What ₹640 actually buys

We say a school kit costs ₹640. Here is the whole invoice. Canvas bag, 16 inch, padded, two compartments: ₹265. Four notebooks — three 200-page ruled at ₹38 and one 100-page squared at ₹24: ₹138. Geometry box: ₹95. Slate with chalk: ₹58. Twelve-shade colour pencil set: ₹42. That is ₹598 of goods. Transport from the Warangal store to the school and back, averaged across the last three years of distributions: ₹42. Total ₹640. The bags are stitched by an eleven-woman self-help group in Hasanparthy, who have supplied us since 2022 and charge us ₹265 against a market rate closer to ₹310. We could buy cheaper bags from a Delhi wholesaler at ₹190. We have run that comparison twice and both times the cheaper bag failed within a single monsoon, which makes it the more expensive bag. Two things we cut. A water bottle, at ₹85, because in three follow-up visits we found most had been lost or replaced within a term and the schools we work with mostly have drinking water at the point of use. And a pencil box, at ₹45, because the geometry box does the job. There is no margin on the kit. Our staff time, warehousing and the vehicle are funded from the General Fund, which is what unrestricted donations pay for. This is why a general donation is worth more to us than a restricted one, even though it photographs less well.