Indira Gandhi International Academy Residential School-IGIA

India has been home to many refugees for several decades. One of the countries from which there is a major influx of refugees is Sri Lanka. Fearing persecution by the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan government, several thousand Tamils fled to Southern India in 1990. There have been others who have since arrived due to continued internal turmoil in Sri Lanka. Today, there are approximately 104,000 Sri Lankan refugees living in 117 camps in Tamil Nadu and Orissa. These refugees have fewer rights and opportunities than any other Indian people, and educational opportunities for the refugee children are minimal.

The Indira Gandhi International Academy (IGIA) was established in 1990 for the education of the children of the refugees of Sri Lanka. The children reside in the school and are provided everything at free of charge for at least 10 months of the year. Some of the children even stay back at the school during vacations as conditions in the refugee camps are not conducive to their return.

Today, about 250 children from the ages of 5 to 20 live and study at the IGIA. IGIA provides classes from Grades 1 through 10, as well as provide education beyond the 10th grade for those who have passed the 10th standard public exams.

IGIA is a registered non-profit organization with 80G Tax Exemption under the Income Tax Department.

To learn more about IGIA, please visit its website at www.igia.org.in or call Lakshmi Gopinath at 99 0242 1091.