Muchísimas gracias a Manos Unidas también.

 Workplan being made in a RWP meeting, by the community in Jhitaar on 15th November 2018.

 Water tank under construction by community in Banpur village.. (left and below; Pics received 29th Nov 2018)

Weather is cold but rains have stopped and therefore community is able to proceed..
The water in these tanks will sustain various crops in the higher fields which do not have access to irrigation..

Thank you Sohan and Mangat Ram ji!
Big thank you to Manos Unidas as well..

Introducing Kabir Das

The dohas and the wisdom of Kabir Das, the great 15th century poet and saint seem to be ever-present in the Indian folklore/colloquial wisdom. And yet there are so many layers of timeless wisdom in his words that no matter how many times one has heard or read them, there is always something new  to be discovered if one is paying attention.

It was our pleasure to introduce Kabirdas to our children at Apna school. Unsurprisingly, children seem to have fallen in love with his dohas, and also hopefully are beginning to sink their teeth into their meaning. 

Its impossible to miss the joy with which they sing!

November 2018, second half

24th Nov, 2018: Chain Singh ji ha attended a bridge course in Chakarat, offered by education department.

26th Nov, 2018: In pursuit of excellence, we requested Baba Bhuman Shah Vidyalay, to give us a glimpse of how they maintain discipline in their school. 

26 Nov, 2018: We participated in an open discussion facilitated by the Principal, Mr Abhishek Thakur, teachers and some children. From SMTA, Chain Singh ji, Ankush and Sachin participated. We have decided to introduce some new ideas in Apna School: a personal self-reflection journal by the teachers; a scoring system for every child documenting his / her behaviour in class (sort of profile, so that the child could be understood better and counselled appropriately. Lastly, corporal punishment will be given up in favor of better ways of motivating children. 

November 16th onwards

We had a staff meeting (four of us at Vikasnagar) at Assan barrage on 16th Nov.
From 18-21 Nov. Sachin visited Jakhadhar. He spent some time with students: taught an English lesson to class five and showed a movie: "Where the red fern grows". The students were also given supplemental nutrition too (see the picture).
On 20th Nov. Ankush and Sachin went to Jogio and interacted with community and the government primary school staff at Jogio.

Ruben Maggi return...

After a brief stay, Maggi & Ruben returned on 14th November.
11th Nov (Sunday) we had a general body meeting: most people turned up to greet Ruben and Maggi: Maya, Rekha, Pawan, Kunwar, Rachit... We had a meaningful discussion about the organisation and future course.
Cyril sahab had his birthday on 12th Nov. Golu drove Maggi and Ruben around most of the time and was extremely helpful. Ritika too served everyone very well. Here are couple of group photos (Moti too is there):

Visitors to SMTA...

Ruben, Sachin, Sultan, Kundan discuss and plan

Melanie from UK, Nagendra Kumar from Allahabad, Mangat Ram ji and Sohan from Tiuni, and now, Ruben and Magi from Bangalore have visited us - over last couple of weeks. Above all, 20 students from Jakhadhar visited us. Melanie told them about life and environment in UK; Nagendra ji told the children about the Kumbh mela (Compare Jogio mela with a Mahamela!). Golu took them to Asokan edict and Ashwamedh yagya site near Kalsi. Sohan and Mangat Ram ji are planning the second year of the RWP project, which has been delayed for a variety of unexpected reasons. Ankush is expected back any day, after a little deepawali break. Finally, we are breathing again..

Of Words and Actions

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a fun way of engaging the fidgety minds and bodies of the young learners and introduce them to new words in English language, besides livening up the morning assembly. Here are a couple of samples of our morning 'workout' ;)

Go Bananas!

We take a little break from studies and energize ourselves with banana dance. :)