PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Alanna Simmons
For the last few weeks, the only thought that has been driving me not only to get through my exams, but also, slightly insane with excitement was my adventure to India! I flew into Delhi airport at 5:15am in the morning, it was already 30 degrees celcuis. So safe to say it was HOT. I made it through the airport with relative ease, I found my driver and got taken to the hotel. Then despite the heat, I ventured outside with my tour guide and wondered at the magesty that is Delhi, both old and new alike! After an overnight stopover in Delhi, I continued my journey to Goa to start my placement with Antips.
My placement started on Tuesday and I went to a school where a teacher was looking after two separate year groups! She was clearly undermanned, lacked the resources she needed to teach, and yet was still so energetic when teaching. She was so grateful to have a helping hand, and so she gave me the job of teaching the younger children. To say it was difficult would be an understatement. The language barrier on its own is hard enough, that coupled with a group of over enthused 5-8 years olds makes work a little difficult. But they were so happy to learn, and it was really just inspiring to watch.
In the afternoon, Lauren and I went to a slum school where girls ranging from 8-30 come to be educated. They are all from really impoverished families, and yet they are the most enthusiastic and entertaining bunch of girls either of us have met. One girl loves Lauren. She is also grabbing her hand as asking her to sit next to her. It is quite sweet. They are just so interested in our lives and despite living in challenging conditions, they are so happy. The houses we witnessed were tiny, have little to no electricity, and in some situations families sleep in one room together despite having 6 children. We were told there are 2,000 people, with 500 houses and 4 toilets. It is unlike anything and it just makes me so amazed that people are so happy despite these challenging circumstances. We also met a girl who was 23, was married at 16 and had her first child before she was 20. She could not continue her education because she was forced to get married and have children. Yet she told us all of this in a passive voice, she had long ago accepted this was her life.
Over the past two days Lauren, Eloise and I have come to realise how many things we take for granted at home. Hot showers, washing machines, well resourced schools, and rights for women are things we expect to have. Things we would complain about if, for whatever reason, they became unavailable to us. I think it is safe to say after only two days, India had changed us.
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