Sunday 12 August 2012

Parichay - Tribute Video



My Experience - A Summary

  

When I applied for my internship with Parichay Abhigyan Society I was clueless for the most part about how the experience would be. I had few pre-conceived ideas about how the project would be structured and laid out, but I did not anticipate the project would impact so greatly on my life. After a few days of arriving in Delhi, my internship begun, and upon meeting the senior children for the first time, I was welcomed with such respect as their 'Bhaiya', which they referred to me as throughout my internship. I was struck by their politeness and respect for me, which never depleted throughout my entire stay with them. This was perhaps the greatest contrast I noticed between children in England and the children I met at Parichay. Despite their background, the children had a great thirst for education, and were extremely-well mannered.

In my internship I interacted with three groups; I had an English conversation class with four girls, a senior class to which I taught English, Science, Mathematics and Urdu, and then a junior class to which I taught Hindi. The most enjoyable element of these classes was the great reciprocity of learning that was constantly occurring. I often learned new things from the children (especially with Hindi), and I was able to share my own knowledge with the children - for example Urdu, and teaching the seniors a Japanese form of multiplication solving.

The children's thirst for learning never made the classes dull, and I was constantly testing new methods in which to ensure comprehension of new material with the children, and it was this thirst for learning, and life, that helped me bond with the children throughout this process.

In order to understand the process of how Parichay is funded, I also visited many corporate houses for Parichay's spices and handicraft stalls. At one corporate house, STMicroelectronics, it was commented by many staff members that I had managed the stall very well. As my bond grew with the children at Parichay, the more I wanted to help the project in any way I could - as with many foreigners, I was suffering with a re-occurring stomach infection throughout my trip, yet I never once let this stop me from attending the project site - no matter how hot it was or how weak I was feeling.

Towards the final week of my internship, it was dawning on me that I had to leave the project, and due to my growing bond with the children, this was becoming hard for me to comprehend. I had become so attached and adjusted within the project that such a short internship seemed a part of my daily life. This attachment was also showing in the seniors too, particularly when Kailash would shake my hand to say hello or goodbye, and not let go. Whenever I see my photos of Kailash smiling, it is charm of this bright, young boy that brings a smile to my face.

When I begun my internship, I expected to have a very formal learning process about the functioning of an NGO, but this was not the case. I learned that intimacy is very important in creating a network of support for Parichay, and that the emotive element is very much needed to create a strong, unified bond that keeps the project alive with energy and enthusiasm.

When I first spoke to Vijay Bajpai on the phone before arriving in Delhi, he commented that Parichay is a large family. I did not realise how true this was until the end of the trip. When the senior girls were asking me not to forget them a few days before I left, I made it clear to them that I can never forget them - I now have a second family in India, and that I promise to return and visit them all again.

It is in addition to learning about the running of Parichay, that I learned many life lessons. In spite of the living conditions of the children at Parichay, I learned from these young children the value of relationships - how to truly love unconditionally and what really matters in life. The children often commented that my thinking is good, and we often used to talk about ideas of unity.

I remember on my last day with Parichay, when I took the children to the Akshardham temple, Soni remarked that my feet were beautiful because they were 'gora' (fare skinned). I shared with the children that we are all humans, and that it is not the colour of skin that defines our beauty. Moni then commented that my thinking is very good. It is this mutual respect and reciprocal learning process that made this experience so unique. Despite great cultural differences we were all open to learning from each other - not simply lessons of education but life lessons. When I asked Millie from my English conversation class what she learned from me, she replied 'sincerity'.

There is much more for me to say about my Parichay family in India. My last day brought with it tears from all sides - myself, senior boys and girls. I can only write so much about my experience with Parichay, but words possess a certain limitation. I can only suggest to those reading whom have had no direct experience with Parichay to go and visit the project themselves - it will change their lives forever.


John 

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Goodbye, Phir Milenge (We Will Meet Again)...


Yesterday was an informal day with the children, we spent time bonding, and reflecting on my experience, I said my goodbyes to my junior class, and also met Millie from my English conversation class. When I asked Millie what she learned from me, she replied 'sincerity'.

Today (01/08/12) was my final day with Parichay. As planned, I took the seniors to the Akshardham Temple. Amar and Kailash (both brothers) were not able to come as they had to complete their school admissions. Before setting off, the girls tied rakhis on my wrist and I said my goodbyes to Kailash and Amar, and handed them each letters which I had written for them. Kailash was in tears, and would not let go of my hand. After arriving back from Akshardham, I said my goodbyes to the children, along with more tears from Raju, at this point Amar had also joined us. I reminded Raju that I have videos of him dancing in my camera, and I will watch them to remind me of him. After I and Vijay set off in the car to leave, some few minutes later Vijay received a call from Raju asking us to stop the car and wait. Kailash then turned up running with an envelope for me, which I shall open my flight back to London.
Despite the formality of my writing style, my internship exceeded learning about the functioning of this fantastic NGO. I never expected that I would feel such an immense bond with the children at Parichay, and I have never experienced such unconditional love in such a short space of time. My experience at Parichay has changed a lot in my life, my thinking, my attitudes, and I have received the most precious gift that will stay with me until the grave - a second family. This experience has been life-changing and one I shall never forget. The thought of never seeing these children again is incomprehensible for me, and returning is a promise that will be fulfilled.

For this amazing experience I have to extend my heart-felt gratitude to Vijay Bajpai. Without him, the children at Parichay would not have developed in to such wonderful, intelligent, articulate, forward-thinking and loving children you could ever find in this world.
Then there are Geeta and Rupa whose hard work in the unit really helps keep the project in motion. Millie, Ambika and Preeti (along with Rupa) who attended my English discussion class. Khushboo, Sameer, Azhar, Pinki (Choti Shaitan/Little Satan), Rukhsar and all the children from my junior class. Rohit, Mansi, Akash and all the children in the special children's unit. And my seniors:-
Kailash
Amar
Raju
Yaseen
Monu
Sunny
Vicky
Moni
Soni
Deepika
Rumee
Zeenat

Monday 30 July 2012

Last Few Days




As I write out letters to each of the seniors to keep with them as a memory of my visit, it is slowly dawning on me that I have two days left with the children.
Whenever I was feeling distressed or alien in such a different culture, it was always the thought of going to the project and seeing the seniors that made me feel much better, and made any negative experience seem minuscule.
My re-occurring Delhi-belly throughout the trip has never stopped me from going to the project, because I did not want to miss any opportunity to bond with the children. On my occasional days off where Vijay attended the project (without me), the children always asked where I was, and why I was not there, and why they were not pre-informed about this. In such a short space of time, a mutual, unbreakable bond has been created with myself and Parichay's senior children that can never be broken.
I intend to make sure the children enjoy their final few days with me, I have arranged a party, and a possible visit to the magnificent Akshardham Temple on the condition that all senior children will be able to attend.

Friday 27 July 2012

Rangeen! (Colourful!)


The past week has shown me a glimpse of Indian life and culture, through the festival of Raksha Bandhan. Raksha Bandhan will fall this year on 2nd August, and celebrates the Brother-Sister relationship. In this festival, sisters tie colourful threads (known as Rakhis) on the wrists of their male relatives, in exchange for gifts. As with all Indian festivals, the festival is not without plenty of colour, as seen from the various Rakhis being sold by Parichay at various corporate houses. On Friday we returned to STMicroelectronics to sell Rakhis and handicraft items made at the unit, and this Tuesday we visited SCS. Today we returned to Tribal Fusion with the children, and whilst the children had an IT lesson, me and Vijay were selling various items. Tomorrow we shall set up another stall at a corporate house in Gurgaon.
From these various stalls I have attended I have learned how the diversity of festivals in India can provide Parichay with unique opportunities to obtain funding, and how crucial the support of various corporate houses are in helping fund the project.

Friday 13 July 2012

Khushboo!


Khushboo is a loan word in Hindi from Persian. It is composed of two words - khush, meaning 'happy' and boo meaning 'smell'. The term is best translated as 'fragrance', and that's exactly what filled the air yesterday at STMicroelectronics, an international company which has around 3000 employees alone in it's Noida office. Me, Vijay and Kailash (from my Senior Class) went there to set up one of the regular spice stalls Parichay holds there.
We arrived there at 9.30am and set up our stall near the canteen, composed of three long tables - and laid out the array of spices lovingly grinded, blended and packed by the women of Parichay's spices unit.
On offer were the basic spices used in Indian cuisine - cumin seeds and powder, turmeric, coriander (cilantro) powder, garam masala (the most common blended spice mix in Indian cooking), dried mango powder, chilli powder, fennel seeds etc. In addition to this, there were some unique spice blends - one for vegetables and potato, one for chickpeas, paneer masala (spice blend for cottage cheese curry) and so on. In addition to this there were some sweet items available, including mango sweets, and also bulgar wheat, paratha mixes (Indian flat bread), and herbal henna/mehndi (for hair).
Having already tried chickpeas using Parichay's spice blend, I can testify to the quality, flavour and freshness in Parichay's spice mixes, so it was not surprising to me that many of the customers at STMicroelectronics were repeat buyers! In addition to this, Vijay remarked that everytime Parichay sets up a spice stall there, the number of customers increase - a testimony to the hard work of both Vijay and the ladies in the spices unit at Parichay.
The day was very busy, but passed so quick! I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and I was involved in all activities of the stall - set up, replenishing stock, taking cash, packing products. After we had closed for business, I also purchased some spices for myself.
Since the ladies are working on profit only, the increase in sales means a greater income, and so it is a reminder to us all - that hard work pays off.
Since my experience, I am eagerly anticipating the future stall at STMelectronics for the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan, where we will be selling handmade Rakhi bracelets amongst other items.

Thursday 12 July 2012

Science, Maths, Urdu...


My past few days have been filled with variety at Parichay. First I gave two Science lessons, the first being around food - where different kinds of food come from, how different plants grow, the ingredients needed to prepare various dishes and their origins, the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores.
The second lesson then focussed on different kinds of fabric - synthetic and natural, and how various kinds of substances become fabric - like the process of ginning with cotton balls then spinning in making cotton yarn, and then the process of weaving to make fabric. To demonstrate the process of weaving I used strips of paper and asked the seniors to demonstrate this to me. I am finding it useful to periodically re-cap various questions within a session so the knowledge becomes cemented in the children's brains, then the day after, re-asking those questions to assure that these are in the children's long term memory.

Then, we moved on to Mathematics. This involved looking at numbers and looking at how to arrange a group of random numbers in ascending and descending order. I then decided to use my own knowledge to help the children with their multiplications. I presented to them a Japanese method of working out multiplications which involves constructing a grid.

I also enquired from some of the students if they would like to learn the Urdu script. In their everyday spoken forms, the languages (Hindi and Urdu) differ very slightly, but both share different scripts - where Hindi uses the Sanskrit derived Devanagri, Urdu uses a modified Arabic script in it's Nastal'iq form (a style of writing), which is used in Iran today. The children were very keen on the idea, and so we commenced classes today. Despite being taught by a foreigner who has limited knowledge of spoken Hindi, and despite learning for the first time letters of a very difficult script, the vast majority of the group absorbed the rules of the script and new letters very easily. The children have an unmatchable thirst for knowledge, and were all keen to have their names written down in Urdu (and also Gujarati and Punjabi, too!). I am looking forward to future Urdu classes and I am really enjoying sharing my personal knowledge with the children, as my Urdu reading and writing was self taught.

Friday 6 July 2012

Ab To Thanda Paani Milega... Now They Will Have Cold Water


Having experienced the hottest July in Delhi in the last seven years I know exactly how it feels to have a bottle of water quickly descrease in temperature, and the lack of satisfaction one gets from water that is not ice cold.
In fact, when this happens, it is almost like one has not taken any water at all.
So imagine the delight on the faces of the children of Parichay when a brand new fridge, donated by Tribal Fusion, was delivered today!
The children can now enjoy chilled water to keep them refereshed while studying at Parichay. This will help with their mental alertness and have a positive impact on their well-being and education.
Thank you Tribal Fusion!



Tuesday 3 July 2012

Life with Parichay - A Glimpse


This week my schedule is conducting three classes a day. The first is an inimate session of just three ladies and one girl. The aim of the class is to help them to better develop their comprehension of English - one lady from Kolkata already teaches in the Special Children's Unit at Parichay, and the others are studying elsewhere in government schools.
The aim of the class is to familiarise them with the different ways in which English is spoken (accents, regional differences) and increase their confidence in using the language. This will allow them to interact with much more ease in corporate and professional environments (take for example, one young lady who aspires to be a journalist) where in they will be required to interact with people from various countries. So far, we have discussed food, film and differences between our societies/cultures (and all found a common ground). In the next session, I have requested them to all bring a topic which they would like to discuss.

The second session is with one of the junior classes. This is a Hindi class, in which we are currently reading 'Sooraj ka Roomaal' (The Sun's Handkerchief). Currently we have two pages left - and as we progress I am assisting the children in writing the story in to their notebooks and reading aloud. The aim of this is to firstly focus on their handwriting and reading ability, and once the story is complete, their comprehension. Various questions will be asked about the story to which the children will have to answer.

The third session is with the senior class, in English. So far, we have completed two short stories, and whilst reading the stories I advised the children to underline any unknown words so that their vocabulary can be improved - and thus their comprehension. After this stage, I conducted spelling tests along with their Hindi meanings in order to help cement these new words in to the Children's vocabulary.
Furthermore, I reward the child with the highest mark with a prize in order to motivate them. After this, I read through the story once more and conduct a quiz of comprehension, in which there are around five questions. The child with the most correct wins a big prize, and any child with at least one correct answer gets a small prize.

Enclosed below are some photos to give a glimpse of life with Parichay:-


Parichay's Main Project Site


Parichay's Spices Unit - One has to only walk past this door to smell a wonderful array of aromas!


Special Children's Class


Kailash, Moni and Raju from the Senior Class


Me Giving a Hindi Lesson to a Junior Class


Senior Class Hard at Work

Sunday 1 July 2012

An Eventful Few Days


Wednesday to Friday was packed with new experiences from which I learnt a lot. Aside from Parichay, I also visited two other NGOs.

On Wednesday I conducted my first classes at Parichay. My first class was to a younger class where we covered Hindi, and looked at the meanings of various Hindi verbs (smile, drink, eat) in Hindi and English, and also involved asking the children to translate simple sentences between the two languages. The second class was for the oldest group in Parichay, most of whom I had already met when we went to Tribal Fusion last week.
The two hour lesson involved reading a story, and looking at the meaning of new words. Towards the end I conducted an English spelling and Hindi meaning test for the class, and out of a maximum possible score of 34, a young, bright girl (called Moni) achieved 33 - well done Moni!
The class ended with handshakes from a couple of the young boys and comments such as 'acchi lesson Sir' (good lesson Sir). The experience was so engaging that we did not realise the lesson had run 15 minutes over! The experience felt very natural and normal for me despite being my first time teaching, and I am looking forward to my coming classes tomorrow. The children were extremely well behaved and seemed to have a thirst for learning - and this is because the children have realised the value of education in uplifting them from their previous circumstances (such as child labour, for example).

On Thursday Vijay took me to MTU (Mission to the Unreached) Vidhya Kendra. The NGO has a school of around 200, and is based in New Ashok Nagar. As we entered the children were beginning their day by singing 'We Shall Overcome' which had set the tone for the day. Vijay was there to conduct assessments on some selected children to assess their mental ability (to check for any learning difficulties, for example).
While Vijay conducted some other parts of the test (relating to memory, for example), I was helping with tests relating to order (such as placing story cards in the correct order, and duplicating patterns using matchsticks). I learned about the importance of testing these children as young as possible so that they can be given the appropriate extra support where it is required, in order to ensure maximum possible educational attainment.

On Friday we returned back to MTU Vidhya Kendra to conduct some further tests with the children there, and then we returned back to Vidhya Niketan in Bilaspur. There, I watched Vijay give guidance to the ladies on how to set up their groups (establishing a name, keeping log book records, establishing regular meetings and keeping records of money given in to the group). Two groups were formed, and I had seen with my own eyes the will power of those ladies to empower themselves through their own means as a community.

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Preparation in Anticipation




Tomorrow is my first day teaching at Parichay and I am looking forward to the experience. I have already received lesson plans for the forthcoming few days, and have begun preparing a plan for the tomorrow's class.
The class will be in English, and having read over the first chapter of the story we shall be reading, I have been fully utilising my newly purchased digital dictionary from Connaught Place in Central Delhi.
My preparations are already showing me what a valuable experiences there are to come, and perhaps the most unique aspect of the experience is the reciprocity - I am learning many new Hindi words already!

Thursday 21 June 2012

A Warm Welcome


Yesterday I had my first opportunity to meet some of the children from Parichay and see the project sites. I learned that there are two project sites, the first which holds educational programs/classes for mentally challenged children. There I witnessed Vijay conduct their daily morning yoga session, and I was impressed with the attentiveness of the children and how well behaved they were.

After this we walked a little to the second project site, where there are two classrooms and a room which are used by the women to prepare spices to sell. There are four classes a day, two in the morning and two in the evening. After meeting some children and having a glimpse in the fragrant spice preparing room, some of the children dressed up after giving me a warm welcome and (after overcoming their pleasant surprise at my ability to read and write Urdu!) we set off for Tribal Fusion.



Tribal Fusion is an international advertising company that has been assisting Parichay for a number of years where they can. Since there is no projector at the project site, we decided that I should utilise this opportunity to show a presentation of my life in London and about my family to break the ice and allow the children to know a little more about me. After this I then witnessed how not only the various ways in which Tribal fusion donates to Parichay to be beneficial, but also how visiting a professional environment shows the children that success IS obtainable and within reach. The children there were given some computer training and played a game on India's geography split between two teams.





After this, I joined Vijay downstairs in the staff canteen where he was selling spices to staff members (there are approximately 150 staff members in Tribal Fusion), in addition to spices there were also henna hair powders mixes available, masala mixes, besan (chickpea flour) and also paratha (seasoned flat bread) mixes available. The day showed me another approach of how Parichay is extending support for it's work through different and everyday (and most importantly ground-level and approachable) means.



Wednesday 20 June 2012

An Early Start




Me and Vijay decided that it would be beneficial for me to bring my internship forward and start today to see how far he is spreading the Parichay Philosophy. Vijay has been assisting with an NGO called Vidhya Niketan for the past 2 1/2 years. Vidhya Niketan is a Christian Organisation based in Bilaspur that focuses on providing education to children up to the 8th standard.



They also work heavily on women's empowerment:- giving women practical advice on nutrition (and during lactation especially), dealing with social/familial problems (domestic violence, child marriage, female foeticide). Today Vijay gave two workshops I felt were delivered in a very practical and approachable way, given the context. The first focussed on showing how women from other rural communities in India such as Chennai are coming together to improve their financial situation such as producing handicrafts, working in the food industry and so on. The second focussed on birth control and family planning, and revealed the benefits of careful planning when beginning a family.



I felt that the incorporation of music in to the first lecture and comedy films in the second helped create a sense of approachability between Vijay and the ladies from Bilaspur. The promotion of Parichay's philosophy of working as a community and being self-reliant was present throughout and gave me a great introduction of what Parichay is truly about - a borderless philosophy promoting self help through education and community.

Monday 18 June 2012

Introduction

A few months back a fellow post-Hindi student from Thailand forwarded me an e-mail from University with a unique opportunity - interning on AID India's program in India. After some natural reluctance at such a daunting idea, I decided to apply. India sees kinds of poverty which are vastly different from poverty in Britain, and therefore I knew the experience would be worthwhile and time well spent. After perfecting my application and passing through the telephone interview stages, I was elated when I found out I had obtained a 5 week placement with Parichay Abhigyan Society (परिचय अभिज्ञान सोसाइटी, meaning 'The Society for the Introduction of Knowledge'), an NGO which promotes, above all, self-sustenance.

After spending less than 24 hours in Delhi and learning about Parichay's operations from it's founder - Vijay Bajpai, I am determined to make as much impact as possible during my time in Tukmirpur (where the project is located in East Delhi). In spite of the heat and the regular power cuts, I am already warming to the charms of Delhi, and I relish the experience of Delhi to come - through and with the children that study at Parichay's project site, and the Women that prepare their handicrafts and spices in the Women's Unit.

Parichay is a multi-faceted organisation which helps with the education and health from children from low-economic backgrounds (such as offspring of Rickshaw Pullers), it provides women from these communities with the tools to grow both in terms of confidence and financially through it's handicraft & spices program. It also assists with the education of children with learning difficulties and educates the wider public about various conditions (physical and mental). To learn more about Parichay's work, see:- http://parichayonline.org/