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The ideas behind Alice Project were formed 20 years ago in Italy and as such there are still strong links there, particularly through one of the projects founder members, Luigina De Biasi, who teaches children and teachers the Alice Project method.
Since the empirical success of the first Alice School in Sarnath, philosophers, psychologists, educationalists and teachers world wide have visited our schools and some have been inspired to participate in the project, either by implementing Alice Project curriculum in their schools, for example in Taiwan , by research collaboration, by helping us financially , by coming to teach as a volunteer or by visiting us regularly.
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The first Alice School that Valentino built in 1994, now teaches up to 550 children aged between 5 and 16. 25 students are residential. There are 22 full time teachers, one part time massage teacher, together with some volunteers. The school building covers an area of 26,112 square feet and encompasses 22 classrooms, a central courtyard, play ground, garden, agricultural area for growing vegetables and a kitchen boasting a genuine Italian pizza oven.
A second school was opened in Sarnath in 2001 mainly for street children of the area. There are 24 regular pupils aged between 5 and 9 and one teacher. |
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Built in February 1999, Alice Project Bodhgaya opened in 2001 nine kilometers from Bodhgaya in Barbatta area. The school teaches up to 350 children aged between 6 and 15, with 10 full time teachers. There are 4 residential boys
Most of the children come from poor village families with lives often brutalised by the prevailing social conditions. Two students of the school run a shop in Bodhgaya to raise a small amount of money for the school and give their family an income. For working women there are vocational training programs run in the afternoon or evening. |
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When Luigina De Biasi retired from teaching work in Italy she immediately began to explore less conventional and more embracing teaching philosophies. She worked first in Africa before coming to India to help establish the first Alice Project School in Sarnath with Valentino.
She continues to work with what is now called the 'Special Programme' teaching in India and Italy. |
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F or the last two years Alice Project has established a working relationship with a group in Taiwan through Friedrich Grohmann, an assistant researcher at the Fa-Kuang Institute of Buddhist Studies in Taipei.
He first heard of us through the internet and invited Valentino to come and work with him in Taiwan for one month. For the last two years Valentino has been back there and a group from the Fa-Kuang Institute has come to our school.
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I still have the letters that the students wrote me before I left their country. I have, also, the gifts they gave: a beautiful Baby Jesus holding the world in his hands, the soil of that wonderful Land, the key of the school where I taught for two weeks, the logo and the badge of the
school, a scarf with the color of National flag, a disc with Colombia
music and… a small piece of chocolate. Yes, a piece of chocolate! It came from one of your best fans, ( admirador numero 1) as he liked to introduce himself: an eleven years old boy, who used to greet me everyday, and called me “The Italian”. He, also, sent a letter few days back: |
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