Beyond The Self

Beyond The Self

Social And Community Service

Built into the educational philosophy of the Doon School is the spirit of social service. In the early 1940s, the Doon School invented the SUPW programme. From the example set by our school, SUPW (Socially Useful Productive Work) was made a compulsory subject in all secondary schools. Boys are expected to give two hours a week of their time for an SUPW of their choice, and they have plenty to choose from.

Village development, adult education, child education (at the Panchayat Ghar), paper recycling, working in homes for the physically and mentally challenged, and community service on campus by way of tree planting, gardening, audio-visual activity, publication work, the boys’ bank and tuckshop are a few of the options.

The school has been actively involved with the Round Square Conference. Our boys are regularly escorted to Ladakh, Vizianagaram, Scotland, Germany or South Africa to work on international social service projects. While building homes for the underprivileged, or constructing pathways in remote places or bird reserves, the students interact with, exchange ideas and share dreams with other students from all over the globe. The experience is unforgettable.

The school has contributed to many a relief expedition in disaster areas. Our boys also regularly undertake a 'do not litter, let it glitter' campaign and clean up popular picnic spots like Sahasthradhara. During one such event, an octogenarian enjoying a sunny morning commented to the group leader that he remembered the Doon School boys doing a similar clean up a good three decades earlier. He pointed to the saplings planted by fellow Doscos that provided much needed shade. Some things never change…