Ms. Chloe Scott's overall volunteer report

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Report-1 - Chloe Scott, volunteer

Weekly Reports: Sambhali Trust

Week One

The first days in any new place are daunting, especially when you are the only newcomer and everyone else knows each other. At Sambhali Trust, however, this passed quickly thanks to help from various fronts. Govind and his family were very welcoming, Casey, an intern at the project was amazing, answering every question I had, however stupid, patiently and comprehensively. The girls were perhaps the best at making me feel at home because they completely accepted me. They were not shy or quiet, making interaction easy. They were patient, repeating their names for me countless times, and they were funny and easy to get on with, despite the language barrier.

My first week at the projects was spent settling in. I learnt a few names, assessed their English levels, and looked at their sewing work. I also had conversations with some of the older girls whose English was better, it was then that I discovered that despite their happy demeanors and easy going attitudes, some of them had quite difficult backgrounds. While all the girls are from the Dalit, or Untouchable Caste, some of them had faced more challenges than others. They never complained, however, and if you didn't know some of their stories, you would never have guessed the problems that some of them have had to overcome.

Week Two

After an easy orientation in Week One, my second week at Sambhali threw me in at the deep end. On Sunday Govind and I visited his ancestral village, Setrawa, about 110km from Jodhpur, in order to meet a young woman called Dakhu Devi. Govind and Casey had met her previously, and on this return visit our aim was to remove her from the horrible situation that they had found her in. Dakhu is a twenty one year old woman who has spent the last four years or so tied to a tree. There is a more detailed report about Dakhu available on the Sambhali Trust website. Suffice to say seeing someone tied to a tree is about as bad as it sounds. It was certainly unlike anything that I had seen before, or expected to encounter in India, but the purpose of our visit was to arrange suitable care for Dakhu and my job was to gather information from her family and find organisations that could help. Unfortunately the two mental health charities we were dealing with ultimately failed to deliver any assistance, and we had to improvise, not wanting to let Dakhu down.

With Dakhu in hospital and receiving medical treatment, things at Sambhali continued as normal. I started my English classes with the girls, and I began to get to know them better. Although language was still a barrier, the individual personalities of the girls began to really come through. Sunita, for example, is the joker of the group, always the centre of any laughter, while Deepika is more serious and extremely earnest. What was really obvious was how much the girls respect Tammanah, the sewing teacher and only full time employee at the Sambhali Trust. She is the one who holds the girls together, disciplines them, praises them, and teaches them the skills that will help them develop some independence. Having no skill with a needle and thread myself I am still amazed at the complexity of Tammanah's designs, the speed at which she composes them, and the ease in which she teaches the girls

Week Three

Week Three began with Govind's birthday and the girls were eager to throw him a party. I assumed that this was because they were so grateful for everything that he had done for them that they wanted to give something back. While this was certainly true, I soon discovered that the girls would exploit any excuse for a party, however small. A successful birthday party was followed by not one, but two Anniversary parties for Govind and Mukta. These in turn were followed by a sustained party atmosphere for the rest of the week. In terms of English teaching not much was achieved, but I did manage to get a deeper insight into some of the girls' lives. Inspired by the recent festivities and trying to get the girls to return to their normal routine, I tried to do an exercise where we discussed birthdays. The first couples of girls asked responded in basic English, but the next girl I asked simply shook her head. I assumed that she didn't know how to say the month in which she was born in English, but that was not the case. She didn't know when her birthday was, and neither did many of the other girls. They had never celebrated their birthdays, or even been told when they were, no wonder, I realised that they enjoy parties so much, when they have never had any themselves.

Week Three was also my first week without Casey, as she had finished her internship the week before. Without her there to question about the mundane things I needed to know, I had to work them out for myself. The girls said a nice goodbye, and it was obvious how close they had become to her. After she left the kept asking when she would return.

Week Four

A the beginning of my fourth week at the Sambhali Trust the new Academic year started, and some of the girls were lucky enough to be enrolled in local schools. Getting them to go, however, was another matter. Being at Sambhali with their friends was a much more exciting prospect than school work for many of them. Monica was especially reluctant to return to school, and tried to dodge the issue whenever I brought it up with her. Eventually I discovered that her unwillingness to return to school was due to the fact that although she would be 19 at the end of July, she was only in the XII Standard (usually ages 11 to 12) at her school. She felt that she was above this level, but despite being top of her class the previous year, the school did not agree. At this point Monica's confidence was replaced by her stubborn streak, but she was eventually convinced to return to her school by Govind. While Monica's school is regarded as the best Hindi Middle school in Jodhpur, the other Sambhali girls who are lucky enough to receive a formal education are enrolled in a less prestigious, and cheaper, school. Both Govind and I were keen to ensure that Monica did not waste such an opportunity, especially as it was a chance that many of the other girls at Sambhali would really appreciate.

Due to the exodus of Sambhali in favour of schools, the number of girls who attended everyday decreased. With fewer girls to teach, the classes became easier and closer. It was sad to see that some of the most determined and clever girls at Sambhali were unable to go to school, especially Deepika and Sarika, both desperate to practice their English reading any opportunity. In cases like theirs, however, education sponsorship is not the answer. Deepika, for example, had to stop going to school after her father died, as her mother needed to work in order to support the family. A wider programme of family support is perhaps the only way to ensure girls in Deepika’s situation are able to continue their education.

Week Five

In my penultimate week at Sambhali I had the opportunity to visit Monica’s school and interview her principal about the education of girls in Jodhpur and Rajasthan. The results were interesting, and the contrast with the style of education in England was striking. The girls were very well behaved, very well turned out, and keen to learn. My attempts to question the principal about the possibility of subsidised fees for some of the Sambhali girls unfortunately fell on deaf ears. I was disappointed that we could not come to an arrangement, because I am sure that many of the girls would have really appreciated a place at the school. Unfortunately the school’s fees, virtually nothing to a westerner, are far out of reach for many families in Jodhpur. For the one pupil’s yearly fees at this school Sambhali would be able to fund three children at another local school. A full report on my school visits can be found on the Sambhali website.

The Sambhali girls received many visitors this week, mainly French, although a couple American and Mexican. The French visitors were touring India in groups of 15 or so, and were all aged 16-17. As they were the same age as many of the girls they were interested in meeting them and seeing some of their work. The girls, in their usual party spirit, used this as an opportunity to show off their dancing, and to learn some new moves. It was great to see the girls getting on so well with the visitors, especially considering the double language barrier. None of the girls speak French, and none of the French spoke Hindi, the result was a stilted pidgin English that seemed to work quite well! It certainly didn’t get in the way of the fun that they all had.

Week Six

My final week at Sambhali began with me telling the girls that I would be leaving them on Friday, they did not take this very well, and asked why I was not staying longer. I found myself asking the same question and regretted that I was unable to stay longer. Having only just mastered all the names, and still with some slips, I feel like I will be leaving just as I have really got to know the girls. On a positive note there will be many volunteers in the coming months and so the girls will not be short of other guinea pigs to practice their threading, dress up, and drag into dancing circles. My penultimate day was spent dancing and just sitting and talking with the girls. I had several offers of eyebrow threading, and numerous friendship bracelets were tied to my wrists. When I thanked one girl who gave me a bracelet, she turned to me and said “No, Chloe. We are friends! Friends don't need to say 'Thank you!'”

Chloe Scott

24^th July 2008

REPORT-2

SAMBHALI SCHOOL REPORT

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Badal Chand Sugan Kanwar School

On the 21^st of July I visited the Badal Chand School in Jodhpur. I had heard much about the area's ‘Premier Hindi Middle School’ and I was keen to see its students and teachers for myself. I had a special interest in the school as one of Sambhali’s most promising girls, 18 year old Monica Jod, had been enrolled for the past year.

On Monica’s first day back at school (My time at Sambhali coincided with the end of the school holidays and return to classes,) Monica came to Sambhali as usual and the girls helped her prepare for her classes, ironing her uniform, plaiting her hair, and rearranging her bag. Monica told me that her school started at midday and finished at 4pm. She listed the whole range of classes that awaited her, including Mathematics, Social Sciences, Sanskrit and English. Monica then invited me to accompany her to school one day. About three weeks into the term accepted her offer and went with her to the Badal Chand school, about 15 minutes walk from the Sambhali trust.

The classrooms were airy and clean, but in obvious need of some repairs. There were no displays decorating the walls as there usually are in UK schools, and there was a large blackboard at the front of every class. Despite the lack of decoration, the school was not short of resources. On my tour I was shown the impressive library, chemistry laboratory, and computer room. The English textbooks used in the class I watched were of good quality, clear and without any blindingly obvious mistakes. If the English teaching material at Sambhali were of such a good quality it would certainly make teaching easier. The Sanskrit books also seemed comprehensive, although I could not read them. The teachers were in control and taught their classes well. I observed no discipline problems, and received only positive reports of the school from its pupils.

While my tour of the school was interesting, more important for the purpose of my visit was my meeting with Mrs Mehta. I had hoped that an agreement could be reached between Badal Chand and the Sambhali Trust regarding scholarships or financial assistance for some of our participants. Mrs. Mehta was unable to offer any kind of aid to the Sambhali girls, ut encouraged me to enroll more of them at the school.

SunCity School

The Sambhali participants who are enrolled in school through the Literacy Programme are usually sent to a less costly school. On Wednesday the 23^rd of July I visited the SunCity School in Jodhpur, about 20 minutes walk from Sambhali, in the opposite direction to Badal Chand. Eight Sambhali participants are enrolled there, including the two sons of Meera, one of our older and more respected participants. The headmistress, Mrs. Lata Chauhan, was unable to speak English and an associate of the school was called to speak to me, a Mr. S P Singh. In the building next to the SunCity school an extension was being built in order to house XI and XII Standards. I was told the extension would be completed within 3 months and would include the laboratories needed for XI and XII Standard science. Unfortunately due to the building work there was a power cut and I was unable to sit in on a class and observe how the teaching conducted

A Comparison between the schools

The SunCity School was an instant visual contrast to Badal Chand with no gates or guards. The fees at SunCity, ranging from 125-300 rupees per month, were significantly lower than the 7000 rupees per academic year at Badal Chand.

When comparing the schools, the contrast is obvious. The curriculum is the same at both, but the resources vary greatly. The SunCity School had no library, and asks its pupils to buy their own textbooks. It does however, provide free resources to less advantaged pupils. The lack of computer facilities in both schools was surprising, especially as computers are such an important tool in the modern world. Badal Chand had 11 computers for the 500 enrolled girls, while SunCity had only 4 between 280 pupils.

The issue of single- sex versus co-educational schools arose in the discussions, with both representatives agreeing that single sex education was preferable for VI to XII standards. SunCity, however, did not have the resources to educate its pupils in a single sex environment. Nor does SunCity have the sports or music facilities available to the pupils at Badal Chand. At Badal Chand at least one extracurricular activity is compulsory, such as music lessons, debating classes or extra sports classes. At SunCity all the school could offer were improvised sports games, as they had no suitable playing fields. No music lessons or other extracurricular activities were available.

To conclude, the education received by the Sambhali children at Badal Chand and SunCity is far superior to the basic lessons that can be offered by Sambhali volunteers. Many of the girls’ families are willing to send their daughters to school provided there is no financial burden on them, and so increasing school sponsorship is crucial. This is especially important due to the fact that the schools offer little provision for underprivileged students. Badal Chand offers up to 4 scholarships a year, while SunCity offers none, but will provide some materials for free in cases of need.

As well as the basic school fees, there are extra costs associated with the girls schooling. Badal Chand has just changed its uniform from dresses to salwar kameez suits and other things mentioned under, and SunCity also requires children to have two uniforms, shoes, each pair in a different color, school syllabus, conveyance and other requirements related to school of children annually.

The proportion of lower caste students at the schools is higher than I would have expected. Mrs. Mehta at Badal Chand told me that this was because higher caste families were removing their children from Hindi schools and putting them in English speaking schools, which are viewed as being more fashionable and a good preparation for a career in the west. With fees starting at around 25 000 rupees a year, it would be near to impossible for the Sambhali Trust to hope to send even one girl to an English Middle School.

I would recommend that the Sambhali Trust continues to enroll its participants in the SunCity School, with the view to placing pupils that show a particular aptitude for academic work, such as Monica, in the Badal Chand school. There the numerous extracurricular activities would benefit students who are capable of more challenging activities.

Chloe Scott

24^th July 2008