Our first day of school was at times overwhelming. The
children at Nav Jeevan have tons of energy and find excitement in many topics.
It was a challenge to adjust to the many cultural and structural differences compared
to a school in the United States. For instance, the schedule seems to be more
of a guideline when the students from the slums are often late to class or
unable to attend school. Teachers and the curriculum must remain flexible and
so will we! Below is a photo of the schedule of Nav Jeevan that hangs in the courtyard.
To celebrate our successful first day, we will give a brief
virtual tour of Nav Jeevan. Below is a photo of Katherine and I (Katie) with
the school’s principle, Vicky. She has been very welcoming and we look forward
to getting to know her better as we find our place in the school.
The 100 or so children that live full time at Nav Jeevan sleep
dormitory style, one huge dorm for the girls and separate smaller dorms for the
boys, separated by age. In these dorms, the children have a bed and a locker to
keep their clothes or any toys they might have. The children have little else
in these rooms, we frequently find the girls creating dances or songs while the
boys are more apt to be causing mischief!
Below are the sinks for the children to wash their hands (as you can see, there is no soap!). It
is critically important that the children stay clean, especially in India where
most people eat with their hands. However, it is hard to teach children about
cleanliness when they have no knowledge of bacteria or infections.
Moving on the school section of Nav Jeevan, below is a typical
classroom. Like the dorms, it demonstrates the lack of resources the children
face, even with Nav Jeevan’s help. Only the preschool classrooms are painted
and have educational posters.
On our first day, Katherine and I had a whole host of different responsibilities, from being substitute teachers, reading with the kids in the small, unkempt library, and doing special guest lectures on science and geography!
Below is the computer lab. On our first day, the school had to call a man to fix the wifi, which hadn't been working at the school for quite some time. Even with the fix, a third of the computers remain unusable because of various problems, and they will not turn on.
Regardless of the difficulty, Kiran and Roger Wingelaar have helped to establish a typing class at Nav Jeevan so the children will learn an employable skill for their future. The kids seem very excited to work with computers and get competitive to see who can be the most accurate typist! Katherine and I will help facilitate this class as well.
We look forward to the upcoming days at Nav Jeevan!
