Magic Bus' work in this community is made possible with the support of our donor, Scott Matthew.
Thank you, Scott!
Thammadapalli is a village in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.The totatl population of this village is 2206 distributed across 511 households. Residents mostly belong to the Other Backward Classes (Reddy). Their spoken language is Telugu and they practise Hinduism.
Almost 90 percent of the households in this village lie below the poverty line. Mostly farmers, a small proportion of the population are landless and work as agricultural labourers. Almost 740 people depend on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for 100 days of employment in a year. The minimum wages for a day under the MGNREGS is Rs. 160.
The nearest primary health centre is located at a distance of 6kms from the village. The hospital is farther away, at a distance of 10kms from the village. While there is a government school in the vicinity, children planning to pursue higher studies have to travel for a distance of 10kms to reach the nearest college at Nandyal.
In 2011, when Magic Bus began working in this community, it was difficult to get girls to come out and participate in the sessions. Parents were reluctant to send their girls out in public spaces. After years of intensive engagement with them, their attitudes have changed considerably. Out of the 150 children who are a part of the Magic Bus programme at present, 60 are girls.
A few of the areas of behaviour change addressed by Magic Bus volunteers and mentors include:
?Sessions are held once every week on Sundays between 4.00 and 5.30pm.
Magic Bus Sessions here are divided into three broad parts: