When we arrived at the school, the children were sitting on the rooftop doing morning meditation. Ahmmm, with palms up, thumb and forefinger clasped, eyes closed. After which they gave a pledge to the flag and sang a song.
This little boy and girl did a song with gestures, then repeated it in English. The school is supported by the parent company of OAT, Grand Circle. Part of our travel money, funds projects in the countries in which we travel.
There was a question and answer session.
Carol used her puppet to talk to the kids. A big hit. As they transferred from the roof to classrooms, the little ones would say good-bye to the puppet as though it was real. The older kids know but are just as delighted.
The classrooms are small and crowded with two or three kids to a desk.
The shy one.
Kathy charmed them and let them see their pictures in her phone.
We don't know what this gesture means, but kids everywhere in India use it. And they constantly move. If we aim a camera at our kids, they know to stop moving and even pose.
They are proud of their work and love school. The parents are poor here, but they must pay a little. The parents understand education can be a way out of poverty for them.
Of course, Theo was a hit with the kids. They'd keep asking him to come to their room, over and over. He found out that some boys were older than he is.
They challenged him to juggle a bottle, and of course, he could.
Behind Theo you see kids on the floor with no desks. Just a rug on the cement floor.
The kids carry a backpack with personal belongings but nowhere to store them. These girls are sisters.
Their play area is pitifully small. About a 24 ' x 24' foot slab in front of the school stairs. And, as you leave the school, this is what you see. A slum.
This man is a heavy supporter of the school. He works there and lives in this poor village. He owns land. Ranvir chose vegetables from government food bags. (He paid) Ranvir is taking us to visit this man's home and family and get a cooking lesson. Since I had mentioned I'd like to ride one of the little motors we see all over India, Ranvir asked if I could ride back to the house with him. I hopped on, we took off. The rest of the group walked.
When we arrived, she didn't look too pleased for him to show up with me. I saw what turned out to be a daughter-in-law nursing a baby. A teen age boy standing on a stone inside the house in his underwear, then putting on his outer clothes. I didn't want to offend by taking pictures so I asked for water to wash the veggies. The husband set me up with buckets on a beautiful slab of marble outside. He brought pans to rinse and a pan for the leaves and discarded pea pods. And a pan for the cut vegetables. Our cooking lesson tomorrow, maybe. Tomorrow is the St. Patricks Day Parade in Murphys.
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