Uneven Ground

These Kids Run on Uneven Ground and Still Win. Now We're Building Them a School They Deserve.

Shivani Sidhu

7/17/20264 min read

These Kids Run on Uneven Ground and Still Win. Now We're Building Them a School They Deserve.

By Shivani Sidhu - July 2026

We didn't have to look far to find our first project. We live here.

Chahar Majra is a small village near Mullanpur Garibdass in Punjab, about 9 kilometres from Chandigarh. Government Middle School sits right in the middle of it. We drive past it. We see the children walking to class every morning. We know this community. When we decided to take action, there was no question about where to start. Helping those closest to us is something deeply personal to all of us at Sahyog Sanstha.

So we adopted the school.

The Kids Who Build New Chandigarh (But Don't Get to Live There)

A lot of the students enrolled at Government Middle School come from working-class families. Their parents are construction labourers. Many of them spend their days on the building sites of the Omaxe New Chandigarh township, a sprawling luxury development with high-rise towers, landscaped parks and premium apartments rising just a short distance from where their own children go to school.

Think about that for a moment.

These families are physically building dream homes for others. Laying bricks. Pouring concrete. Wiring electricity. Working through the Punjab heat. Then they send their children to a school where the classrooms need paint, desks need replacing, the drinking water system barely functions and the grounds are in rough shape.

The contrast is hard to ignore once you see it.

Running on Nothing and Still Winning

Here is the part that stopped us in our tracks.

The school has a track and field team. These students have competed in local competitions and performed well above what anyone expected. They have won events and earned recognition in the district. That alone is worth celebrating.

Now consider how they did it. No proper running shoes. No real equipment. Uneven ground for a training surface. Worn-out gear shared between students because there is not enough to go around.

These kids show up every day and give everything they have with almost nothing behind them. They compete against students from schools with proper facilities and funded sports programmes. And they win.

That tells you everything about what is possible when someone believes in these children and gives them even a fraction of what they need.

What We Are Doing About It

Sahyog Sanstha has committed to working on the ground at Government Middle School over the next four to five months. This is not a one-time donation or a photo opportunity. We are showing up, consistently, to make real changes across the entire school.

Here is what the project looks like:

Classrooms and Building Repairs. Fixing walls, painting interiors, replacing broken desks and furniture, making the building structurally sound and clean. A classroom that looks cared for tells a child they matter.

Water Cooling System. Punjab summers are brutal. Students need access to clean, cool drinking water throughout the school day. We are installing a proper water cooling system so no child goes thirsty or sick from unsafe water.

Sports Equipment. The track and field team has already proven what they are capable of. We are bringing in proper shoes, real equipment and working to improve their training area. These athletes earned it.

School Grounds Cleanup. The area in and around the school needs attention. Clean surroundings create a safer, healthier environment for learning. We are cleaning up the grounds and maintaining them.

General Maintenance and Upgrades. Everything else that a functioning school needs. Electrical work. Plumbing. Storage. Whiteboards. The small things that add up to a school that works.

Why This Matters

Every statistic about poverty and education in rural India comes down to one thing: what a child sees when they walk through the school gate.

A child who walks into a crumbling building with broken furniture and no drinking water receives a message. That message is: this place does not matter, and neither do you.

A child who walks into a clean, maintained, properly equipped school receives a different message. This place was built for you. You belong here. Your future matters.

Education is the one thing that can break the cycle. These children did not choose their circumstances. Their parents work hard every single day to provide for them. The least we can do is make sure the school where those children spend their days is worthy of the effort their families put in.

How You Can Help

We are funding this project through community support. No large institutional grants. No government programmes. Real people helping real neighbours.

If you want to be part of this:

₹500 provides a complete school kit (bag, notebooks, pens, geometry set) for one child.

₹2,000 supplies sports equipment for student athletes.

₹10,000 helps repair a classroom: painting, furniture, blackboard replacement.

₹50,000 funds the water cooling system installation.

Every rupee goes directly to the school. No administrative fees. Full transparency on how funds are spent.

Contact Shivani Sidhu, Founder Phone / WhatsApp: +91 7717 366946

Sahyog Sanstha is a registered Section 8 Company (CIN: U88900PB2025NPL065815). Donations are eligible for tax exemption under 12A and 80G of the Income Tax Act.

"Sahyog" (सहयोग) means cooperation. This project is proof of what cooperation looks like when it starts at home.

Sahyog Sanstha

Mobile/WhatsApp: +917717366946