Dreams for the future

Before the literacy project took a break, we asked our students to write and/or draw what they think about the literacy project and/or what they dream of for their future. This is not an easy task for most indian children. They are more about "here and now" and what "is", and it is not easy to get them to talk about the future and what "could be".

To speak openly and honest with authority figures and open their hearts and mind are not something they are used to either. In our mind, it is important to encourage them to do so  - so we asked them, knowing this would be difficult for them. And they did their best. Here is what we got back from them (translated to english by Vio);

Dipika* (girl approx 16-17 years old, goes to school): I like the class very much. To be teacher is my dream. Like to study and I like the teacher who teaches very well and explaines very well. What he teaches I understand. That’s what I think about my dream. I want to study enough to stand on my feet and to prove the worth of my mother and father’s name. And I want to learn music and dance and henna tattoo. Thank you.

Ishaan* (boy, approx. 16 years old. Finished class 8, currently out of school/no job):  I want to go to school, work in Khajuraho and support my family.

Roshni* (girl, approx. 17 years old. Finished class 8. Currently taking sewingclass, sponsored by us): I want to study. I like study. I am learning English and Hindi also. I want to learn painting. I want to learn sewing and I will learn well.

Amrita* (girl, approx. 16 years old. Finished class 8. Currently taken sewingclasses together with Roshi*): I like sewing and painting.

Naveen* (boy, approx. 15 years old. Dropped out of school at class 2/3. Currently looking after goats during the day): I want to go to school and study.

Prakash* (boy, approx 21 years old. Dropped out of school at class 2/3. Currently no job): I want to get a job. I want to go to school. 

Suma* (girl, approx.13 years old, goes to school): I like very much, I like very much going to school. I like to do painting. I also like to learn music. I want to learn henna tattoo. I want to go to sewing school. I like sewing very much.

Priya* (girl, approx 13 years old, goes to school): I like to school and I like to study.

Raju* (boy, approx 17 years old. Currently out of school/no job): I like to study. I like to go to school. I want to learn reading. I will do job.

The two yougest in class this afternoon chose to draw. They are young and are still just practising letters and how to hold a pencil. One of them wants to be an artist, which shows in his painting. The other one drew a man watering som plants, so we guess he wants to be a farmer.

*All the names have been changed to protect their identity

 

Another round of clothes distribution in Tikri

The co-funder and treasurer of Friends in Khajuraho Association, Aurélie Cadilhac, came from France to Khajuraho last week. They had a very busy week with a lot of activities.  They also found time to visit Aryan's* familiy in Tikri and distribute the rest of the clothes we gave them earlier this year.

There were still a lot of clothes for small children left, and as the family told them there were many small children in their old neigbourhood, the walked across Tikri to the family's old house (this house has collapsed since Cathrine visited the familiy last time). Vio says it was a nice walk, allowing them to se more of Tikri, and being seen by the villagers as well. Many children got new clothes this afternoon and there are only a few items left for small babies now. We will send them more clothes later on, so this project is not finished though.

There are also some news about the family to tell from this visit. We have learned that the mother of the familiy does not have any saries left in good condtion. We have previously given her a simple sari, but as this mother of nine has been forced to put her own needs aside for so long, Cathrine and her mother decided to give some extra money (3200 rupees) this month to go exclusively towards her needs. She decided to get a nicer sari and a bed to sleep in.

The old house

Boardmeeting

This weekend we had our second board meeting. Many issues are discussed online between meetings, but sometimes it is nice to be in the same room discussing important matters. Our board members live in Oslo and Våler - a small town 2 hours drive from Oslo - so boardmeetings needs to be well planned. Our vice-president is still working in Lebanon so she was not attending.

Therese, Cathrine, Torlaug and Espen.

The most important issues discussed at this meeting was;

• Literacy project. The classes are taking a break until October. We want to add two more classes a week and use these classes on the older students with no education at first. We are still hoping to divide all the students by age/level later on. Cathrine will discuss all the details with Vio, Vijay and Ravi and get back to the board with a short report.

• Family project. All work on the house are finished and there are no new major issues we know of at the moment. The mother of the family is getting new clothes and other things she needs from us in september (this is a gift initiatied by Cathrine's mum and is funded on top of the ordinary budget. Clothes, sandals and a bed are mentioned as things she needs). Future plans for the children needs to be made during this winter.

• Cloth Bag Project: The project starts in September 2017. A volunteer from Great Britain comes to Khajuraho to work for Friends in Khajuraho Association early september and she will work on this project and be an english teacher at the Different School. Ganpati Norway will support the Cloth Bag Project with  in 2017. We are currently doing a funding campaign for the project. In addition to the money raised in the campaign, we will use some of our general donations.

• How to use money we have saved up. After supporting the cloth bag project we will still have at least  550 euro in our account that we don't need for the daily operations of our projects. Most of this money are donated towards the literacy class and will be used to cover school supplies and school fees for children in Tikri when this comes up in the future (the regular expenses of other projects are fully covered by monthly donors as of now).

 
The next ordinary boardmeeting will be in November/December 2017.

Cloth bag project will start soon!

In september, our partner Friends in Khajuraho Association will launch their cloth bag project and we are happy to be a part of this. Friends in Khajuraho Association has their first volunteer coming early in september, and she will help getting this project on the way (as well as teaching English at the Different School).

The project needs sewing maschines, needles and thread to start with, and we also need to pay a local woman to teach and run the project. We are raising money towards these investments and monthly costs (about 220 euros for materials and 50-65 euros in monthly costs). Friends in Khajuraho Association has a place for the project already.

You can read more about the project on Friends in Khajuraho Assicuation's website.

Thank you Vijay and Ravi!

The last couple of weeks, Vijay has been our teacher since Ravi is in Dehli for his German studies. Vijay has done a great job as a teacher these two weeks and it is great for us to know we have such a capable substitute teacher at hand. Our literacy class is now taking a well earned break. We will start the classes again in two months, and by then Ravi is back to teach. We will thank all our donors and partners who have made this possible. We are now working on expanding and improving our literacy project.

In his first lesson,  the students showed Vijay how Ravi ususally holds the class and showed him their books. The students also told Vijay they were very happy to have Ravi as a teacher and that he teaches well. Vijay did a small test of their skills and also gave them a small assignment from us; to write and/or draw what they think of our class and their dreams for the future. Not an easy task for indian children; to speak (or write) openly about things like that from their own hearts and minds! But they did their best, and we will share this with you later on.


We were happy to learn that Aryan's oldest son came by and participated in Vijay's first class! He has said he doesn't want to do the class anymore- but still there he was! We are hoping to set up a class more suitable for him and others like him from October when Ravi is back in Khajuraho.