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    ‘Melody of Music’

    The Tamil name ‘Isai Ragam’ means ‘Melody of Music’, and our organisation is geared towards educational development in the villages in Auroville’s bioregion.

     

    Long-term Aurovilians Ivar Jenten and Brigitte Vink, both originally from The Netherlands, have been working with village children for decennia and founded Isai Ragam under Auroville’s Auromitra Trust in June 2021.

    The specific beneficiaries are very poor children from villages and Dalit settlements around Auroville.

    Mission and Vision

    We envision that village children in and around Auroville have access to various forms of Art and the opportunity to develop conversational English and computer skills.

    YOU can make a difference!

    Beginning December 1, 2023, Auroville International USA will be matching all donations for Auroville projects that come through one of the buttons here.

    To make a donation, just click the name of the project that you’d like to support.

    Auroville International USA will double your gift, amplifying the impact of your love for Auroville and the innovative projects that have been incubated there!

    Problem statement

    In the villages around Auroville, due to extensive alcohol abuse by the male population -triggered by financial, family, marriage, religion or other social problems- many families still live on subsistence level.

    Ill-fated circumstances may cause trauma, disharmony and broken-up households.  Because of this, children may early in life loose a parent, are traumatized, and don’t get the attention they need.

    Executives

    Project holders / executives of the project are long-term residents of Auroville Ivar Jenten (11-7-1947) and Brigitte Vink (28-12-1979).

    Aims & Objectives of Project

    • General skill development for under-privileged children in the villages around Auroville
    • Providing a basic foundation for future employment opportunities
    • Preparing young minds towards future schooling and higher studies
    • Introducing village children to certain arts which they normally may not get to know
    • In general:

      To contribute towards strengthening relationships with the local people in Auroville’s bioregion.

    Our Story

    As far back as 1975, young Dutch Ivar Jenten went to India to take part in the ‘Auroville’ project, a universal city-in-the-make where occidental and oriental thought & way of living could be combined together. Auroville is located in Tamil Nadu, southern India, a few kilometres inland from the Coromandel Coast and some 10 km north of Pondicherry Town. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity in diversity.

     

    Ivar came to Auroville because of Sri Aurobindo –  Ivar stayed because of the Tamils and Sri Aurobindo. "While nobody is perfect”, he says;

    “Tamil people have by nature something in their psyche that I have hardly been able to glimpse in myself…., so what I cannot glean from reading and meditation, I hope to learn by being and living with them.”

    ...read more

    The Children

    To have a safe place where they can freely go to do their homework and/or other educative activities in an entirely different and open atmosphere gives them a better opportunity to wholesomely grow and prepare for their future life.

    By being in close contact with the children we hope to lighten a little the cumbersome burdens of their young lives.

    All this lead up to Ivar and Brigitte founding the Isai Ragam unit under Auroville’s Auromitra Trust in July 2021.

    Apart from private funds, the now elderly Ivar dedicates nearly his full monthly Dutch pension to the project and there’s an urgent need to make it financially more stable.

    On our page Donations you can find out all account details for donation

    Isai Ragam children and Brigitte Vink music dance education AUROVILLE India

    Thank you!

    Isai Ragam