Send a Child in India to School for a Year

When I share updates from the field I usually focus on children studying in the bridge schools run by Seva Mandir. But this time I would like to tell you about one of our volunteers with whom I interacted during my visit to a Shiksha Kendra.

Seva Mandir runs rural bridge schools, called Shiksha Kendras, in remote rural villages with the aim of providing quality education to out-of-school children between the ages of 6 and 14.

During one of my visits to a school I was amazed to see an enthusiastic young volunteer, Jana from Germany. She was talking to the children in Hindi. I was so amazed and at the same time curious to know how she can speak so good Hindi.

20-year-old Jana came to Seva Mandir in October of last year. She had always been interested in the social sector and wanted to spend a few months volunteering in India. Her wish turned into a firm decision when she read about Seva Mandir’s work in an article while she was at high school. Reading about the NGO’s selfless work in improving the lives of the rural tribal community made Jana want to experience the development process first-hand, so she prepared herself for her visit by learning Hindi. 

When I asked about this she said, ‘Without knowing the language, it becomes difficult to interact with people. I would have had an interpreter which is helpful if all you want to do is collect information. Doing theatre and working with children would not have been possible like this. I wouldn’t have been able to convey my feelings through a translator and I wouldn’t have been able to catch theirs. I wanted to communicate with people directly, to get to know them, to truly understand. ’

Jana was determined to work with the education department as she loves to be with children. So she was offered the chance to teach theatre to children studying in Shiksha Kendras. She is a trained theatre artist so she used theatre as a medium to break the silence between the children, to help them express their feelings and build their confidence. After a few months she started helping them learn English. This was more challenging for her as she had to teach English through Hindi, but soon she got used to this and the children were curious and interested in learning.  She was delighted to see them practicing their lessons after class and she started to combine English lessons with theatre to make learning more fun. 

Jana planned to stay until March but, after spending time with children, helping with their education and seeing the efforts of teachers and Seva Mandir staff, she now hopes to stay longer.

I wonder, if a young girl like Jana who is from Germany, can learn Hindi to teach English to the children in India is so dedicated to the world, what is that stops others? How many of us can have this kind of willpower to serve needy.   Her dedication and selfless determination to help these children learn has certainly inspired me to carry work with more dedication.

I hope Jana’s work has motivated you too to continue to be a part of this journey of providing joy of education to these poor children.

During the week of April 3rd to 7th, GlobalGiving will be matching donations in Little by Little Matching Champaign. There will also be a 200% match for new recurring donations started during this week!

Every small bit, no matter how small helps us reach closer to these farmers. We do hope that you will continue to support our project. This matching funds campaign will help your contribution go deeper. This year we will be reaching out to around 6000 children through our 149 bridge schools in south Rajasthan. To make a donation, please click the link https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-in-india-1/ 

Best Wishes,

Atul

Seva Mandir ,Udaipur –Rajasthan 

Links:

• website