First Impressions of India

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We have arrived in Maralakunte, where we will be staying for the next month!

India

I have seen a massive juxtaposition between the wealthy and the poor here. We have walked through a village past a dog dying of starvation (I wanted to cry), and soon after passed a house with solar heating on the roof and a car out the front. In the city you occasionally pass the luxury car in your auto-rickshaw, for which you are paying 20cents per 1km!

Maralakunte

The village is larger than I expected, and has a brand new temple, which only opened recently. This means that they have celebrations every night for the following month, with blaring prayer music, gong-banging and incense burning! Lots of fun, unless you want to go to bed early, what with the temple across the road from our apartment!

PLUS +Pod

Today we attended our first +Pod session. The kids were amazingly keen, and excited!

The program runs for one hour, were the kids work in groups of three for 15 minutes at a time on a tablet, with "Brain Breaks" in the middle. We played Simon says in these breaks- they seem to know their body parts!!

Impact project

As part of my stay here with 40K, we are working to set up a new Pod in a village called Chikajala about 15km from where we are staying.

We approached the local government school today, and had a mixed reaction. The English teacher seemed very keen on the idea of 40K Plus Pod, but apprehensive about the admission fee. We believe however that parents with recognise the value of the program focusing on improving their kid's English foundation.

It is so important to get these pods being financially sustainable and accessible to the poorest families, but achieving these dual aims is still hard. At the moment fundraising is making up the difference. Please think about donating to help us work towards a sustainable model. At the moment, the 200 kids in the program would not be here without your support! Visit http://makingadifference.gofundraise.com.au/page/VenterS to donate!

Tomorrow we will go back and talk to the other government school and another English teacher who is interested in facilitating the Pod classes.

I'll keep you updated!

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Photos

My Sari
And yes, I folded it/ put it on myself!

This is India!!!!
We fit 13 people in a small SUV! Only in India....

The local government school
Telling kids about the program

The local fauna
That blue door is the entry to our apartment block...if you were wondering

Maralakunte
Wandering the streets

Tea Time with Alex
Alex is in my team :-)

Strategy planning
Check out the henna- I'm getting amongst it!

Comments

[samuel david]

Hi- Good entry. Just curious, what exactly is a Pod and is there a website for your foundation? I was born in that State, so I am just curious. Thanks

[shirley venter]

India
Hi Sheree, You look lovely in your sari!!... I wish you and the team well with the next school you will be visiting!! Just the mere fact that the kids are excited about IPod session is good to start !! Thanks too for the link on...donations.... much love o Shirley xx ps..watch out for the monkeys!!!

[Shwee]

Hey Sam- about Pods
Have a look at the 40K website at http://40k.com.au/40k-plus/about-40k-plus/ A Pod is an after-school program for primary school in rural India, which uses tablet technology to teach written and spoken English. The aim is to improve the fundamental English skills and understanding of kids who go to the government schools, which are severely under-funded and under-staffed. Thanks for the question!

[Michael]

The sari suits you beautifully!
.....and I like the colour as well