Independence Day with the Volunteers.

We had a group of volunteers from Portugal last month. The group comprised of medical students and were a very cheerful and dedicated lot. They got down to teaching right from the beginning and the kids were so enamoured of them that they started coming back in the afternoons also. Joao took the blackboard out in the afternoons and taught out in the open. Sofia also took a few classes in the afternoon when the kids came back. Others also taught outside in the open fields during school hours whenever they got a chance.The kids had a lot of fun and learnt a lot also meanwhile.

On 15th August, our Independence day, the kids all came, some villagers also came. There was flag hoisting etc and boondi and sev were distributed to all present and everybody had a nice time.

The volunteers held medical camps for the local villagers who came with different kinds of maladies. They discussed among themselves in real earnest and treated the villagers who went away happy and satisfied. They had offered to send medicines prior to their coming but so little time was left that if they had sent the package it would not have reached me by the time they came to the project.

It was Joao's idea to paint one wall and fill up with the kids' handprints and footprints in multicolour. I arranged for the paints and they got down to business. First the whole wall was whitewashed and then the volunteers drew the Indian flag in the middle of the wall. The rest of the wall was filled up with the kid's hand and footprints in multicolours. On one side the volunteers also put their hand prints.

Some of the volunteers gave the elder kids a few things. Ricardo and Diogo gave their own class school uniforms and Joao gave his class school uniforms and also dresses, copies and pencils. The whole group together gave a football for the kids to play and made a swing out of tyre for them.

All in all, it was a good experience for everybody.

Poila Baishakh, foundation day

It was 15th April and Dakshinayan Roldih's foundation day. It is also called Baba Lokenath's day. I reached early morning from Kolkata by the night bus and reached the project by 6 in the morning. By 7.30 the kids started to come in. After bath we all gathered at the Baba Lokenath temple. The diya(lamp) and the incense sticks were lit. I decorated the statue with white flowers from the garden. We put a tika of abir on Him. The kids also sported a tika on their forehead. The conch shell was blown and temple bell was rung. Then it was time to give boondi and shev to the kids. The kids gave the food to Baba Lokenath first before tasting themselves. They even got double helping and there were smiles everywhere. The boys, Haldhar, Premanand and Promod all helped in the procedure. The new teacher was supposed to come but will join one day later. After everything was over i asked the kids "who wants to play badminton?" And i had all of them gathering around me in their eagerness. I had carried restrung badminton racquets and 20 shuttle corks with me from Kolkata. There was a lot of laughing and playing and then the kids went home and we got down to business. Meaning me and boys had our meeting. Lot of things were threshed about to find solutions. Then it was time to prepare lunch and the new gas cylinder was opened and the boys were happy that they didnt have to light up the chulah(earthen oven) anymore as it is a tedious job. I had arranged with Bhola that from now on cooking will be done in gas. After lunch there were some more discussions to be done and then it was time for me to return to Kolkata by the evening bus. So Bhola came to pick me up and i bade the boys and the project bye and was on my way to Godda bus stand. The night was spent  on bus and reached home at 4 in the morning. Last two nights my head didnt touch a pillow as both the nights I was travelling and it was hectic to do everything in one day but i wanted to be there on Dakshinayan's important day and the travel worn body took second place because spirit was high.

The Final Exams 2014

The academic year ended for the school and it was time for the final exams. I clubbed two things in one trip this time. The first one was taking the repairmen and materials with me for the much needed roof repairs and the second was the exam itself. Carrying the repair materials and the men along with me was a colourful affair indeed. A first time experience of riding a shining red matador(small truck) from Godda to the project. Work started right after we reached and had breakfast. The men worked hard till evening everyday. The idea of carrying everything from Kolkata was because of the cheaper rates and expert men available here. A big thank you to our ex volunteers, Philip Auinger and Rene Berkhout for their efforts at fund raising and making all the work possible.

The exams went off successfully and there were lesser number of failures than last year. Shows the hard work of teachers and students the whole year. The volunteers, specially Shahil helped them revise and prepare for the exam. I had carried the prizes for the 1st,2nd and 3rd student in each class and there were prizes also for the best attendance in each class. I also carried the English question papers with me. After the exams the students' work was done and it was the teacher's turn and there was a flurry of activity-correcting papers,re checking the marks, making the marksheet, adding up the attendance for the whole year to see who gets the prize etc. Then the report cards were made and signed.

On the result day the parents were also called and they came. Chocolates were given to every child to soften the blow. There were lot of claps for the first, second and third and the prizes were received with a lot of smiles.

After the results were over, it was time for the staff meeting, hearing their greivances and solutions etc which went on till late and lunch got delayed. But in the end it felt like a lot of work done and lot of lose ends tied.

The Annual Picnic

It was that time of the year again...the annual picnic. The kids were looking forward to it since the new year set in. This time my sister(Piali), my friend(Madhu), and the repairman went with me and we were joined at the Jasidih station by a volunteer(Sahil Patel) from Canada. Bhola came to pick us up and we all travelled to the project together. When we reached we had a cup of tea around the bonfire and sat around and had our dinner around the fire only. The repairman had come with us as the roofs needed repair and so he had to take measurements for the job to be done before the monsoon sets in with full force. All the preparations for the picnic was done before by the enthusiastic kids. The chulah(Clay oven) was dug in the back fields ready and waiting. Next day we all shifted to the back fields after a late breakfast. We had carried bar ones(chocolate bars) and gave them to the kids and then the fun and games started. Thanks to Madhu, Piali and Sahil there were lots of games like relay race, normal race, musical chair and other games which the kids enjoyed immensely and so did we. There were more bar ones as prizes which kept the kids happy. Bhola had brought her two kids who also joined whole heartedly. One one side there was serious cooking going on organised and executed by Bhola and helped by Haldhar, Premanand and Mongol. There were huge woks in which Khichri(mix of rice, different kinds of lentils, vegetables and spices) was being made. There was tomato chutney and papad fry also. It was quite late when the games and the cooking was done and the kids sat down to eat. The enthusiasm was infectious. After the kids were done we also had our late lunch on the plates made of leaves. In the evening we had different kinds of pakodas in the kitchen which was the warmest place in the very cold weather. We girls ultimately decided to bring the kitchen chulah(oven) to our bedroom at night! We also slept with our socks on and with hoodies, thermalwear etc. We left Sahil fortified with soup packets and bar ones to tide him over. He will be teaching English and try and help the kids prepare for their final exams in March.
One sad news is the Bruni has passed away. But I guess it was good for her as she no longer lived on the project and there was nobody to look after her.