Z.P. School Mandvyachi Vadi | When a Missing Wall Becomes a Moral Emergency
By February 2024, Lakshya Foundation was no longer an occasional visitor to tribal schools.
We had become part of their day-to-day reality—their routines, concerns, small victories, and unresolved struggles.
Z.P. School Mandvyachi Vadi is one such school.
A Relationship That Did Not Begin Today
Our association with Mandvyachi Vadi goes back years.
Just before COVID changed the world, we had celebrated Republic Day at this very school—standing with the same children, teachers, and villagers who were trying to hold education together with limited means.
More recently, in November 2023, we returned with a very specific purpose. Through our Wheels of Hope initiative, 12 bicycles were provided to students from Mandvyachi Vadi—children who had been walking nearly 3 kilometres through forest terrain every single day to reach their high school in Boradpada.
That intervention addressed distance and fatigue.
But on 11 February 2024, we came face-to-face with a challenge far more fundamental.
A New Building, A Missing Necessity
At first glance, the school appeared “new.”
The Zilla Parishad had recently demolished the old structure and rebuilt the school from scratch. But in the process, something deeply troubling had occurred.
During demolition, the attached school toilet was also razed by the JCB.
Later, it emerged that no new toilet had been sanctioned in the reconstruction plan.
What remained was a newly built school with no sanitation facility at all.
This was not an oversight.
It was a systemic failure—and its consequences were being borne daily by children and teachers.
What the Absence of a Toilet Really Means
As we spent time at the school that day, the reality unfolded layer by layer.
- Boys, when the need arises, are forced to cross the road and urinate in the open.
- Girls, however, face a much heavier burden. They are compelled to leave the school premises entirely and walk back home—sometimes multiple times a day—just for basic sanitation.
- For adolescent girls, this becomes a silent deterrent to attendance, concentration, and dignity.
And then there is the teacher.
Mrs. Kamal Khairnar, who holds the responsibility of teaching young minds, faces a daily humiliation no educator should endure. With no facility available, she has to depend on a different household each day, seeking permission for something as basic as using a toilet.
It is uncomfortable.
It is exhausting.
And it is deeply unfair.
A Challenge That Cannot Be Ignored
Standing there, it became painfully clear that no amount of infrastructure, paint, or textbooks can compensate for the absence of dignity.
A school without a toilet is not just incomplete—it is non-functional in spirit.
Education cannot thrive where:
- students are distracted by basic bodily needs,
- girls feel unsafe or embarrassed,
- and teachers are forced into daily indignity.
This is not a “facility issue.”
This is a human issue.
Taking Cognizance, Taking Responsibility
Shirish Patil and the Lakshya Foundation team did not come merely to observe.
We came because we understand that some problems cannot wait for files to move.
On this visit, we:
- surveyed the site in detail,
- understood technical and logistical feasibility,
- spoke to teachers and villagers,
- and internally acknowledged the seriousness of immediate intervention.
This was not about assigning blame.
It was about preventing long-term damage—especially to girls’ education.
Why This Visit Matters
Mandvyachi Vadi reminded us of something crucial:
A school building can be new,
but without dignity, it remains broken.
On 11 February 2024, Lakshya Foundation did what it has always done best—not promise timelines, not announce projects, but recognise urgency.
Because some challenges do not require deliberation.
They require conscience.
And sanitation—especially for children and women—is one of them.
This visit marked the beginning of that responsibility.
