If Home Was A Rainforest...
For my third week at SELCO Foundation, I had the opportunity to go to Ujire for 3 days. Ujire is a rural community in India that is a 7 hour bus ride from Bangalore.
Ujire is green and hilly which is so different from Bangalore which is flat. It felt like being home for 3 days...if home was a rainforest.
While in Ujire, I had the opportunity visit 5 government schools nearby Ujire to test out the activities that my colleague and I made which helps teach sustainability to children. I had a chance to see my work put into action, and also interact with children from 1st to 8th grade.
I went to schools in the following places:
Day 3:
On the third day, we went to the school in Odilnala. It was an amazing group of students, and also a hilarious experience. Some of the students at this school know English, but still struggled to understand me because of my accent. I was often stared at and kids found me facisnating, which was extremely embarrassing. It is very strange being the only white person in a space.
At one point, a young girl came and asked me to follow her. So I did. She led me to a classroom on the other side of the school and had me say hello to the kids in the class. Then, I was led to another class, and then another, and then another. Each with different age kids. At one point, a younger boy sang a song to the group. At another point, I fell down the stairs of the school.
And finally, we finished our visit with a school photo. It was the older children and teachers gathered together for a group photo. It was after the fact that I learned that the photo would be featured in a local newspaper.
My three days in Ujire were really memorable. I wasn't sure what to expect from a rural community in India. I had heard stories, and I had been very hesitant about traveling 7 hours by bus to a place that could be so different. However, it was so lovely. The kids are so sweet and eager to learn that they were happy to be a part of our activities.
I also learned more about how rural India views white people. My coworker explained to me a little about how the children see me as something else, like doll, more "important". To spend time with these children was such an amazing gesture from the community. I would love to visit again and have a chance to spend more time to talk with the kids.
Ujire is green and hilly which is so different from Bangalore which is flat. It felt like being home for 3 days...if home was a rainforest.
While in Ujire, I had the opportunity visit 5 government schools nearby Ujire to test out the activities that my colleague and I made which helps teach sustainability to children. I had a chance to see my work put into action, and also interact with children from 1st to 8th grade.
I went to schools in the following places:
- Belthangady
- Laila
- Janardhana
- Kannady
- Odilnala
I played a game with a group of students. It was really interesting to go through the process of teaching activities to a group of students that don't speak the same language. The process went sort of like:
I speak English --> coworker translates my English to English but in a way that the students can understand it --> our coworkers then translated from English to Kannada (the local language in the state of Karnataka).
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| A group of students who made jumping frogs to understand potential and kinetic energy. |
I ate a midday meal with the teachers at the school, which was provided by the government for government schools in India, which is called the Midday Meal Program, which helps encourage students to attend school because a meal is guaranteed to them. This is especially important in government schools where attendance may be low, teachers may choose not to show up, and there is little funding for the schools.
The second half of the day, we played a game with students that helped explain water scarcity to the students. The point was to give them situation cards that would force them to run around the school yard to feel tired, which is a reality for those who have to carry clean water.
Day 2:
My second day in Ujire involved going to more schools and trying out more activities with students. Our focus was on sustainability with water and energy. In the picture below, we demonstrated how much available drinking water there is in the world. The student below was pouring salt into a large bowl of water to demonstrate all the water we can't drink because it's too salty.
After a long day, we finished the day off with an adventure to Chamadi Hills in Ujire. It felt just like Oregon with the beautiful green space in front of me. I did some slightly dangerous things like standing on the rock that overlooks a huge drop off, and walking down the middle of the curvy road, but it was so beautiful.
Day 3:
On the third day, we went to the school in Odilnala. It was an amazing group of students, and also a hilarious experience. Some of the students at this school know English, but still struggled to understand me because of my accent. I was often stared at and kids found me facisnating, which was extremely embarrassing. It is very strange being the only white person in a space.
At one point, a young girl came and asked me to follow her. So I did. She led me to a classroom on the other side of the school and had me say hello to the kids in the class. Then, I was led to another class, and then another, and then another. Each with different age kids. At one point, a younger boy sang a song to the group. At another point, I fell down the stairs of the school.
And finally, we finished our visit with a school photo. It was the older children and teachers gathered together for a group photo. It was after the fact that I learned that the photo would be featured in a local newspaper.
 |
| I love this photo because it is such an accurate photo for this group of kids. Not everyone is fully aware of what's going on and Sanjhanaa (left of me in yellow) and I are just smiling away as if that will solve everything. We also hadn't forced the students to sit here, their principal did, but everything began to break down a few seconds later. |
I also learned more about how rural India views white people. My coworker explained to me a little about how the children see me as something else, like doll, more "important". To spend time with these children was such an amazing gesture from the community. I would love to visit again and have a chance to spend more time to talk with the kids.
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