Setrawa pictures and Ms. Anna's Report

Setrawa project's monthly experience report by Ms. Anna and few pictures, overall impression report from Ms.Anna, Ms. Karelia's reports. Annual report by Ms.Mary to come soon on the blog. Volunteers at Sambhali Setrawa project.

Below Dadi, our eldest participant.
Below Sewing class, setrawa village project Karelia and the kids from junior class.SPORTS TIME!!
Bus stand of Setrawa below.

Celebration at of the houses in Setrawa Village


The Country around the Project Building at Setrawa.


Deers on distance on the dune, must have ran away from camera.

The 2 cenethopes on edge of the old city(600 year old ruins) of setrawa. Earth querry for digging out sand stone is distroying the old homes of the deserted village.
your neibhour on the tree in the courtyard of Sambhali setrawa project below.
Some thoughts on the projects and my very personal experiences and feelings

Living in Setrawa
Now that I have spent some month in India in different places taking in the dazzling, contrasting, amazing and as well repelling new world, things just start to take on a certain meaning and structure in my brain. Sitting in front of Meena’s fathers shop and watching life going on, is not just an ever so colorful spectacle but I start recognizing people I’ve seen before, knowing what is sold in which shop, realizing cast differences: a group of men with darker complexion, untidy hair, wearing rags, their head and shoulders bent and another man in spotless white cloth, a bright colored turban, striding proudly across the road. They constitute and share live in the same village; still their social status refers to the old tradition of different casts. What does that mean to them? How does official Indian politic affect them, if at all? How does the refugee family of Meena slot in this village life? How do people feel about rich westerns coming along to “help” them?
Slowly, slowly I learn, will I ever understand? Explain this world to me!
Walking through the village and outside the village is not just a pleasure but also instructive because of all the observations of daily life we can gather. I noticed the truly military morning drill at the school behind our place, noticed the young boys working at the roadside tea places. They don’t go to school. I wonder why? We see the girls and boys in their school uniforms coming in small groups a long way walking on dusty roads in the early morning. We listen to the complaints of the government school teacher, that only 20 out of 80 girls turn up at school and see the teacher’s frustration. We notice the men starting their day at the tea place with no urge to hurry to a daily work. I see the little boy at the veggie stall having only a few rupees’ in his tiny hand buying as many potatoes as he can get for his family: it bought him four potatoes. Seeing the boys running barefoot through the garbage and sewage mixture in front of the temple: they don’t bother, noticing where the girls are at home.
There is this experience: wandering through their world full of wonders, fighting the same fights against the sand, cooking, shopping, washing, saving water the same than everybody and still so different.
Looking into eyes: distant, dark and deep, knowing the epics of a world completely secret to us, knowing unknowingly of people’s struggles, successes, glory and pain. Time has a different meaning, my feeling of time starts to change as my staying here exceeds. I change my view … and it feels alright.


Setrawa Sambhali

Regarding the Sambhali project I feel a deep desire to better understand the world of the girls and women I am dealing with, particularly their

ideas about life,
desires and fears,
feelings towards each other
dreams and beliefs,
roots, history and religion,
education,
struggles and difficulties
values they’ve been taught,
skills they are trained in,
traditions supporting and binding them

and all the things that make up their life including the caste system.

Not understanding each others different cultures sometimes causes friction in daily life as my western style expectations are not understood by the village people and our different approach to shared resources leave at least question marks on both sides:
Why are so many of the students notoriously late? Why does a strange girl walk in the classroom/ bedroom during class and starts flicking through the students books and messing them up, behaving like she owns the place? Why is it so hard for them asking permission, before they help themselves to supplies? Why do some girls/ women not even bother to take on any responsibility for the class even when asked for (like to picking up a pencil left on the floor)? Why do they demand things in a commanding voice: Anna pencil, book, eraser, what ever!!! Why do they laugh about something, why do the girls start giggling?

English afternoon class: Big girls
English lessons with the big girls are definitely worth the effort it takes preparing them. I try a skill based system (reading, comprehension, conversation, vocabulary – and no more spelling, please!J). Lessons are structured by cooperative learning
Ideas: think, pair, share. This structure ensures that every student is active during lesson and interacts with others in the process of learning. Thus learning becomes a process they organize and evaluate themselves, taking on responsibility for their own learning process as well as for others.

I like the girls spirits – once they get the message, what I want them to try, they are so eager, they help and support each other with reading, learning vocabulary, comprehension – and still it is hard for them to forget the teacher centered way of teaching they are so used to. They don’t put up much resistance to my ideas.
I told them this is not the usual kind of school but Sambhali school, which is a different place for a different experience: empowering women, learn how to learn, try your skills, improve them, work together, appreciate the qualities of classmates. Explaining something to someone else helps both to better understand. Accept the mutual dependence and the challenges encountered. Of course I have Meena to translate my appeals.
And they do! It is so rewarding! It is hot, it is sticky, students are crammed in, it is late afternoon – but still in the end of the lesson when I feel tired and in need for a break I struggle to stop them working, to make them go home! I can’t help but love them.

Arts and crafts

I was a bit afraid teaching the arts and crafts class as I know I am not qualified in these things. When I came to Setrawa I saw what Amanda did, saw the women embroidering and I felt even more insufficient.
I had a team meeting with the other volunteers (Karene and Elly) before they left and brainstorming surfaced some good ideas, which I put into action. Papermache was fun and salt dough as well. Rekha and Usha are really great supporters. And still it is sometimes difficult to cooperate with Rekha. I noticed she was starting her own project without letting me know, what was going on. But then with a little delay (it’s India!) things work out well and I am satisfied with the work. Never knowing the meaning to the women, though.

Support
Govind is always supporting our work in every possible way. He is always open to suggestions. It is fantastic to see the improvements happening in this short period of time I am here. Local teachers have been employed, so the precious time women and girls in both projects spent together is used with great efficiency. They get good instructions which lead to quality work. The project gets more self sustainable and less dependant on volunteers. It’s still a great place for vounteers.

Some suggestions for the future
Administration in Setrawa
- enrollment and quitting of participants should be formalized and controlled regularly,
- have a suitable computer form for this duties,
- regular checking of attendance lists à ask for reasons of absence, take consequences if necessary,
- have students/ participants details in a file, make it available in English
- have someone being responsible for administration (continuously),
- evaluate the progress/ personal success of each participant, whatever that is.

For volunteers
- give introduction to special culture, religious, social, caste etc. background,
- have follow up meetings on these subjects, take on responsibility for the education of volunteers,
- teach basic Hindi, culture techniques.

Mary's final impression report

Sambhali Trust
Mary Polizzotti report
April 10, 2008
I tried to arrive in Jodhpur with zero expectations. I had no idea what I was about to experience, where I was going, who these girls were, or what this project was really all about. I was excited with anticipation as I stepped off the plane. Govind whisked me away to Durag Niwas Guest House where, as we pulled up to the arched doorway, I saw a line of giggling girls extending down the hallway. He turned to me and said, ‘The girls have come to meet you.’ I was confused; it was Sunday, their day off. But they had all made the choice to come and meet the new volunteer. As I entered, Mukta, Govind’s wife, adorned me with two strands of orange and gold marigolds, and marked my forehead with a traditional rice and crimson bindi. The girls were laughing, reaching out to me, checking me out, and chattering as I walked by them waving hello and hi, taking in all of their gorgeous faces. I was so touched I fought back tears.
I felt immediately accepted and loved by the girls and women of Sambhali Trust. There was never a moment when I felt any of them were suspicious of me, wary of me, or not appreciative of my presence there. Knowing a bit about their backgrounds, how rough their short lives had been compared to my own, their lack of opportunities, and how none of them had ever really had access to a truly great education, I felt so fortunate to be unabashedly welcomed into their lives for a short while.
My original intention coming to Sambhali Trust was to write their first annual report, which would give them a greater platform to show the world who they are and what they are doing. But to do this, I felt I really needed to spend the first week getting to know the girls and to gain a sense of how the projects, both Jodhpur and Setrawa village, worked. Charlotte was still volunteering during my first week there, so I followed her lead for the first day. We taught Basic English from 11am – 1pm, which ends up starting about 30 minutes late, as girls are arriving, catching up with each other, going to the bathroom together, and setting up the “classroom.” Well, many of them are teenage girls after all. I found it hard to enforce strict rules because of the hardship they all left behind at the door. Most of these girls, ages 8-38, are cooking, cleaning, taking care of babies and siblings and fathers and mothers, well before they make it to the refuge of Sambhali Trust.
That first week, Charlotte and I taught English together, neither of us having any experience teaching before. We reviewed colors, basic songs like the alphabet, days of the week, and basic greetings. The majority of them were obviously well versed with “hello, how are you? I am fine and you? I am happy, gooooood, I am 15 years old, bye!” It was great to watch their personalities shine through and learn their names slowly. As with any girls, some were very outspoken, and some shy and reserved, hiding behind calm smiles and wide eyes.
I felt we needed some new vocabulary and I was frankly tired of the “good morning song” so one day, Charlotte and I burned a CD of some Madonna songs. We wrote the lyrics of Holiday on the whiteboard and helped them to learn the chorus. Soon enough, we had them belting out Madonna. They particularly loved the line “it would be, it would be so nice!” Even girls from the sewing class in the other room would peek in enviously. Some of them were bold and danced with Charlotte and I, but mostly I think they enjoyed watching us dance around the room because they kept yelling “Char and Mary, dance!” And then they would repeat the song again. I think in 3 weeks we listened to Holiday about 134 times if not more. Usually in the morning, I woke up to the song since my bedroom was adjacent to the workshop area and the girls put Holiday on from the moment they walked into Sambhali Trust.
Charlotte and I befriended another Aussie staying in the guesthouse, Clare. An art teacher by trade, we begged her to have an art class with the girls in the afternoon, which between 1-3pm, was somewhat reserved for chilling out, arts and crafts, bracelet-making, gossiping, chai, games, relaxing, and whatever else they wanted to do. Clare agreed and taught them about blending colors, drawing points of reference and other artsy stuff. Charlotte and I sat in the back trying to learn something, since our stick figures paled in comparison to what everyone else was drawing. The girls were completely absorbed in their work and some were quite adept at the task.
One particular Saturday, which is normally reserved for playing games outside at the playground next door, it was sweltering hot. Charlotte and I decided it would be a fantastic surprise to take everybody to get ice cream at National Handloom, which does indeed have the most amazing Krishna Softy & Softy. So we gathered 33 ladies and strolled down the street on the field trip. Apparently, some of the patrons at the store were speaking condescendingly to the girls, saying that they were there “taking advantage of foreign women” i.e. Charlotte and I. It’s amazing that people recognize Harijan women from the lowest caste of society and treat them differently, when to my eyes, they look like and dress like everybody else in the store. En route home to the project, some men stopped us on the street and asked curiously “Why are so many women walking together on the street? Where we come from this is very unusual.” Our girls responded, “Do you have a problem with this?” When they shook their head no, our girls said, “Well mind your own business then.” Many months of attending Sambhali Trust has obviously worked wonders in helping them stand up to prejudices against them and men in particular.
During two days of my stay, we visited the Setrawa project about 2 hours away. Setrawa is a bit more structured with a one-room schoolhouse and space for sewing and textile work. The girls and women there were, again, thrilled to have visitors and welcomed me with open arms. They surrounded me and stared, giggling. They showed off some of their handicrafts which are very impressive and I asked all of the girls their names and ages. The desert heat can make the small room slightly oppressive but you would never know it as smiles were wide and enthusiasm, obvious. At one point, I was surrounded by girls eager to decorate me and the other guests with henna. Their attention to detail was astounding and their patience unmatched. Everybody wanted the chance to draw on me and I felt pampered by the girls, they seem completely unaware that this one skill could be a lucrative business in the western world! There are more young children wanting to learn basic English in Setrawa, and it’s interesting to see so many older women coming to class with their babies in tow – again, it’s evident they enjoy their time spent learning in Setrawa as well as associating with the other females. A strong women’s network is clearly forming and really enforces the Sambhali Trust goal of creating unity among women. This is impressive considering the Setrawa project was only born a mere 5 months ago! Govind and his supporters should be commended for such a positive initiative.
Back in Jodhpur, another 2 weeks passed of teaching Basic English and working on the annual report. Teaching did not come without its trials and tribulations. The group was usually eager to learn, however there was a division between the girls abilities. About 75% of them could comprehend writing, speaking the words and sentences, and associating them with what I wrote on the board. However, the other 25% can copy the writing, repeat the words, but are unable to make the connection between seeing the word and understanding it when speaking and writing. Never having taught before, I was stunned to learn that those whose comprehension was the weakest had never attended school or had minimal schooling. Those who were quick to understand at least had attended some basic years of school. This was one of my most startling observations of Indian society – the amount of children who are not in school. I am shocked that the government overlooks this especially when the country is vying for the position as one of the world’s next superpowers. This will not happen with such an atrocious education system. I learned that some of the younger girls did not attend school because they were previously beaten and abused in the public school. And who can afford private school? These girls struggle to survive on a daily basis, 80% are malnourished, and education, if even possible, is reserved for the men. Another tragedy is the lack of childhood vaccinations; I couldn’t believe that Anita, a beautiful and serene girl, had been stricken with polio and is now constrained to drag herself around on the ground for the rest of her life. It’s absolutely heartbreaking!
In Jodhpur, it would be beneficial for the girls to have 2 separate classes for English, but only with more volunteers and/or the hiring of a local teacher would this be feasible. Some of the girls like Kirin, Soniya, Sarika, Savita, Lajwanti and Deepika have solid basic knowledge and could really take off with some more advanced lessons. Other girls such as Asha, Bharti, and Saroj need to start from the very beginning of reading and writing. Their handwriting is excellent, but they need more one on one attention to advance. And then there is Sandhya and Anita for example, who I know comprehend and just need an extra nudge. Sandhya was always quick to look for the answer from somebody else, but when I forced her to answer, she would. It was very gratifying!
I took out the atlas one day and we discussed the continents, countries and cities, how many hours are in a day, north, south, east, west... I was proud that after a few days, they all knew that Mary came from North America and they all lived in Asia. I think they were surprised to know how long an airplane takes for me to get to Jodhpur (about 24 hours!) and that yes we have cows were I live, but they’re in fields, not walking down the city streets – they nodded with unfathomable curiosity. I also covered a lot of questions, when, where, how many, which kind, so they may be able to move on from their basic four questions. I made them act out ‘what did you do yesterday?’ every day. Performing definitely helped with all of their comprehension. We covered prepositions religiously with me jumping around ‘behind’ and ‘in front of,’‘in the corner,’ and ‘near and far.’ The best feeling was when somebody like Kirin would ask about a word with a furrowed brow and I would explain with actions or more words until her face would soften with understanding and she would proceed to explain to everybody else. Another funny victory was one day I decided to teach them some American slang. We rehearsed ‘Hey Dude, how are you dude?’ Every day after that, the moment I would walk into class and say hello, Sarika was the first to say brazenly ‘Hey Dude how are you?!’ I also taught them ‘chatterbox’ because they would get distracted and be babbling about. On a particularly noisy day, I interrupted and asked ‘Geez, do you girls know what you are right now?’ Pooja, a girl who usually sat quiet in the back, hunched shoulders, barely speaking a word, responded “Chatterbox!” I was thrilled to know she listened and understood.
The day before my last class, I informed all of them it would be my last day there and I teasingly threatened that they better show up. The next day I walked into class to see it had doubled in size and also with faces I had never seen before! I was bewildered that the girls had apparently brought new friends to Sambhali Trust, it was great. The next surprise was that they came bearing gifts! They took turns giving me earrings, a photo frame, a wallet. I was, again, moved to tears. These girls who have nothing were so generous and thankful to me, and I felt so unworthy of their benevolence. I grabbed my camera so we could take a group photo which I promised to put in the frame they gave me. A few of them said ‘you are best teacher!’ I know they say this to all volunteers but it still felt amazing.
Sambhali Trust is really still in its infancy as an organization. It has been fortunate to have a wide variety of volunteers from all over the world who have helped to shape and develop the organization with their own expertise and skills. The project is obviously doing wonders for the girl’s self-esteem, confidence, and maturity in both Jodhpur and Setrawa. There are many ways in which Sambhali Trust can grow especially because the founder and backbone, Govind Rathore, has endless ideas, enthusiasm, and support from friends, family, and increasingly, the world. Now, with the aid of the original Board and the newly formed Advisory Board, Sambhali Trust has the ability to step up to the next level and really make a difference in these women’s lives. I can’t wait to come back in a year and see how far it has come and I’m so grateful I have the opportunity to be a part of it. Thank you!

Ms.Karelia and Ms. Anna's report with the annual report On the way.

Medical Camp - Jodhpur Project - 22nd February 2008

Strong, tearless Bharati
Soniya ready to donate blood sample for the hemoglobin test.
Nutritionist lady doctor providing the girls home available remedies for little problems with health.
Reena with dentist
Team of doctors, helpers visiting Sambhali Jodhpur project.

Khamaghani Readers,

This afternoon from 3.00pm to 5.00pm we had a team of 3 doctors, 1 helper and 1 lab technician from Goyal and Satyam Hospitals, they came to do a nutrision program, dental program and regular checkup. Yes a Medical Camp.

Some of the girls were happy and some of them were very upset due to the drops of blood they gave for the hemoglobin test (scared of injection needles).

80% of the participants are malnourished.

2 need to get tooth extracted, cavity problems.

9 need a medicated toothpaste for bleeding gums.

14 are less in weight and are unhealthy with skin, hair, color or something.

We are planning to start up a nutrition project for the daily suppliments that the girls require in their bodies to fight the malnourishment.

Tests were made, here are the results from 2 of the participants, one example of the minimum percent of himoglobin and one with the maximum percentage. The team of doctors did us a huge favor by collecting medicines and priscribing the participants with medicine for a month usage.

Invitation to the first annual gathering of Sambhali students

Dear Friends,
We are happy to announce the first annual gathering of all Sambhali Participants from both Jodhpur and Setrawa on the 10th of May 08, Saturday, at 11.00 am in Jodhpur.
We are very excited that all of the Sambhali women and girls will be meeting for the first time; it will be a unique event when different cultures, traditions and castes will be interacting on one platform.
The day will include traveling for those who have never been out of their village, a lunch, special guest speakers, art and craft exhibitions, games and other festivities.

We are kindly seeking your generous support to help make this a successful day. Kindly help in every possible way by contacting us .

For further details please contact Mr. Govind Singh Rathore EMail:- info@sambhali-trust.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ms. Annuradha Jain

I had a very humbling experience of seeing the Sambhali Setrawa project first hand, meeting some lovely volunteers and the amazing little girls of the project. Setrawa is a small desert village in the middle of nowhere. As soon as you enter the village you see boys playing in dirt, people selling vegetables, women doing their daily chores in scorching heat, kids asking you to click their pictures and a general calmness in the atmosphere. But then you notice something else that stands out; there is a barebones three room refuge for the unprivileged women and girls, ‘Sambhali’ proudly painted on it. Govind Sa took us inside and the most wonderful thing was that I didn’t even need to be introduced. Within few minutes I was surrounded by giggling little girls and curious faces. Everyone wanted to know what my name was, where I was from and once I talked to them in hindi, they seem so amazed and excited that they could talk to me directly.In one room there was an arts and crafts class for the women. It was like a burst of colors. I met Manju and Rekha who certainly seemed very passionate and happy about Sambhali being in their village. And I met several other women from the village who were making beautiful paper maché products, painting bed spreads, making handbags and sewing. Everyone I talked to seemed to be beaming with pride for being in Sambhali. Some of them mentioned how good they felt to get away from everything and come to Sambhali to paint their heart out. This was there little refuge. The other room was filled with beautiful little girls learning English etc. They proudly sang their favorite English songs and alphabets. They all seemed to be inspired by their teachers a lot. When I asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, most of them answered “teacher”. There was one who wanted to be a pilot and then another one who said doctor. They all were giggling and seemed to be at home. They loved to have their picture taken and were very eager to talk. There were only a few girls who were too shy to talk much but I could see what wonders sambhali had done for their self esteem. They told me stories about things they learned here, skipping lunch to come to Sambhali so that they do not miss anything. This was their safe haven, where they all made friends, laughed, shared ups and downs and learned together. This is where their life was transformed from nobody to someone special. The thing that really touched my heart was how every girl wanted to take me to their home. I could only visit two homes but was truly touched by their big hearts and willingness to welcome strangers to their homes. To me this showed their total trust on Sambhali volunteers. They all doted Govind Sa that spoke volumes about his love for this project. Govind Sa mentioned how they needed more volunteers for this season. This is certainly a wonderful work for the girls of Setrawa but just by being there and talking to the volunteers I realized how much it had touched their own lives too. If you stay with such loving innocent souls how could it not change your life too? If you are ever in Jodhpur area, I highly recommend visiting Sambhali project and finding time to volunteer and raise funds for such a noble work.

Visit of the Setrawa Project and volunteer report, April 2008

Sambhali Song by Setrawa project participants



Sambhali Site http://www.sambhali-trust.org/ has been updated with latest news, the annual report by Ms. Mary will be ready until thursday, I hope you will like reading about us from the whole year.

Ms. Mary from the LP Publication based in the USA, working in the team as volunteer to do an Annual Report for Sambhali Trust from 17th January 07 till 31st March 08.









Birds enjoying Thali (Indian dish consisting of different Curries, Breads, Rice etc.)




Boy in Setrawa village swinging
Setrawa Village kids with Laxmi in front on the left
Introduction by Ms. Smeeta, Director of FSD Jodhpur program.
Pilgrims enroute Setrawa village, Pilgrims to Ramdevra temple.
Laxmi's mother noticing us pass by her house.

Ms. Rekha, Ms. Lillian and Guddi listening carefully
Particpants of Setrawa Project
Meera, Paticipant of Setrawa Project
Guddi and Mary, Setrawa project
Laxmi, Setrawa project Junior class participant

Sambhali Updates and few Pictures:
This morning, Mary and I went to Setrawa project with Ms. Lillian, Ms. Smeeta and Ms. Shipra from Foundation of Sustainable Development (FSD) branch in Jodhpur. We invited our guests for a field visit of Setrawa Project. Some pictures are from our visit to Setrawa. It was a great to talk to know the Setrawa project girls more. Now we have particpants coming from distance of 12 kilometers from Sointra Village and the word is spreading. The girls looked very confident and were happy to be at the project and it is also very nice to know more people in NON profit organisation department. Ladies from FSD were very impressed. There has been a sand storm and rain, shade outside the rooms which looks like a tent flew away, the roof from house was leaking, volunteers or we didn't expect this non monsoon rain and early sand storm, usualy sand storms are active around Mid April, May and June.

(Next days newspaper article from the guys we took to the police Station. Headlines:- Women caught two Romeos!!!! one information on the newspaper is not very correct where they wrote that Mary is volunteering from FSD. The journalist called and appolozised).

On the way back from the village, we saw 4 men in a car drinking and disturbing women on the street. We heard them passing nasty comments on the girls and creating problems for the pedestrian women and girls around the women college. For some time I was noticing them doing it and it was tough for me to see the "eve teasing" and I couldn't help calling the police right away, now until the police came we had to stop this drunk men, now Smeeta, the director of FSD in Jodhpur, Shipra, Mary and I jumped out of our car which we parked just in front of their car to stop them drive off and got them out of their car, Smeeta slapped two of them, I took the car keys out, Mary and Shipra were shouting at them and we had about 200 witnesses. Finally after 15 minutes of arguments with this men, police turned up and the newspaper showed up and we managed to get 2 guys out of 4 taken to the police station, 2 ran off when police came. We joined these men to the police station, made sure medical examination was set and the guys were behind bars for this night. Moral of the story: the perverts got their lesson and we came back home happy and made a little difference in the safety of women in Urban areas.


Report from Ms. Charlotte from Australia from her experiance in both Setrawa and Jodhpur project below with Picture. (sorry for unfinished report put in earlier).

Thanks a lot for your time Char, it means a lot to the projects.

Before arriving in Setrawa, I had previously traveled the South and parts of Rajasthan. So to me, the village of Setrawa came as no shock. Except maybe showering with a bucket, having to cook for myself or trying to explain what a capsicum was to man at the fruit market. Lucky for me our next door neighbor Goonjan was talented in many areas of life. She taught me how to cook a different type of cipatti every night! If we ever needed any help she was always there, whether it was turning on the gas stove, calling us to start the water pump or translating to our jeep driver/ vegie man.

I remember the first afternoon I arrived; I found myself playing a cricket match with many of the local children. The teams consisted of, Team Australia comprising of myself, and Team India which was the rest of the child population of Setrawa. To their surprise however, my batting and bowling was spot on, leaving Team India out for 15. What I liked most about Setrawa, was the tight-knit community, and lack of hesitation anyone had in helping anyone else.

In Setrawa I took the morning sewing class and the afternoon English class with girls aged 12 to 18 years. During the morning sewing class, we made a patch work pillow. Each girl was given a small patch of calico and asked to design their name on it using fabric paint, embroidery or beads. Previous volunteers have made comment on the lack of individuality amongst the group. To overcome this, I nominated a different craft to each girl. This project was very successful and quite unique as a result of being individually creative.

By 4-oclock it was time to take the afternoon English girls. We originally had both afternoon classes in one room, however as the week progressed, it was too hot to hold both classes in the same room, so class was moved into my bedroom. I found it really difficult teaching English because the girls are all at very different levels. The girls in Setrawa find it very easy to write English as most attend school, yet struggle to speak it. We encountered a problem with one of the girls from our class as her English literacy was at a very elementary level. As a result she wasn’t able to participate in the activities. We tried to solve the problem, trialing her in the small children’s class, however she felt uncomfortable, so she rejoined our class. This is the case with other girls too, yet we have come up with no solution. There are not enough volunteers to split the English classes into, beginners, intermediate and advanced, so we have no choice.

On Friday afternoons we introduced sport for the two classes. I think this class is really important for the girls’ health and also because they get to be actively involved. They love this class, they love jump rope, and they are certainly not afraid to hit a cricket ball for six.
The Setrawa project has so much potential because there are so many girls who want to be educated. There were very few girls absent over the two week period. In the case where Karishma was unable to attend school, she wrote out an application explaining why she needed time off. The help of local teachers to help has also been a huge help. Without the local teachers I would have struggled immensely. There is so much heart in the people of Setrawa, it is for that reason I had such a positive experience.
After I had been in Setrawa for two weeks, I was moved into the Jodhpur project where I was opened up to yet another new world and more great experiences. My arrival into the Jodhpur project happened to coincide with Holi Week. Holi Week is the festival before harvest. I think in total I celebrated Holi for three days, left soaking wet, pink skin, 1 pair of ripped pants, an array of multi-colored clothes and 1 sandal. Constant water fights, Rajasthani dance and a lot of chocolate, was a great way to be introduced into the project!
The girls in Jodhpur were not shy and very affectionate towards me, which made me feel very comfortable. By the second day girls were saying ‘I love you Char, I miss you Char”. I found that the Jodhpur project was more of a refuge for the girls to hang out. After English in the morning we usually sat around dancing, painting, doing each others henna or making bracelets. There isn’t quite as much structure as Setrawa, as such I found that with it more relaxed I was able to get to know the girls better.

Similar to Setrawa, it is hard to teach Basic English, as all the girls are at different levels. The girls are a lot more distracted in Jodhpur. And on numerous occasions up to six girls would be missing from class, so when revising over work, many didn’t understand previous lessons. I think that there needs to be some kind of action taken against girls that do not attend class numerous occasions, it’s unfair to others and when they fall behind it is very noticeable. I believe that the Jodhpur project would be more successful if there was a way of encouraging the girls to attend as if they were at school.
However, there was one consistency during my two weeks, and that was the answer to the question “Who is your idol?” Every single girl when asked replied with Govind Rathore Singh. To be spoken of so highly from all girls in the project goes to show how much time and effort Govind has put in, which is also reflected in the girls attitude towards him.
I’m not sure how common it is to see 15+ girls chasing after men through Mandore park, but I certainly know how rare it is to see woman standing up for themselves to Indian men. After cruel words from pitiful men were yelled down to a group of us in Mandore, it was on. Meera gathered 15 girls muttering “I’m going to teach them a lesson”, and began to chase the men through the park, until they reached them and were satisfied with payback. Rumor has it, our girls threw a few punches, unfortunately I was a little too slow, and missed the action. This story shows that the girls are becoming more independent and have the ability to stand up for themselves in social situations. It proves that the Jodhpur project is certainly working at empowering woman.
I've really appreciated working in the Jodhpur project. It's truly amazing to see how happy these girls are in spite of the dire circumstances in which they live. I regret not been able to stay in the project longer, I was only able to spend a short time at each place, which made it really hard get to know the girls on a more personal basis. Once I began getting close with the girls, I knew I had to leave. However I am so happy that I was able take part in both projects, as they are both so completely different!
Taking part in the project has been a great experience. I have learnt so much from the venture and especially the girls. I found teaching a very rewarding experience and living in both Setrawa and Jodhpur has given me the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. I enjoyed the project especially because I feel there could have been no better way to be immersed in the culture.

Sambhali in April 2008

Happy April!!

Literacy project participant Kavita's birthday,c elebrating it with Sambhali Jodhpur girls and step sister (Savita, Jodhpur project participant) sitting next to her.
Deepika Jodhpur Project particpant at Clair's Art class, Guest volunteer from Australia.

Palms of Jodhpur project particpants
New participant (cousine from Monica, diabetic, not going to school), Mamta
Potraits from each other, few girls participated at Jodhpur project, Mary's class.
Annual Meeting of Board Members from right to left-Govind Singh Rathore, Mukta Kanwar, Badan Kanwar, Rashmi Rathore, Virendra Singh Chouhan and Mr. Devi Sharan Singh Shaktawat, member of advisory board, administrator and legal advisor.
Deepika and Sarika at Clair's class (art workshop) - very motivated!!

Setrawa Project participants, picture taken when we had guest from UK, Ms. Chloe and Mr. Francisco.
Girls Jodhpur project, getting ready for morning prayers.
Participants from Jodhpur project at Ms. Clair's class.
Ms. Charlotte, Ms. Mary and Ms. Clair invited participants from Jodhpur project to walk to the departmental store near our workshop building for a treat of ice cream, participants enjoying ice cream.
All participants at Jodhpur project dancing on Hokey Pokey song.

Sambhali Trust:
Today we did our annual meeting, all set for the Red Tape (Government policy), 5 of us the board members were present and discussed a lot of issues and the achievments. We have thanked all our Supporters, Volunteers, Participants, Teachers for the year and specially Ms. Mary for doing our Annual Report. Our audit of the year is under process and will be upto date in a day or two. Virendra and my father in law, Mr. Shaktawat, have worked very hard with our not very easy account manager. We have requested few other Sambhali Trust friends to join on a little board formed few weeks ago by us trustees, it is an advisory board, which has Mary Polizzotti from the USA, Sales Manager Lonely Planet publication in the USA, Ms. Colleena Shakti from USA, Founder of "Shakti school of dance", Mr. Kamlesh Ratnu from Jodhpur, working with INIFD, Marichika Studio and is a Fashion Designer, Mr. Dilip Singh Rajawat from Jaisalmer, Ex-President of the Lions Club and has a Factory of producing Aloe Vera Products, Mrs. Madhu Kanwar from Jodhpur who is working in tourism for 14 years and last but not least Mr. Devi Sharan Singh Shaktawat from Jamuniya, experianced Lawyer for 40 years and Professor of law at Neemuch Law University. This Holi, after staying in touch with emails, finally we got to host Ms. Annuradha Jain, a lovely guest from USA, we are thankfull to Ms. Annuradha for her precious time she spared for Jodhpur and Setrawa projects and for her generous contribution to the project and wise thoughts. We look forward to hosting you some day again.