Media Release
Mangaluru, Aug 14: The Rotary Club of Mangalore inaugurated and formally handed over the newly constructed Chaitanya Hall at Rotary Navachethana English Medium School, Neermarga, at a function held at the school on Thursday.
The Rs 48 lac facility, funded entirely through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) support from M/s Kalbavi Consumer Foods Private Limited, Baikampady, Mangalore, provides 3,250 sq ft of additional space comprising a multipurpose hall with a stage and separate green rooms for boys and girls. The facility is expected to serve approximately 600 students every year and will be used for academic, curricular and co-curricular activities.
Rtn Major Donor Sathish Bolar, district governor, Rotary International District 3181, inaugurated the Chaitanya Hall by cutting the ribbon and ceremonially unveiling the plaque. The facility was subsequently formally handed over to the Navachethana Trust, with CA Anantha Padmanabha K, president, Rotary Navachethana Trust, accepting the gift on behalf of the school.
Rtn Daidan D’Silva, president, Rotary Club of Mangalore, welcomed the gathering, while Rtn Vinod Aranha, immediate past president, spoke about the project and its background. Rtn PP Mjr Dnr Kalbavi Prakash Rao addressed the gathering and spoke about his long association with Navachethana and the Rotary Club of Mangalore.
Kalbavi family's contribution honoured
A highlight of the occasion was the felicitation of the Kalbavi family - Prakash Kalbavi, Gowri Kalbavi and Adeeth Kalbavi - in recognition of the family's contribution towards the development of the school through the CSR support of Kalbavi Consumer Foods Private Limited.
The family was honoured with a shawl, flowers and a plaque as a mark of appreciation for their contribution towards making the Chaitanya Hall possible. The programme also recognised and felicitated the many stakeholders whose collective efforts brought the project to completion.
Those felicitated included Rtn PP C Devdas Kamath, structural engineer and member of the Building Committee; Rtn PP CA Srinivas Kamath, Treasurer of the Rotary Club of Mangalore Charitable Trust; the civil, steel fabrication and electrical contractors; and other members of the Building Committee who were involved in the planning, technical supervision, financial administration and execution of the project.
Sathish Bolar promises District support
Speaking on the occasion, district governor Rtn Major Donor Sathish Bolar said he was deeply touched by the gesture of the Rotary Club of Mangalore and its commitment to the development of Navachethana School. He assured the school of support from the Rotary District secretariat for its future development.
The Anns Club of Mangalore also extended its support to the students of Navachethana by presenting scholarships worth Rs 80,000, which were distributed during the programme.
A relationship spanning decades
Recalling his long association with the school, Rtn PP Mjr Dnr Kalbavi Prakash Rao spoke with emotion about his first encounter with Navachethana in the 1980s, when he had visited the area in connection with a medical camp. He recalled how the school had grown steadily, classroom by classroom, over the decades, with significant contributions towards its development from members of the Rotary Club of Mangalore.
Prakash Kalbavi spoke with particular pride about the academic achievements of the school's students. He highlighted the remarkable performance of two Navachethana students who secured the second and ninth ranks in the Karnataka SSLC examination last year, an exceptional achievement considering the very large number of students appearing for the examination across the State.
He also recalled the contribution of successive members of the Rotary Club who had served as trustees of the Navachethana Trust, and the sustained commitment of successive boards of directors of the Club towards the school's development.
He expressed appreciation for principal Sathyasheela and her dedicated team of teachers for their contribution to the school's academic performance and the development of its students.
Rotary's continuing commitment to Navachethana
The Chaitanya Hall is part of a continuing programme of support by the Rotary Club of Mangalore for Navachethana School. The Club has consistently supported the school through infrastructure development and teaching-learning resources and is working towards making several additional initiatives operational in the near future.
These include a state-of-the-art computer laboratory and a series of AI-enabled smart classrooms aimed at strengthening the school's teaching-learning programme and augmenting student engagement and performance. Some of these initiatives are proposed to be implemented through Rotary's Global Grant programme in partnership with international Rotary Clubs.
The club's larger objective is to work with Navachethana towards developing it into a formidable educational institution, providing its students with knowledge, confidence, ability and integrity, while ensuring that the school keeps pace with the changing demands of education and technology.
A celebration by the school community
The inauguration reflected the enthusiasm and talent of the Navachethana school community. The programme commenced with a melodious prayer presented by the students of the English Medium School, followed by an impressive Bharatanatyam performance by three young students.
The school's scouts and bulbuls welcomed the dignitaries at the entrance and accompanied them to the hall. The hall itself was attractively decorated by the students and teachers for the occasion.
The programme also included the felicitation of the school's SSLC high achievers—Skanda Prasad (97.28%), Likith M (96.32%) and Vaishnavi P N (96.16%)—in recognition of their outstanding academic performance.
The inauguration of Chaitanya Hall thus marked another milestone in the longstanding partnership between Rotary Club of Mangalore, Kalbavi Consumer Foods and Navachethana School—a partnership that continues to focus on strengthening the institution and creating better educational opportunities for children from Neermarga and the surrounding region.