Life in India
I lived in India for six months doing social work with the non-profit Students Partnership Worldwide. This is a chronological diary of the work that we did.
Training was 3 weeks, then we went to placement in a rural village called Poigai in Vellore District. I work with 5 other volunteers in Poigai Girls Government High School. There are 3 local female volunteers, Regina, Fahima, Poniresi as well as 1 national volunteer Unikrishnan, and 2 international volunteers Juvaria and myself. We are a great team!
First couple weeks were pretty slow, mostly spent cataloging books for the library and writing proposals for new clubs and events. The bureaucracy in India is very frustrating but I am learning a lot about logistics to non profit work.
I have started a Green Club at the school I work at, Poigai Government High School for Girls. There are 42 members! We meet every Friday and I am teaching them about the environment and how the health of the earth correlates to the health of humans.
So far we have hauled over a hundred bags of garbage off the campus. Some of the kids were picking up leaves, which made me realize that many of them don't know the difference between trash and compost.
Its very polluted here and there is no waste management at all. People throw their garbage on the ground and when it turns into a mountain they burn it,
the air is orange with photochemical smog. Its worse then I could have ever imagined. But that is why SPW placed me here, because the environment needs this work, the kids need to know how to manage their environment and they need someone like me who cares enough about the earth to do the laborious and frustrating work of convincing the local government (the Panchayat) that they need to invest in preservation of their natural resources. Its easy to feel overwhelmed by problems that are soo big, but I am staying focused and taking small steps to a greater solution.
We have done some clean up competitions and started a recycling program and a trash pick up service. The lessons are going really well, we teach the kids about the importance of biodiversity and trees, as well as waste and water management. We also do fun projects like making art out of recycled materials or natural materials. We play games and conduct competitions to sort the recycling and clean the school. We also do beads with the kids which they are crazy about. The Green Club is my pride and joy, it was a lot of work to get it started and I am all alone with the load, but I am filled with pride when I see how the campus has become cleaner and greener, next week we are planting trees and flowers around the school. I have found a guide teacher who will be running the club after I leave, she is the English teacher which is convenient for me to communicate effectively. I am writing a activity book and lesson plan and am going to begin training.
There are a total of 4 after school clubs which we have started. First there is a Teens Club which focuses on issues young adults face or will soon face, such as peer pressures, life skills, alcohol and drug education and women's rights.
Second there is a Resource Center Club which is a group of students who are responsible for maintaining the library and teaching the other students how to use the library.
Third we have the Health Club which is all about nutrition, hygiene and sanitation issues.
The Green club is by far the most fun, less lecture methods and more interactive education, I do all the work for the Green Club but we try and make the other clubs fun too.
We teach around four lessons a day on Sexual Reproductive Health and Life Skills. We are trying to prepare the girls for family planning and STI prevention and helping them make educated decisions on the crucial choices they will face. Its difficult because these subjects are taboo especial AIDS, so we have to be very sensitive on how we address these issues. Its a challenge but everything worth doing is difficult.
We teach in the dark because there is no power for at least half the day.
We teach lessons on AIDS discrimination, because it is probably the biggest hurdle there is to overcome this epidemic. The prejudice people hold towards those affected by HIV, prevents people from seeking treatment and being honest with others about their condition. It alienates those infected and prevents others from seeking preventative measures. We try and teach the kids the importance of empathy and how compassion can create hope.
SPW has decided to do their own AIDS awareness day on December 6th so our school and two other schools SPW works with that are near us are planning a huge event. We are doing an auto rickshaw rally where we blast messages through their speakers and go through all the villages and build a crowd, then we are holding a event in the town center, where we have prepared a skit from each school, two speakers, one who is an AIDS counselor and another who is the Panchayat Leader, then were are finishing with a song and dance. It is going to be a lot of work but mostly a lot of fun!
We held a Community Awareness event for AIDS Day. It was a big hit! We rallied three schools together, Poigai Girls School (mine) Poigai Boys School, and Viruncheepuram School. Together we had about 300 students marching through the village with drums and tambourines all chanting, fight against AIDS, Protect yourself form AIDS.
It was soo wonderful to see the faces of the stunned villagers as everyone came outside to watch us go by. Lots of kids joined our rally and by the end we had around 350+ people.
We finished in the village center where we had set up a stage. I gave a welcome speech completely in Tamil which was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. Everyone could tell how nervous i was they gave me a standing ovation.
Early on in the event the power went out and we were the only light source in the whole village it was amazing everyone heard our music and saw our lights and gathered like moths on a light bulb, i am quite sure every person within a 3 kilometer radius was there. The students from each school had prepared performances; dances, skits, songs, puppet shows, and story telling. Each performance addressed a different aspect of the AIDS crises. We educated the village about how HIV is transmitted and how it can be prevented, how HIV discrimination perpetuates the spreading, why its important for parents to teach their kids and talk about HIV at home, and how much of a problem it is for their community. Vellore is one of the AIDS hot spots in the world because they have a very good hospital the Christian Medical College and Tamil Nadu has cheaper medicine available so AIDs patients come from all over to receive treatment but since it is still such a taboo topic people aren't protecting themselves and it is spreading much faster then in other places. There are 29,000 people in the Vellore District living with HIV, and the highest rate of infection is among married people.
this is the resource center under construction....
this is the resource center with my fellow volunteers after it was finished...
We have finished building the library after three months of 13 hour days of painting, book drives, and building repairs but the library is finally done and the kids and staff all are sooo grateful.
The murals depict children studying to achieve their dreams, we have the traditional goals of teacher, doctor, engineer, but we also try to show the kids that they can be anything even an artist or an astronaut....
the artist in front of mural....
the caligrapher...
the artists....
practicing dance for gender day....
We also had to get the toilletts to a function and hygienic status which involved toillett education and cleaning. We had to fix the water pump so they had water, and clear all the plants surrounding the toilletts because they were soo bad the kids would rather use the bushes and almost all of them have no toiletts at home so they have no awareness of how to properly use them. It was long and disgusting but they are in good condition now. We also assigned bathroom monitors from our Health Club so that they can make sure the toiletts never get that bad again.
We held an Inauguration for our new Library and the improved bathrooms on January 28th. It was really successful we held a huge event in the school all about why Libraries and clean facilities are important and how we can maintain them.
The inauguration was combined with a Women's Day Program. For Gender Day the kids performed skits, songs, dances and poetry all on different women's issues. We identified domestic violence, gender discrimination, the dowry and female infanticide. We also organized guest speakers to talk about women's empowerment.
Our last event was on Waste Management in the village. We collected signatures to submit to the Panchayat which convinced them to allocate funds for proper disposal of garbage. We also teamed up with the non-profit EXNORA a environmental NGO in India. They made a documentary on what Poigai needs to do to have a sustainable market and become zero waste community. The Poigai market attracts over a thousand people from nearby villages to buy and sell livestock and produce. The Panchayat of Poigai saw the documentary and was convinced in order for their market to be sustainable they need to implement the government schemes and create a waste management system. It was a tremendous success, EXNORA is so professional and productive. SPW bought ten waste bins and EXNORA is setting up the green waste collection and recycling. Finally we arranged for a public viewing of the documentary so that the villagers understand the change. We put together a few dances and songs by the school kids to gather a crowd, the kids are such amazing dancers! We set up a huge stage in the center of the market area there were two dances and a song then we watched the documentary and had a community dialog.
My work has come to an end but the programs which we have implemented will continue on forever. I am going to california to get a masters in social work while continuing my glass art. Juvaria is going to law school to be a humanitarian lawyer, Uni has gone on to start his own NGO Rural Community Development (RCD), Regina is going to school to become a teacher, Fahima and Ponniresi will continue to work with SPW to watch the development of their community and keep these programs proggressing.
If your ever in India visit the village and school it will change your life.(North Tamil Nadu Vellore district.)
Mika Nandri! ( Many Thanks!)
I appreciate your support!
I could have never done this with out your generousity and encouragment.
Training was 3 weeks, then we went to placement in a rural village called Poigai in Vellore District. I work with 5 other volunteers in Poigai Girls Government High School. There are 3 local female volunteers, Regina, Fahima, Poniresi as well as 1 national volunteer Unikrishnan, and 2 international volunteers Juvaria and myself. We are a great team!
First couple weeks were pretty slow, mostly spent cataloging books for the library and writing proposals for new clubs and events. The bureaucracy in India is very frustrating but I am learning a lot about logistics to non profit work.
I have started a Green Club at the school I work at, Poigai Government High School for Girls. There are 42 members! We meet every Friday and I am teaching them about the environment and how the health of the earth correlates to the health of humans.
So far we have hauled over a hundred bags of garbage off the campus. Some of the kids were picking up leaves, which made me realize that many of them don't know the difference between trash and compost.
Its very polluted here and there is no waste management at all. People throw their garbage on the ground and when it turns into a mountain they burn it,
the air is orange with photochemical smog. Its worse then I could have ever imagined. But that is why SPW placed me here, because the environment needs this work, the kids need to know how to manage their environment and they need someone like me who cares enough about the earth to do the laborious and frustrating work of convincing the local government (the Panchayat) that they need to invest in preservation of their natural resources. Its easy to feel overwhelmed by problems that are soo big, but I am staying focused and taking small steps to a greater solution.We have done some clean up competitions and started a recycling program and a trash pick up service. The lessons are going really well, we teach the kids about the importance of biodiversity and trees, as well as waste and water management. We also do fun projects like making art out of recycled materials or natural materials. We play games and conduct competitions to sort the recycling and clean the school. We also do beads with the kids which they are crazy about. The Green Club is my pride and joy, it was a lot of work to get it started and I am all alone with the load, but I am filled with pride when I see how the campus has become cleaner and greener, next week we are planting trees and flowers around the school. I have found a guide teacher who will be running the club after I leave, she is the English teacher which is convenient for me to communicate effectively. I am writing a activity book and lesson plan and am going to begin training.
There are a total of 4 after school clubs which we have started. First there is a Teens Club which focuses on issues young adults face or will soon face, such as peer pressures, life skills, alcohol and drug education and women's rights.
Second there is a Resource Center Club which is a group of students who are responsible for maintaining the library and teaching the other students how to use the library.
Third we have the Health Club which is all about nutrition, hygiene and sanitation issues.
The Green club is by far the most fun, less lecture methods and more interactive education, I do all the work for the Green Club but we try and make the other clubs fun too.
We teach around four lessons a day on Sexual Reproductive Health and Life Skills. We are trying to prepare the girls for family planning and STI prevention and helping them make educated decisions on the crucial choices they will face. Its difficult because these subjects are taboo especial AIDS, so we have to be very sensitive on how we address these issues. Its a challenge but everything worth doing is difficult.
We teach in the dark because there is no power for at least half the day.
We teach lessons on AIDS discrimination, because it is probably the biggest hurdle there is to overcome this epidemic. The prejudice people hold towards those affected by HIV, prevents people from seeking treatment and being honest with others about their condition. It alienates those infected and prevents others from seeking preventative measures. We try and teach the kids the importance of empathy and how compassion can create hope.
SPW has decided to do their own AIDS awareness day on December 6th so our school and two other schools SPW works with that are near us are planning a huge event. We are doing an auto rickshaw rally where we blast messages through their speakers and go through all the villages and build a crowd, then we are holding a event in the town center, where we have prepared a skit from each school, two speakers, one who is an AIDS counselor and another who is the Panchayat Leader, then were are finishing with a song and dance. It is going to be a lot of work but mostly a lot of fun!
We held a Community Awareness event for AIDS Day. It was a big hit! We rallied three schools together, Poigai Girls School (mine) Poigai Boys School, and Viruncheepuram School. Together we had about 300 students marching through the village with drums and tambourines all chanting, fight against AIDS, Protect yourself form AIDS.
It was soo wonderful to see the faces of the stunned villagers as everyone came outside to watch us go by. Lots of kids joined our rally and by the end we had around 350+ people.
We finished in the village center where we had set up a stage. I gave a welcome speech completely in Tamil which was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. Everyone could tell how nervous i was they gave me a standing ovation.
Early on in the event the power went out and we were the only light source in the whole village it was amazing everyone heard our music and saw our lights and gathered like moths on a light bulb, i am quite sure every person within a 3 kilometer radius was there. The students from each school had prepared performances; dances, skits, songs, puppet shows, and story telling. Each performance addressed a different aspect of the AIDS crises. We educated the village about how HIV is transmitted and how it can be prevented, how HIV discrimination perpetuates the spreading, why its important for parents to teach their kids and talk about HIV at home, and how much of a problem it is for their community. Vellore is one of the AIDS hot spots in the world because they have a very good hospital the Christian Medical College and Tamil Nadu has cheaper medicine available so AIDs patients come from all over to receive treatment but since it is still such a taboo topic people aren't protecting themselves and it is spreading much faster then in other places. There are 29,000 people in the Vellore District living with HIV, and the highest rate of infection is among married people.
this is the resource center under construction....
this is the resource center with my fellow volunteers after it was finished...
We have finished building the library after three months of 13 hour days of painting, book drives, and building repairs but the library is finally done and the kids and staff all are sooo grateful.
The murals depict children studying to achieve their dreams, we have the traditional goals of teacher, doctor, engineer, but we also try to show the kids that they can be anything even an artist or an astronaut....
the artist in front of mural....
the caligrapher...
the artists....
practicing dance for gender day....
We also had to get the toilletts to a function and hygienic status which involved toillett education and cleaning. We had to fix the water pump so they had water, and clear all the plants surrounding the toilletts because they were soo bad the kids would rather use the bushes and almost all of them have no toiletts at home so they have no awareness of how to properly use them. It was long and disgusting but they are in good condition now. We also assigned bathroom monitors from our Health Club so that they can make sure the toiletts never get that bad again.
We held an Inauguration for our new Library and the improved bathrooms on January 28th. It was really successful we held a huge event in the school all about why Libraries and clean facilities are important and how we can maintain them.
The inauguration was combined with a Women's Day Program. For Gender Day the kids performed skits, songs, dances and poetry all on different women's issues. We identified domestic violence, gender discrimination, the dowry and female infanticide. We also organized guest speakers to talk about women's empowerment.
Our last event was on Waste Management in the village. We collected signatures to submit to the Panchayat which convinced them to allocate funds for proper disposal of garbage. We also teamed up with the non-profit EXNORA a environmental NGO in India. They made a documentary on what Poigai needs to do to have a sustainable market and become zero waste community. The Poigai market attracts over a thousand people from nearby villages to buy and sell livestock and produce. The Panchayat of Poigai saw the documentary and was convinced in order for their market to be sustainable they need to implement the government schemes and create a waste management system. It was a tremendous success, EXNORA is so professional and productive. SPW bought ten waste bins and EXNORA is setting up the green waste collection and recycling. Finally we arranged for a public viewing of the documentary so that the villagers understand the change. We put together a few dances and songs by the school kids to gather a crowd, the kids are such amazing dancers! We set up a huge stage in the center of the market area there were two dances and a song then we watched the documentary and had a community dialog.
My work has come to an end but the programs which we have implemented will continue on forever. I am going to california to get a masters in social work while continuing my glass art. Juvaria is going to law school to be a humanitarian lawyer, Uni has gone on to start his own NGO Rural Community Development (RCD), Regina is going to school to become a teacher, Fahima and Ponniresi will continue to work with SPW to watch the development of their community and keep these programs proggressing.
If your ever in India visit the village and school it will change your life.(North Tamil Nadu Vellore district.)
Mika Nandri! ( Many Thanks!)
I appreciate your support!
I could have never done this with out your generousity and encouragment.
posted by Raquel at 6:10 AM
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