SB was lucky enough to be the beneficiary of She's the First's most recent Girls Who Rock benefit concert (on May 18, 2012 in NYC). The goal was to raise upwards of $50,000 to go directly to fund SB kiddos and their education. (I don't know yet what the final count was.) WomenCentric was one of the sponsors and they just posted a short video interview between their founder Pattie Simone and Ajit George (who interviewed and accepted me to work at SB and with whom I worked on-site for the first few weeks I was there).
Check out the video and hear Ajit talk a little bit about the work of SB and the importance of fundraising endeavors like this.
If you're interested in contributing, you can still contribute to Girls Who Rock's fundraising goal -- AND an anonymous donor is currently matching all contributions. Go here to contribute.
At SB, volunteers are in charge of nearly ALL of the arts and extra curriculars -- everything ranging from vocal and instrumental music and theatre to visual arts, yoga, and dance. (On occassion, other things are tossed in there too -- martial arts, juggling, magic, circus arts, and so on.) And, every few months or so, the volunteers organize some sort of showcase, talent show, or performance for the school.
Yesterday was one such event, and the last for this term and the school year. Of the 2 OSAs and 7 volunteers left on campus, all but two (who were busy with other aspects of school life) were involved in the show either as performers or as teachers of performers.
The third graders shared content from their classes. They sang "Old MacDonald" in German and presented a performance of "Seize the Day" from Newsies which they'd learned in their Theatre class.
Satish performing during the show.
Beginning piano, guitar, and harmonica students shared their progress -- including two of my piano students: fourth grader Sathish played two pieces and fifth grader Thulasi and I played a duet.
All of the dance students (an option the kids may choose during PT (physical time)) performed, sharing a wide variety of dances.
Jugglers juggled. Kids with balancing skills did balancing tricks. Students ranging from fourth through eleventh grades shared hand to hand acrobatics they'd learned with Alex, our volunteer trained in circus arts. (Yes, it was awesome!)
Katy's spoon trick
And other random acts were thrown in -- Katy balanced four spoons on her face (which ever kid then tried to do at dinner), Komal and I worked with a group of six fifth grade girls to do a performance with cups (which made the girls rockstars as classmates begged to be shown how to do it). (To give you an idea, the girls in this video work with the same basic "cup trick" our girls did.)
It was a really fun evening. The crowd was enthusiastic. The performers did stupendously. And the school has a happy time together (before a delicious dinner). In addition, it was Wishu, the Maliali New Year, and the last full day before our tenth and twelfth graders went home for break. Good times!
This video is of the final dance number -- a medley of dances the kids learned with Lori. Check it out. These are kids ranging from fourth through twelfth grades.
(2012.06.08)
On various weekends, when we don't have other on-campus responsibilities, SB teachers, staff, and volunteers will occasionally leave campus -- sometimes to run errands (bank, groceries, shopping), sometimes to visit friends or family, and sometimes to travel.
This past weekend fellow volunteer Lori and I took off for a weekend trip to Mysore. My travel guide says, "If you haven't been to Mysore, you just haven't seen South India," and this sentiment is one that I had heard from other travel resources, other travelers, and local Indians alike. So, Mysore-bound we were.
Perhaps at another point I'll write more about the weekend. We had a lovely time. We visited the Maharaja's Palace (and saw an evening light show), wandered Devaraja Market, took a bus-ride up to Chamundi Hill, meandered throughout the city, ate tasty food, did some shopping, and learned a bit more about the silk industry. But on Sunday morning, before we left to return to SB, we went to Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens -- the Mysore Zoo.
One of the things distinctly different between India and the States is the number (and acceptance) of free roaming animals -- cows, goats, chickens, dogs, and monkeys. It's entertaining to me because monkeys aren't an everyday sight in the States. So seeing them roam freely is highly enjoyable. (It's almost like they're really big squirrels. They live in the trees and wander as they please. And for the most part the only people who pay them any attention are white folks visiting from somewhere else.)
At the zoo there are plenty of primates, both those that are caged and free-range. The zoo was also highly entertaining because of their signage. Here you see two pertaining specifically to the monkey population.
Now, about half-way through our zoo walk, we witnessed a bonnet monkey eating an ice cream cone. Oh so much fun! The video is below. What do you think? Don't you want this as part of your everyday life too?! We don't know whether someone gave him the cone or if he stole it. Either way, kinda surreal for this chick who's much more accustomed to squirrels and robins than monkeys. (Sorry that the video is so short. You have to pay a fee to take photographs in the zoo, which I payed, but you also have to pay a separate, higher fee to take video, which I did not pay. I felt guilty taking video -- not that anyone knew or cared. But, as a result, the video is short. But still enjoyable. At least to me.)
Praveen was all dressed up because he and
a few classmates were about do to an
amazing dance in honor of Dr. George's birthday.
Another of my students was named Child of the Week this past week. Praveen is one of my 5th grade students. (I teach him and the other fifth graders Computers, Human Biology, and Life Science.) I adore Praveen. He is incredibly funny (and ALWAYS smiling). He is a diligent student and does his very best at whatever he's working on. And he's a kiddo that bridges lots of social groups and interests. Plus, when he sits in his assigned seat in the dining hall and I sit in my typical seat in the dining hall, we are in the perfect place to make faces at each other and do goofy dances for one another. It's a highlight of my day. If you would like to read about Praveen, his family, his hobbies, and his dreams -- in his own words -- you can do so here.
According to the kids, this was only the
third time in their lives that they had eaten
pizza. It was sponsored by volunteers and
delivered to the local village, where we
went to pick it up by rickshaw.
As you may (or may not) have realized, all of the children who are SB Children of the Week are kids in need of financial sponsors. While education and residency at SB is free to all students, providing for their education, housing, nutrition, medical needs, and so forth is not without financial cost to the institution. SB works really hard to raise money to continue to support the programs they offer. And one way to do that is through child sponsorships. When you sponsor a child it covers the cost of all of their expenses -- housing, meals, medical, recreation, schooling, etc. -- for a year. Plus, you receive periodic updates on the child, including a photo and letter. (And you can choose to correspond with him or her more often if you're interested. Kids love hearing from their sponsors.) It costs roughly $1,600 (Rs. 70,000) a year to cover one child's residential and academic needs at SB. This is about $4 (Rs.160) a day, which is just twice the World Bank's definition for subsistence at a poverty level (or about what it costs for you to get that fancy coffee at Starbucks everyday). If you think you would be interested in sponsoring an SB child, you can find details about what that entails and how to do so here.
There are, of course, many, many ways to support the work of Shanti Bhavan and it's students. For a broader list of options, you can visit the SB website here.
(2012.04.30)
Isabel, one of my co-volunteers at SB, recently edited and produced a short video for Girls Who Rock (a New York based organization that has partnered with SB and is putting on a huge concert in May to raise money for SB). The video includes a bit about Isabel's journey to SB and some background information on the families and communities our kiddos come from (as well as some footage of everyday village life). Plus, some of our fifth graders talk a bit about their hopes and dreams for their future selves. (You'll see my kiddos Maria, Bharath, Thulasi, Praveen, and Sumathi speak. Let me know if you want to know more about any of them! They are delights! Plus, you'll see my Kindergarteners in the front row as the school lines up for Morning Assembly.)
I've met lots of people at SB -- teachers, staff, administration, students, and other volunteers. Each comes with their own story. During my time here I've had the chance to get to know Shilpa Raj -- SB graduate (Class of 2011), classroom teacher for the 4th grade, and writer. In some ways, Shilpa is one of the reasons I am at SB in the first place. Back in August 2010, a friend forwarded me the link to an article Shilpa had written (as a high school senior) titled "A Chance to Dream: The Shanti Bhavan Residential School Story." Her story led me to follow SB for more than a year before I was able to apply and travel across the globe to be here.
After graduating, Shilpa chose to postpone entering college by one year in order to finish writing and editing her memoir. I have had the privilege of being in conversation with her about small portions of the book and aspects of her life -- as a woman born into poverty and who through education came to a crossroad requiring that she make a conscious choice as to who she wanted to be, how she wanted to live, and what she believed to be the best path for her continuing life. Shilpa herself says that she loves to talk, but what strikes me about her is how carefully she listens, the ways she puts her thoughts into print, and her willingness to question herself, her beliefs, and the beliefs of others and her willingness to struggle with these quandaries as the path to understanding. Despite being only 18, she is immensely wise and incredibly humble. I feel lucky to know her.
And, like I said, she's writing a book, which is tentatively titled The Elephant Chaser's Daughter. Several other volunteers have been working closely with her and Dr. George to edit the text, preparing it for hopeful publication. Recently, Isabel, one of those volunteers, interviewed Shilpa to talk about the book. I sat in on the interview in order to run the video camera and, while the video is not yet edited, excerpts from the conversation have been posted over on the blog for She's the First, a partner organization of SB's that advocates for girls' education in developing countries.
To get a taste of Shilpa's story, her book, and her perspectives, go read the post here. While it's a long process, I am anxiously anticipating the publication of Shilpa's book. She is one of the few individuals who, though education and careful attention, can translate her own experiences of poverty in rural India to a broader audience.
Hannah and I were working together on the
farm last weekend. Here she's showing the
creature she made out of mud. (It looks a
little like Jabba the Hut to me!)
Hey folks! I'm back to let you know that another of my students was recently Shanti Bhavan's Child of the Week. Hannah is a 7th grader and one of my piano students. If you'd like to read a little about her, her family, and her life here at SB and outside of SB, visit SB's blog post about her here.
