Beacon Literacy Education Service Society, called “BLESS”, is a secular, non-political, non-profitable Society formed and run by a group of committed Clergy, Social Workers and Lay people and is dedicated to the “Trinity of Thanneerppalli”, the two French Prophets, JULES MONCHANIN and HENRI LE SAUX and the English monk BEDE GRIFFITHS, all of whom lived intensive monastic life based on Indian Christian Spirituality at Shanthivanam in Tamil Nadu during the 20th century. 

BLESS Educational Project is situated at INUNGUR in Kulithalai Taluk of Karur District in Tamil Nadu, the south-most State of India. 

BLESS’s main Objective is Children’s Welfare and Rural Educational Development. As a part of this aim, a small school was established in 2003 “to impart a value-based, holistic education, caring all three aspects of a person, Body, Mind and Spirit, with special stress on Indian culture, at a very subsided / free of cost to socially and economically backward kids of the remote, rural areas, at their door-steps ensuring their all-round development”.

The long-term objective of this project is to develop this school into having residential facilities and provide free boarding and lodging facilities to the Orphan, and the Economically, Socially Backward children of the locality and the neighbourhood.

BLESS Society has been registered under Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act (Reg.No. 37/2002) dated 07th Nov 2002. The BLESS Nursery and Primary School is recognized by the Educational Department of Govt of Tamil Nadu (Approval No. N/P/16). And the BLESS Society has been registered under FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 2010) of Govt of India under the number 075860022 to receive overseas donations.

REV. SR. MARY LOUISA CUTINHA, the founder of ANANDA ASHRAM at Thanneerppalli, who led intensive spiritual life based on Simple Living and High Thinking, is the Honorary Founder of BLESS. She was the first and foremost to bless this School Project meant for the rural poor. She is no more and passed away in March 2017.

REV. FR. X.D.SELVARAJ is the President of the Organization. He has served as the Dean of St. Paul’s Seminary, Trichy and Secretary of the Laity Commission at the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) in Bangalore, served as the Vicar-General of Tuticorin Diocese, South Tamil Nadu and remains here serving the Diocese.

I, MR.A.SENTHIL KUMAR, is the Secretary of the Society and the Director of the Project. I am blessed to have known Fr. Bede Griffiths since my school days and have associated myself with the ashram and social work ever since. Fr.Bede Griffiths sponsored a good part of my school and college studies. Since 1990, I had been serving as the Manager of Ananda Ashram for 27 years helping Sr. Mary Louisa in her spiritual journey.

Mr.T.Venkatachalam is the Treasurer of BLESS, who is very much interested in serving the rural people. And other remarkable members of the group are Mr.S.Thangavel and Ms.K.Premalatha, who are very simple, ambitious and service-minded, doing exemplary service to the organization. 

The school started in 2003 at Inungur, at a small land-piece given to use free of rent, has grown and have acquired Four acres of land for the exclusive use of the school, with the help of the funds raised during Fr. Bede Griffiths Birth Centenary celebrations in 2006. 

During the just concluded academic year 2024-25, there were 160 children of age group 3 - 10 and a staff strength of 20, consisting of one Administrator, one Head teacher, 8 teachers and the others supporting staff, which include Lady assistants, Watchmen and Drivers. There are classes from Kinder Garden to V Std.

The Nursery and Primary classes are functioning in separate buildings with a Multi-purpose Hall in the middle, which is used by the students to have lunch, play indoor games, and to hold meetings with parents, etc. The Nursery and Primary have their own play equipments apart from the spacious playground planted with many shade providing trees. Rain Water Harvesting structures have been put up behind all the buildings to collect the rainwater and re-charge the earth.

Separate toilet blocks for the boys, girls and the staff at both Nursery and Primary sections have been arranged at their respective School buildings and necessary infrastructure to provide usable water facilities has been put up. An RO (Reverse Osmosis) system has been installed to provide filtered drinking water to the teachers and students. There are two School vans to pick-up and drop the children at their houses, ensuring their safety.

Adequate CCTV Cameras have been put up in all the classrooms and the school complex. There is a small collection of books and a few computers for the use of the students and teachers and they find it of good use. A 7Kw Solar power system has been installed at the school with the help of Rotary Club of Limington, UK, and almost all the electricity needs of the school is met with this installation.

The school is dedicated to the loving memory of Sri.Timothy Pruss, who as a student of Chigwell School, met with a tragic train accident and passed away at an early age of 18.  Timothy’s father Dr. Antony Pruss and his family in England have helped to a good extent for the school infrastructure, in the memory of their son.

A well-balanced educational program is being adopted for the welfare of the children and they are encouraged to play and study. The curriculum for the Kinder Garden includes the local Tamil language, English, Mathematics, General Knowledge, Health & Hygiene, Physical Education and Games, Drawing, Rhymes and Stories.

And for the Primary classes, apart from Tamil and English, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Value Education, Computer Education, General Knowledge, Health & Hygiene, Physical Education and Drawing are being taught. Prayer and Meditation classes are held once in a week.

The medium of instruction is English but equal emphasis is given to the Mother Tongue Tamil.  

- A Homely, Peaceful and Serene atmosphere of learning ensured. 

- Cleanliness and Hygiene observed at all costs.

- Introduction of Yoga and Meditation to the Kids. 

- Universal Prayer service held at the weekend.

- Adequate physical exercise to be ensured for the kids.

- Interactive and creative teaching and learning emphasized.

- Play-way methods and student-friendly modes of teaching encouraged.

- Indian way of life to be practiced and Western imitation discouraged. 

- Audio-Visual education to be given importance.

- The children to be evaluated continuously and periodically.

- Health checks up done by qualified service-minded doctors. 

- Safety of the kids is ensured with all-time CCTV coverage.

- Non-stop electric power with the Solar panels.

- Afforestation programs to be taken up at the school complex and the neighbourhood.

- Children to be engaged in relief activities during Natural calamities.

- Sponsorship for really deserving children is arranged.

- Small saving programs to be encouraged, to cultivate saving habits. 

- Preference given to the Orphan, Fatherless, Motherless, Handicapped and Disabled, and the Landless

   Agricultural labourer’s children.

- Students are insured with accident policies.

BLESS’s major fundraisers and donors are Fr. Bede Griffiths Charitable Trust (BGCT), in U.K. and BLESSANANDA in Germany. BLESSANANDA helps the school students in arranging with individual sponsorship so that they can pay a minimum fee as parental contribution to the school for the sustainable growth of the Project.

Trained teachers, living in are around the school locality, are appointed as per the Education Department norms. To prepare them towards the objectives of the school, necessary orientation and guidance is given to them. Only Simple, Caring, Service-minded, Unassuming persons, preferably women, are appointed as teachers and in this widows, spinsters, single mothers are given preference in appointment.

The average monthly salary of a teacher is € 200 and the total salary is € 2400 per annum. By donating an amount of € 200 per month to the Project, one can sponsor a teacher at the school.

This type of sponsorship will go a long way in stabilizing the Project and guarantying the running cost of the Project, as it is the staff salary which would take 75% of the running cost.

Also, the students can be sponsored with an amount of € 200 per annum, because some of the students at the school come from very lowest strata of Society, who are economically and socially backward and their parents make a living with an income of just € 4 - 5 / day and even this income is very irregular. With this meager income they struggle to make the ends meet, with a family having two or three children, along with elders at home to be cared.

In our School out of the total 160 children, 80% of the students are of the children of landless agricultural labourers. The other 10%, most of them have got skilled jobs like drivers, masons, carpenters, etc., with very few employed. 

For the Sponsors of the students, the school would provide the name of the child, the parents’ names and the picture of the child. The sponsorship shall last for a maximum of seven years (as it is now 2 + 5 years of education at our school) and can be passed on to another child at its completion. The Sponsor can withdraw at any time or at the end of seven years, if he or she cannot continue the sponsorship for any reasons. In some feasible cases, we can arrange for Long-term Sponsorship, if the student is very deserving and families of those students are related to or easily accessible by the school. All contacts shall be done through the school only.

For the Sponsors of the students, the school would provide the name of the child, the parents’ names and the picture of the child. The sponsorship shall last for a maximum of seven years (as it is now 2 + 5 years of education at our school) and can be passed on to another child at its completion. The Sponsor can withdraw at any time or at the end of seven years, if he or she cannot continue the sponsorship for any reasons. In some feasible cases, we can arrange for Long-term Sponsorship, if the student is very deserving and families of those students are related to or easily accessible by the school. All contacts shall be done through the school only.

Dear friends, it would be of immense help to the families of the under-privileged students if you or your friends or your family members or your relatives or your colleagues could sponsor them to the extent possible and be instrumental in bringing change in their lives. 

We look forward to your kind support in this regard, which would be of great help to the children of this remote rural Indian corner.

For further details please contact:  

BlessAnanda e.V.

E-Mail: vorstand@blessananda.de 

BLESS NURSERY & PRIMARY SCHOOL, INUNGUR, TAMIL NADU, INDIA

School Terms

I Term             - June to September (I Term holidays for 7-10 days)

II Term.          - October to December (II Term holidays for 7-10 days)

III Term          - January to April (Month of May Summer vacation)

Celebrations held at the School

June 1st                                   - Welcoming the students for the New School Year

15th July                                 - Education Development Day

Aug  15th.                               - Country’s Independence Day

Sep 5th                                   - Teachers’ Day

End Sep / Early Oct         - Saraswathi Pooja

Oct 2nd                                  - Gandhiji’s Birthday

Mid                                          - Vijaya Dasami

End Oct / Early Nov         - Deepavali

Oct / Nov                              - Annual Parents Teachers Meet

Nov 14th                                 - Children’s Day

End Nov                                 - Annual Sports Day

End Dec                                 - Christmas with sponsored Lunch.

Mid Jan                                 - Pongal celebrations (with German guests)

Jan 26th                               - Republic Day

30th Jan                               - Martyr’s Day (Gandhiji’s death anniversary)

Feb.                                         - School Annual Day

Anniversaries observed at the School

May 13th                                - Fr.Bede Griffiths Death Anniversary

July 12th                                 - Sr.Mary Louisa’s Birth Anniversary

Aug 39th                                - Fr.Le Saux’s Birth Anniversary

Oct 10th                                  - Fr.Monchanin’s Death Anniversary

Dec 7th                                    - Fr.Le Saux’s Birth Anniversary

Dec 15th                                  - Timothy Pruss Death Anniversary

Dec 17th                                  - Fr.Bede Griffiths Birth Anniversary

March 12th                           -  Sr.Mary Louisa’s Death Anniversary

April 10th                              - Fr.Monchanin’s Birth Anniversary

April 28th                             - Timothy Pruss Birth Anniversary