Generational Change

First Girls’ Hostel, First High School, Exponential Hope

Tribe Rising India is creating generational change

*Check donations can be made payable to:

TRIBE RISING INDIA

Please send checks to:

TRIBE RISING INDIA
35 MILLER AVE #185
MILL VALLEY, CA 94941

Growth and Change: Aima sarhau

June of 2023 is Tribe Rising India’s 4th birthday. Thanks to our committed donors and sponsors, we have been able to do so much more than we dreamed. We thought it would take 7-10 years to build the high school and now it will done in less than 5—and that estimate didn’t include also building a girls’ hostel. And it didn’t account for a global pandemic!

We have no words other than a heartfelt, thank you. Aima sarhau! Thank you for believing in the Santal children. Thank you for believing in our dream.

With your generous support, take a look at what we’ve been able to do!

Then, in November of 2019, Annette, Paul and another OLMC parishioner, made a third visit to India for the ground-breaking celebration of the first girls’ dormitory at the Gurap campus. We were greeted by the Santal community with joy—no longer outsiders, we were friends.

With two successful years of scholarship donations, the Venables Foundation long-term funding commitment and an engaged supporter base, we dove head first into 2020 with high hopes. The Santals, like all marginalized peoples, were more significantly impacted by the global pandemic—but honestly, at this point, all of us were reeling.

Back here in the US, we promised ourselves the children would not be forgotten during this incredibly difficult time. In September 2020, Tribe Rising India celebrated its annual fundraiser virtually and delivered nearly 200 celebrations in a box (lovingly curated by friends working in our driveway!) to homes in Marin County and San Francisco. Delicious Indian food, Indian-inspired florals and notecards featuring the children’s drawings of what they wanted to be when they grow up, reminded our donors that these were hopeful children who dreamed of better lives at a time when we all wondered about our futures.

“The dedication and enthusiasm of our supporters has been unchecked!”

When the Indian government allowed work, there was lots of building going on! During 2020, the girls’ dormitory was completed. In March of 2021, construction began on first high school uniquely dedicated to the education of the Santal students! During another pause in the Covid onslaught, over 150 people—all local Santal families—gathered to celebrate the ground breaking.

Only weeks away from fully re-opening schools for all ages, once again, Indian schools shut down as the Delta variant created an extreme public health crisis. The Jesuits had launched efforts to tutor in community centers and through videos sent to cell phones. But since most adults in the villages are illiterate and cannot afford cell phones, the children were mostly on their own. The Santal children were without formal education since March of 2020.

Our 2021 fundraising gala in September was small and limited by the season’s Covid restrictions, yet we still managed to reach our fundraising goal. The dedication and enthusiasm of our supporters has been unchecked!

Then Omicron issued another blow in a long list of Covid surprises, again preventing the students from returning to their classrooms in late Fall 2021.

Happily, the children were finally able to return to school on February 28, 2022.

Despite years of languishing, despite the continued reality of prejudice, despite the global pandemic, progress is happening. We are moving forward. Several years ahead of projections, the high school is becoming a reality in Gurap!

Donate today and become a part of our story—a story of spreading hope one eager student at a time.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead,anthropologist

St Xavier’s Gurap - the High School

The first high school built uniquely for Santal students will hold 1,200 eager learners. This modern building is equal to upscale high schools that were, until now, inaccessible to the poor.

The Girls’ Hostel

This modern 3-story dormitory for girls and young women looks like a colorful flag of hope. With your help, these female students are breaking free of caste and cultural barriers: choosing education over early marriage, planning careers and betting on themselves.

The Border Wall / Land Purchase

The border wall is a massive structure that delineates the boundaries of all the land belonging to the school and screens the full K-12 campus. There is some undesignated land just waiting for the next big idea!

ABOUT THE FOUNDERS

Annette was raised to believe in the power of education to open roads to a more prosperous life. She has shared her love of learning and advocated for children throughout her adult life. In 2008, the Venables Family became a foster family and Annette became an active Board member of the Marin Foster Care Association, where she served as president for nearly 4 years and continues today as an advisor.

She has volunteered in a broad range of roles to support local and international education and social service organizations including: Kiddo!, Strawberry Point PTA, Tam High Foundation, St Vincent de Paul Society, 10,000 Degrees, SF/Marin Food Bank, St Ignatius Church SF food kitchen, Mary’s Meals and Haiti on the Rise.

Annette is a licensed California elementary school teacher, who earned her MS Ed in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College in New York City and her undergraduate degree at Fairfield University. Annette and Paul reside in beautiful Mill Valley, California and are the proud parents of two newly-launched, compassionate and intelligent young women.

Paul is also the Founder and Chairman of independent advertising agency Venables Bell + Partners (VB&P) in San Francisco. Under Paul’s leadership, the agency has attracted exceptional brand clients including Audi, Chipotle, Reebok and 3M, as well as engaged in meaningful pro bono work, including a wildly effective anti-meth campaign.VB&P has also achieved great success, including earning the world’s most prestigious advertising award, the Titanium Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for its groundbreaking #OptOutside effort for client REI. VB&P was also named Adweek’s Breakthrough Agency of the Year in 2016, one of AdAge’s top 10 US agencies and one of its Best Places to Work in 2016, and was included in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list in 2017.

Paul is a recipient of the Hal Riney Icons of Marketing award for his career accomplishments and significant influence on the industry, and was honored as one of the 100 People Who Make Advertising Great by the 4A’s. Paul’s been a board member for the March of Dimes, and is one of the founding members of SchoolsRule, a foundation that works to close education inequality gaps and to support every child in public school in Marin County. In his free time, Paul created a service and faith sharing organization called Random Acts of Catholics (RAOC) and will occasionally play “old man” softball. He was raised in Stratford, Connecticut and is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.