It’s been a busy morning here at Pardada. Mike and I worked on our lesson plan for class this afternoon, teaching English. We have been teaching shapes, colors and numbers to grade 3. The children we are working with know more English than others in the school. They may be able to say words, but not know what the words actually mean.The kids love having us here because we do make it fun- colored paper, stickers, markers! Each class has approx. 40 children, who sit on the floor for hours at a time. The only classroom furniture is an old teachers desk. The kids are are enthusiastic and pretty well behaved.
Each day girls in the school are assigned, on a rotating basis, to either clean for the day, or work in the kitchen for day. I am now waiting for one to come sweep our room(of the bugs and heavy dust that needs to be swept up daily). It's fascinating to watch them "clean", as they use the dirtiest rags and water to wash the floors, after sweeping with brooms that are about 2' in length, requiring them to bend over as they sweep. They do not have much in the way of cleaning products here in the village, though we have found some that we do use. In the school, they use just water to clean. We were given a black glass bottle, with red printing, and a skull and crossbone, as a cleaning product to mix with water. I'm not going to even consider opening it!!!
We launched a new project last Monday, in honor of my dad, who died of cancer in July. He was a children's dentist for 54 years, and had been looking forward to his retirement in August. I brought 175 toothbrushes here, from his office, for the kids. The 150 children who are in the prep school(means they are learning how to be in school), which holds classes on the first floor of the teachers colony(75 in each room!) are learning to brush their teeth. This will become a part of their morning routine. For most of them, it is the first time they've ever brushed their teeth. They are so adorable to watch, as they are gettting the hang of it and love the taste of Colgate, so some brush for a long time! A few aren't so fond of this activity... There is resistance and some tears. They stand at a water trough(similar to what is used for cattle) lined with 40 faucets. The kids either stretch to reach for the water, or jump up and squat on the edge. I love asking them to smile and show me their shiny, white teeth. Thanks dad for giving these kids something so important- the gift of healthy teeth.
These young children(who we fondly refer to as either urchins or gremlins) were discovered in April in a village close to the school. No one at the school knew the village existed. Life there is more than primitive, so tooth brushing has never been on their radar screen. It’s more impoverished than the most impoverished villages. These children are learning to eat with a spoon, off of a plate, stand in line, sit and use bathrooms for the first time. The teachers go to the village to collect them from their houses each morning, often having to get them up and dressed. They are progressing well, though the numbers have gone from 210 to 150(or 135) since April. It‘s hard to keep them in school here, so many incentives are offered- shoes, uniforms, food, transport. What going to school means to the mothers is that they lose their primary source of labor, or child care for siblings when they go to work in the fields. The value of educating a daughter? None, from what they know, so the school works hard to improve attendance with these little ones.
Corporal punishment, either smacking or beating the kids is still being used at the school, and it’s OK! The volunteers are pushing hard to change many things , including that policy. They justify that parents do it and that it has always been done like that. There is great resistance to change, and they've not been introduced to another way. We volunteers are working to change that, and hope to teach the teachers alternatives to disciplining through corporal punishment.
An incident this morning…The wagon goes to pick up the kids from above village. A girl hadn’t been to school for awhile and when the teacher asked parents why, it was because she had been beaten by a teacher. They dragged her off crying, kicking ad screaming and brought her to school. She refused to stay, so she walked home, a long way, by herself. Turns out her brother had died of typhoid last week. Would they consider that her behavior had anything to do with that? No....
We have 3 house guests that are with us most nights. They happen to be lizards. They are welcome as long as they stay up high(we don't have much choice!). Our ceilings are 10’ so that is good. They eat the bugs! The creatures I have an issue with is the rats. Yes, the rats. Though I've yet to see any, we do see what they leave behind. I am struggling to accept them, big time! Rats are sacred in the Hindu culture, and have always been there. It's only westerners that have an issue!!! Ugh!!!!
We are next to a field that is currently being plowed, which really stirs up the dust here. Behind us are sugar cane fields, where harvesting begins soon. The people must grow what they eat, so there are fields everywhere, along with oxen that pull the carts, pigs that slop in the mud and open sewers, and lots of cows and buffalo that provide dung patties people burn to heat their houses, as well as build many of their homes. Nothing goes to waste here! People travel the roads, collecting the patties, so the roads are semi “clean”, in comparison to what they would otherwise be.
Tomorrow begins another week, with more experiences to share. Will keep you posted! Mary
Each day girls in the school are assigned, on a rotating basis, to either clean for the day, or work in the kitchen for day. I am now waiting for one to come sweep our room(of the bugs and heavy dust that needs to be swept up daily). It's fascinating to watch them "clean", as they use the dirtiest rags and water to wash the floors, after sweeping with brooms that are about 2' in length, requiring them to bend over as they sweep. They do not have much in the way of cleaning products here in the village, though we have found some that we do use. In the school, they use just water to clean. We were given a black glass bottle, with red printing, and a skull and crossbone, as a cleaning product to mix with water. I'm not going to even consider opening it!!!
We launched a new project last Monday, in honor of my dad, who died of cancer in July. He was a children's dentist for 54 years, and had been looking forward to his retirement in August. I brought 175 toothbrushes here, from his office, for the kids. The 150 children who are in the prep school(means they are learning how to be in school), which holds classes on the first floor of the teachers colony(75 in each room!) are learning to brush their teeth. This will become a part of their morning routine. For most of them, it is the first time they've ever brushed their teeth. They are so adorable to watch, as they are gettting the hang of it and love the taste of Colgate, so some brush for a long time! A few aren't so fond of this activity... There is resistance and some tears. They stand at a water trough(similar to what is used for cattle) lined with 40 faucets. The kids either stretch to reach for the water, or jump up and squat on the edge. I love asking them to smile and show me their shiny, white teeth. Thanks dad for giving these kids something so important- the gift of healthy teeth.
These young children(who we fondly refer to as either urchins or gremlins) were discovered in April in a village close to the school. No one at the school knew the village existed. Life there is more than primitive, so tooth brushing has never been on their radar screen. It’s more impoverished than the most impoverished villages. These children are learning to eat with a spoon, off of a plate, stand in line, sit and use bathrooms for the first time. The teachers go to the village to collect them from their houses each morning, often having to get them up and dressed. They are progressing well, though the numbers have gone from 210 to 150(or 135) since April. It‘s hard to keep them in school here, so many incentives are offered- shoes, uniforms, food, transport. What going to school means to the mothers is that they lose their primary source of labor, or child care for siblings when they go to work in the fields. The value of educating a daughter? None, from what they know, so the school works hard to improve attendance with these little ones.
Corporal punishment, either smacking or beating the kids is still being used at the school, and it’s OK! The volunteers are pushing hard to change many things , including that policy. They justify that parents do it and that it has always been done like that. There is great resistance to change, and they've not been introduced to another way. We volunteers are working to change that, and hope to teach the teachers alternatives to disciplining through corporal punishment.
An incident this morning…The wagon goes to pick up the kids from above village. A girl hadn’t been to school for awhile and when the teacher asked parents why, it was because she had been beaten by a teacher. They dragged her off crying, kicking ad screaming and brought her to school. She refused to stay, so she walked home, a long way, by herself. Turns out her brother had died of typhoid last week. Would they consider that her behavior had anything to do with that? No....
We have 3 house guests that are with us most nights. They happen to be lizards. They are welcome as long as they stay up high(we don't have much choice!). Our ceilings are 10’ so that is good. They eat the bugs! The creatures I have an issue with is the rats. Yes, the rats. Though I've yet to see any, we do see what they leave behind. I am struggling to accept them, big time! Rats are sacred in the Hindu culture, and have always been there. It's only westerners that have an issue!!! Ugh!!!!
We are next to a field that is currently being plowed, which really stirs up the dust here. Behind us are sugar cane fields, where harvesting begins soon. The people must grow what they eat, so there are fields everywhere, along with oxen that pull the carts, pigs that slop in the mud and open sewers, and lots of cows and buffalo that provide dung patties people burn to heat their houses, as well as build many of their homes. Nothing goes to waste here! People travel the roads, collecting the patties, so the roads are semi “clean”, in comparison to what they would otherwise be.
Tomorrow begins another week, with more experiences to share. Will keep you posted! Mary
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