Millinium Development Goals
Achieved by this team from June 29 - July 3;
37.5 Hours of class room instruction in conversational English and computer skills by 2 volunteers and 37.5 Hours of preparation time.
10 Hours of childcare by 1 volunteer
1 School, 2 Children's Home and over 150 students impacted
Monday, June 29, 2009
The day began with the news that Lisa had gotten little sleep. But in good spirits she joined us for breakfast, which consisted of rice with sauce, eggs, and those wonderful bananas. We received our assignments for the day and gathered some materials. I would be going to Assisi Illam to assist the sisters with Daycare for the two through five year olds for the morning. Lisa would be going to Grace School to teach the second, fourth, and fifth graders with English. Then the afternoon would be spent together at Grace School with the Kindergarten and first grade and the third graders. After a short rest we would all be going to SEAM for some time with the children.
The bus ride to the Grace School was short but fascinating seeing the neighborhood pass as we made our way to the school. Upon arrival we were greeted by the Ester, her father and sister in law, all who work and teach at the school. We met all the children we would be working with. They greeted us with lots of smiles and handshaking. Leaving Lisa to teach the older students in the morning, Stephan and I made our way to St. Thomas Hospital to meet the founder of Assisi Illam, a remarkable woman who has made a tremendous contribution to the Porur community. I spent the morning working with Sister Rose, Sister Virgin, Jesi, and Rena and children of Assisi Illam. They were very energetic and enjoyed singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider, the Alphabet Song, the Macarena, Old McDonald, and The Wheels on the Bus. Then back to the bus to pick up Lisa.
Lunch was amazing as always, with the added bonus of fresh mango! After a short rest we were back to Grace School. After some confusion on what grade we would be teaching we had the third grade, and first grade. The students were very well behaved and introduced themselves to us both. We taught both classes together as they were larger classes. The first grade knew all their colors and did very well learning fruits and vegetables. The third grade was a very lively bunch with a shorter attention span. We sang lots of songs and enjoyed our time together.
After our afternoon break we headed off to SEAM Orphanage. Stephan read to the Children a letter from one of the former volunteers to all the children. She had also sent many pictures of the children for them to have. It was truly heartwarming. Later we tested the smaller children on their ABC’s, numbers, colors, and even some body parts. They all did very well. We also read them some stories, which they enjoyed. Then it was back to the house for some potatoes and cauliflower, green beans and naan. A great start on our journey here in Porur.
What a wonderful day!
Thought of the Day:
“What we do for ourselves dies with us, what we do for others remains, and is immortal.”
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
We began our day with an incredible breakfast. We had dosai with a spicy green sauce, scrambled eggs with onions, and bananas. After breakfast, I left for the Grace School and Alexi left for Assisi Illam. At the Grace School, I first taught fifth grade. Stephen had advised me over breakfast to teach them simple grammar, so that’s what I did. I taught them nouns, verbs, and adverbs. After that period, the kids had their fifteen minute break, where they all coveted for high-fives and thumb wrestling. The next periods I read picture books to the fourth grade, since the bell never rang and my other class never came.
Meanwhile, Alexi was at Assisi Illam with the babies and toddlers. She sang songs with them and taught them the dance ‘Macarena’ and colored with them. Unfortunately, when one baby started crying it had a ripple effect and within minutes they were all in tears.
Over lunch Alexi and I discussed what we would do with the third and first graders. For the first grade we decided a simple grammar lesson would be best. For the first graders, who have almost no attention span, we decided to revise numbers and colors and sing songs, such as ‘head, shoulders, knees, and toes’. Once we were in the classroom at Grace School we were only able to cover the difference between nouns and verbs with the third grade. The first graders, knew all of the colors and could count to 20 without any difficulty, so we taught them how to say some shapes in English.
We then went to SEAMs and had an hour with two groups of eight year olds. Alexi and I read picture books to them, which they greatly enjoyed. We had a lovely meal for dinner, and after we went to a food market to get yoghurt. The walk itself was nerve-racking but fortunately we had Stephen to guide us.
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”- Gandhi
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
We started the morning with vadai, a specialty of Southern India. Then Lisa and I parted ways, Lisa was off to the Grace School and I was headed to Assisi Illam. Jesi was still ill today, so I had all the children to myself. It wasn’t the normal crowd, it was a holiday for the school kids so we had many older students and none of the younger ones that I have had all week but I still had a wonderful time having them read to me and helping them with pronunciation. At the Grace School, Lisa told her morning classes that she would not be with them next week. They all said good bye, and some drew her some fun pictures. Lunch was yummy, as usual and Lisa and I spent most of our lunch break, planning our upcoming trip to Sri Lanka.
After lunch we made our way to Grace School. Time flew by with the 3rd Graders, where we worked on dark and light colors, capital letters, and geography. Our time with the 1st Grade was humorous as always. We practiced addition and subtraction, and dark and light colors. They were very well behaved today, but we had one boy who looked ill. We both went back to the house for a quick nap before heading to SEAM. The kids were excited to see us. Lisa spent the evening working with an older boy on his English, while I played games with the younger ones. We spent the evening racing, playing duck, duck, goose, red light/green light, ring around the rosie and Indian match. Then we finished the day with dinner back at the guest house.
“You are what you continually do.”
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