Week #1
Had a great first week.
Tuesday to Friday, Nerrel (another Aussie volunteer) and I played with and entertained the kids at Concerns Universe Foundation’s (CUF’s) community pre-school in the Coxtown-Jevanahalli district of Bangalore. The pre-school was set-up to look after the young children (aged two to five) of women in the community who are working as house maids or in other similar vocations.
We weren’t doing it alone; there were/are two other young Indian women who work in the pre-school. Usha (sp?) and Lolitha (sp?). They’ve both taught me a lot in terms of strategies and actions to use to quieten/calm-down crying kids who won’t stop asking for Mummy.
Nerrel and I utilized some strategies of our own also: coloring-in books and colored pencils, Pez dispensers and candy, stickers (stars), bubble-blowers, and books. We tried to introduce the kids to something new everyday. On Friday we purchased some noise making instruments, including two drums, to introduce to them this week. One of the little boys, Daniel, “air-drums” to every song that gets played, so we figured we’d get him something to bang ;-).
Had a great weekend also. The other five volunteers (who arrived into Bangalore at the same time I did) and I, took an approx. 8 hours bus trip to Hampi, a World Heritage site renowned for it’s Hindu temples and ruins. I think Hampi can only best be described in pictures, so I’ll try and post some soon.
Just one of the many highlights from the weekend included getting caught in monsoon-like rain, while driving scooters. We looked like drowned-rats by the time we got back into the main part of town, which was absolutely deserted as everyone had retreated indoors.
Today, I taught my first class. It was very fun/satisfying. (This is teaching the young women at CUF’s community college. I went there after spending a short amount of time with the kids at the community pre-school this morning.)
At the end of my class, I gave the girls some homework – poor things. They’re to think about a female/woman that inspires them/they admire. They’ll have to report out tomorrow in groups.
My goal while I’m here is to get them comfortable with speaking basic English and to ensure they stay motivated to continue with their community college classes (10 months in duration) and the desire to keep educating themselves.
P.S. I forgot to mention another highlight from Hampi – enjoying a live poetry-slam performance by fellow volunteer, Bobby Williams (aka Double B), on the top of a rocky-outcrop at sunrise. Check him out: http://www.myspace.com/doubleb. We filmed his performance and hope to get it onto YouTube soon. These Internet Cafes however, make the upload process painful…
Tags: Travel
libbyswan
Leave a Reply