates ownership and helps ensure that the improvements made to the school are respected, maintained, and valued long after the initial project is completed.
A Partnership for Kamatwadi’s Future
The restoration journey has also been strengthened by the support of Sarthak India, led by Mr. Vinay Chaudhary.
Following months of engagement by Lakshya Foundation, the Sarthak India team visited Kamatwadi on 18 July 2026 to see the condition of the school firsthand.
The visit made a deep impression on the team. They interacted with the students and teachers, saw the school’s infrastructure and sanitation challenges, and understood the scale of the work required.
Sarthak India subsequently committed support through its CSR initiative toward the transformation of Z.P. School Kamatwadi.
The partnership reflects an approach that Lakshya Foundation has followed consistently: understand the need on the ground, bring the right partners together, and ensure that support translates into visible work for the community.
The exact implementation and subsequent phases will require continued planning, coordination, and monitoring.
The Road Ahead
The restoration of Z.P. School Kamatwadi has been envisioned as a three-phase journey:
Phase 1 — Sanitation & Hygiene
Reconstruction of student toilet facilities and improvement of basic hygiene infrastructure. In progress.
Phase 2 — Structural Restoration
Replacement of the school roof and repair of damaged structural walls.
Phase 3 — Campus Development
Installation of play equipment, development of a garden, and broader campus beautification.
Each phase will build upon the previous one, with the immediate priority being the completion of the sanitation work and strengthening of the school’s basic facilities.
What Independence Means in Kamatwadi
Independence Day is a celebration of India’s freedom.
But for Lakshya Foundation, the spirit of independence also lies in creating the conditions that allow children to grow with health, dignity, confidence, and opportunity.
A child should not have to accept inadequate sanitation as normal.
A child should have access to purified drinking water at school.
A teacher should be able to teach in a safe and functional environment.
And a school in a remote tribal village should be a place that encourages children to attend, learn, and dream—not a place that reflects neglect.
That is why the restoration of Kamatwadi school matters.
It is not simply about walls, toilets, roofs, or equipment.
It is about creating an environment that tells every child:
Your education matters. And so do you.
A Beginning Worth Remembering
As the Independence Day celebration came to an end, the larger transformation of Kamatwadi school was only beginning.
The Tiranga had been hoisted.
The community had come together.
The water purifier had been donated.
The first phase of sanitation restoration was underway.
And the Foundation’s longer-term vision for the school was beginning to take shape.
There is still considerable work ahead. But the journey is no longer only a vision.
The relationship with Kamatwadi began in November 2025.
Months of visits, conversations, observation, and partnership-building followed.
On 18 July 2026, Sarthak India came to see the challenge firsthand and committed to becoming part of the solution.
And on 15 August 2026, the first phase of tangible restoration began to take shape.
For Kamatwadi, this Independence Day therefore marked more than a celebration.
It marked the beginning of a transformation.
Freedom becomes meaningful when children have the dignity, health, safety, and opportunity to learn.
The flag has been raised.
The first work has begun.
Now comes the journey of building the school Kamatwadi’s children deserve.
