Passage to India . . . (From Thisisdorset)

Passage to India . . .

8:53am Thursday 21st February 2008 in News

SIXTEEN pupils from Wey Valley School have enjoyed a cultural and educational experience of a lifetime helping some of the poorest children in India.

They spent eight days working at an Ashalayam school in Howrah, Kolkata, during the 17-day life-changing adventure.

The visit followed a successful £28,000 fundraising campaign spanning nine months.

The group also donated a sizeable sum to help the school look after the homeless youngsters.

The campaign - the vision of teacher Andy Dukes - was a huge community effort and success involving teachers, governors, parents, pupils, helpers, local companies and members of the public.

Pupils from Years 10 and 11 and six adults forged links with two schools in the capital city of Kolkata - the Don Bosco Ashalayam Project for homeless children and the city's Salt Lake School, a traditional setting.

They also helped at Kalyani Farm outside of Kolkata, which is worked by the street children.

The pupils' journey of discovery began in New Delhi; it took them to Kolkata for the main thrust of the project and then on to Darjeeling in the north to see the sun rise over the three highest peaks in the world.

The group also enjoyed some of the jewels of India, with visits to the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and a Tibetan monastery.

During the trip students Franny Ryan and Rosie Derricourt kept a daily diary of the experiences.

Here they share some of their thoughts.

Franny Ryan writes . . .

The first thing that hit me as we left the airport was the smell; it was an overwhelming scent of spices, perfume and tobacco - not unpleasant, just unusual.

There were people everywhere, on rickshaws, in cars, and whole families were piled on to single motorbikes. We took a tour, visiting the gateway of India and two of Delhi's most prized monuments.

On December 28 we went on a six-hour drive to Agra to visit the famous Red Fort. This was when we had our first memorable encounter with beggars and street sellers. The crowds were enormous and we stood out, being the only westerners, and beggars came up; young children dressed in rags, and men with missing limbs.

It was here we really began to see the extent of the poverty in India.

The next morning we got up at 5am, to watch the sunrise over the Taj Mahal. The view was truly amazing. It seemed to sparkle in the slow, rising sun. The rest of the day was spent taking an 18-hour overnight train ride to Kolkata (Calcutta) to the heart of our project. On the 30th we arrived in Kolkata. We left Howrah station, crossed the Howrah Bridge and entered the centre of the city.

Howrah

December 31 marked the first day of our stay working with the Don Bosco Ashalayam project. The project is run by Roman Catholic monks who provide food, shelter and love for the children who have come off the city's streets. We went by taxi to Howrah, the slum district, to the main centre of Ashalayam. On arrival we met Father Matthews, who runs the project. He explained that the centre was running a festival to celebrate New Year. This encourages the children to come off the streets, to enjoy the party, have some food and take a look around the home. If they like what they see, the children are given the opportunity to stay and live at the centre.

He explained it was difficult to encourage them to stay because it was a step many were too scared to take, as the streets were all the children had ever known.

We went outside, into a large courtyard where the children were sat in the sun, avidly watching a magician that the home had hired for the party. Our reception could not have been warmer or more welcoming. The children, many of whom had never seen westerners, were extremely friendly and sociable. The atmosphere was electric. Most of them were older boys aged 12-18 years.

We ate lunch with them, sitting outside in the courtyard. As visitors we were given cutlery, but the boys ate their curry with their hands and thought it was incredible that we were using spoons - an alien concept to them.

The afternoon was spent exchanging cultures; we taught some of the older boys basic English and they taught us Bengali. We showed them some dancing, and they sang songs in Hindi. During the afternoon we split into our three working groups to go to the first of the three places we would be visiting: Bhattanagar, Kaliyani Farm or The Salt Lake School in Kolkata.

Bhattanagar

When we arrived by 4x4 at Ashajames, the Ashalayam home, we were greeted by a seige of excited young boys and many hands - all wanting to introduce themselves first. We were taken into the home. My first impression was that the home was basic, but full of life. The children were desperate to show us around. At a first glance the boys looked between 3-7 years old. The home accommodated roughly 30 boys from 3-12 years old. There were lots of Ashalayam homes in the area. Many of the boys spoke good English.

As it was New Year's Eve, all the homes in the area had come together to celebrate. One of the fathers had a laptop and was able to project funny images and videos on to the wall to entertain everyone. The boys took us back to their home for dinner. It took place outside in the freezing courtyard, next to the pond/pool. Two massive metal pots were brought out and plates distributed to all the boys, who sat in three long lines, eagerly awaiting food. In one pot there was rice and in the other chicken curry. The first thing that struck me was the amount the boys eat!

It was then I realised we had no cutlery and it was time to try eating Ashalayam-style.

We had to mix the rice and curry with our hands, then put handfuls into our mouths. It was harder than it looked, but great fun!

Afterwards the boys went to bed and we headed up our room. Our New Year's Eve was probably the most memorable we had ever experienced. Judging by the events of our first day, I knew our time spent at Ashajames was going to be absolutely brilliant.

Salt Lake School

We travelled by car to Salt Lake School, an hour's drive out of Kolkata, and were greeted by the headmistress. Our group was taken out into a little courtyard, and surrounding us on all sides were thousands of eyes. They welcomed the pupils back after Christmas holidays, and sang their national anthem and the school anthem with pride. We were then blessed, and presented with a beautiful arrangement of flowers each, then we sang our national anthem. They showed us around the school and we took part in some of their science lessons. During the afternoon, we showed them some dancing, and took part in the yoga session in the hall. The Indian students are taught English as a second language.

Rosie Derricourt writes . . .

Kalyani Farm

We travelLED in a 4x4 vehicle along a dusty road going past a repeated pattern of never-ending fields, tiny villages that all look the same and a sea of staring faces.

Reaching the farm was overwhelming, and compared to the earlier centres it seemed like luxury. Dogs pacing around, a mass of chickens and a playground full of rainbow-coloured equipment. We were greeted by the girls at Kalyani and they exuded such warmth and confidence it made you immediately comfortable.

We spent most of our time with the boys as we were staying with them. We were all amazed at how lively and energetic they were. Every day at 4pm they would play sport (cricket or football) for about three hours. We tried to join in but we couldn't keep up with them, they were just too good.

Despite their pasts they were always smiling and had a positive attitude to life. Most of these children used to live by the train tracks of Howrah Station in Kolkata, rag picking, begging or doing what they had to do to survive.

They are given a chance by Ashalayam, and the ones that take it grasp it with both hands. Not once while I was there did I see a child refusing to do work or not trying their best. They all just want to succeed and make a better life for themselves. Children here could learn a lot from them.

The girls and the boys are housed separately; the girls mainly doing crafts, gardening, cooking and looking after the rabbits. The younger boys don't do much farm work as it is too physically tiring and they are enrolled in school. The older boys who cannot otherwise do school work are involved in tending the farm. For four hours every morning we helped them by collecting, moving and picking turmeric, moving yams and separating straw for the cows to eat. For each meal, we ate with the children and the sisters/fathers. They seemed amused at the way I always sat on the floor with them as they ate. I could never finish half of what I was given but the children were always eager to have more, so I offered it to them. It seemed the children ate so much because on the streets they never knew where the next meal was coming from.

Darjeeling

After a 21-hour train journey and a four-hour 4x4 ride (I didn't realise India was so vast) we finally reached Darjeeling. Tree-covered mountains, mist and winding roads as far as the eye could see. Darjeeling was nothing like the India we had seen so far, it seemed more like Nepal or Tibet. While we were there, there were many protests because the people of Darjeeling want to be separate from West Bengal. It was good for the group to have time to reflect after the emotionally draining experience of the Ashalayam centres.

Howrah

We returned to Howrah and were ushered upstairs for a farewell performance, dances from the boys and girls, speeches from Father Matthew and one of the older boys. We were presented with garlands by the girls. I felt privileged to have met them and sad to be saying goodbye. It was an unbelievable experience, and on the plane home I wrote: "If you are aware of just one person in the world struggling you can't just turn your back, if you are capable of helping."

The students were: Callum Marsh-Irvine, Carly McNulty, Charlie Scott, David Grattidge, Ellis Sheppard, Emma Davey, Franny Ryan, Rosie Derricourt, Georgia Walker, Jack Lewis, Jasmin Hogben, Kiesha Critchell, Kirsty Roberts, Morgwen Dickason, Rowan McIntosh and Samantha Reid.

The helpers were teachers Andy Dukes, project leader Dan Lapham and Christine Taylor; policeman Tony Smith; school governor Keith Puttock and parent and local carer Sandra Hopes.