Volunteering (& A Lesson in Saris)

Today's post describes a bit of what I've been doing once a week on Mondays, which I've mentioned in a previous post but will explain in more detail.

Before we get to that, however, I would be remiss if I didn't ask you all to please consider pausing for a moment, going to this site ( https://www.charitynavigator.org/discover-charities/where-to-give/earthquakes-turkey-syria/ ) (or another of your choosing), and make a small donation to the Turkey/Syria earthquake relief efforts. We live in a small and interconnected world, and events/people/cultures that once seemed so "far away" from (or irrelevant to) our lives are now brought into our center and our light through technology, travel, immigration, and other forms of awareness and mobility. We can offer what we feel we can, we can send prayers to the universe, and we can educate ourselves to learn more.

As for my life here in India... I must first share something I forgot on the last post -- pictures of me in a sari (also spelled saree) for the wedding I attended! So -- here's that:

I have 3 saris that I purchased on previous trips, and this one seemed the most festive for a wedding. Yes, I actually managed to wrap it myself, albeit somewhat-poorly, and my neighbor Kanchan readjusted the pleats and pinned everything nicely. The sari is actually comprised of 3 key pieces of dress: (a) The blouse -- in this case one made/fitted by a tailor (Some saris are sold with this extra material, and you can also purchase blouses in stores.) (b) The "slip" underneath -- a basic solid-colored (matching color) cotton skirt that ties tightly around your waist. Again, this is made or bought, and it is what you tuck the sari into. (c) The sari -- a 6-foot length of material, with a design along one or both long-edges. There is, in fact, another piece called the "fall" that is a strip of material (a few inches wide) that is sewn around the base of the sari and adds a slight weight. Saris might come with this piece already there, or you might need to buy it separately and have a tailor add it.

There are many ways to wrap a sari, sometimes regional in nature, but the way I know is like this: Tuck the sari into the front of the slip and wrap it around your back (to the left direction), tucking as you go. When you get to the front again, make a series of 5-8 pleats back and forth, and tuck the whole bundle into the front. (This will need to be re-done later.) Wrap again around the back (no tucking needed), and up over the left shoulder. Here, you can pleat again (see mine above), or just drape freely. Re-adjust the center pleats as needed for length and fit. Use safety pins to secure pleats, etc. (I can wrap it, but I'm a disaster at trying to get those pleats right.)

Saris are typically worn with pearls or larger/thicker necklaces (called a kundan) and earrings. Add a handful of bangles/bracelets to both arms, plus a bindi between the eyes, and definitely heels, and voila! Make-up is, of course, up to each person, and I do wear some to add to the feeling of elegance. And then... I just have to be careful not to step wrong, fall down steps, crash on the heels, twist an ankle, or pull the whole dang sari off with one false move... and it's a grand time! I love wearing a sari, but it could never be a daily event for me. Obviously. 🙄

Now on to what I'm doing every Monday with a group of about 20 girls in grades 4 to 7. I gave a brief description on a previous post (click here). Every morning (and Saturday afternoon), the girls come to a temple near their "basti" community, pull out mats to sit on, and get assistance with school work (and other things like health and well-being). There are older girls as well, up through grade 12, and they prep for exams that come up in 10th and (if they continue schooling) 12th grade. (Total of about 65 girls in the program.) Girls in India are vulnerable for all sorts of reasons too complex to get into in this particular post, but suffice it to say that this organization is doing extraordinary work to keep these girls in school and successful. Many of them come from homes where their parents are day-laborers (rickshaw drivers, house maids, manual laborers), possibly illiterate, and where daily life is challenging. Here is a picture of the community, just to the left of the river, and another of women washing at the river. (Photos taken as I walked to the temple one Monday.)

The temple is lovely, but also a busy place, as I mentioned in the other blog post. People regularly ring a big bell, and they walk through the space where the girls are sitting; nearby streets are filled with noises; sessions with older girls are happening a couple of yards away; incense is burning. And yet -- still these girls stay focused on their school work! Impressive, to say the least. They are eager, smart, funny, and filled with joy to be learning. Here are a couple of photos of the temple space. The first photo is the space we sit in, and the second is just behind my back as I teach (the space with the big bell to ring.) (Bell is not visible in the photo.)

The girls have low English skills. However, due to post-colonial and global power-structure realities -- English remains a critical skill to advance through schooling and for many jobs at all levels of economics in India. As I mentioned before, I am using picture books and then I create interactive activities to go with the book. The activities include things like: rhyming words, spelling, new vocabulary (basic), basic sentence structures ("Do you like...?" /"I like" / "I do not like" for Green Eggs and Ham.) ("Do you see a ....?" / "Yes, I see a..." for Brown Bear, Brown Bear...).

The very best thing I purchased before I left for India (shout out to my friend Christine W. who introduced me to this!) is a pocket-sized thermal printer called a Poooli (L2 model). No ink, just rolls of thermal paper, and I even have sticker-rolls. SOOO much fun, and so versatile! I make matching cards, little activity strips for them to glue into their notebooks, name/photo cards, and more. It's like magic, honestly. (See the photos above -- I can print out anything, then glue/tape to a piece of cardstock or whatever.)

Here's a video of the girls paired up to do the "Do you like..." activity. You can hear how much background noise there is! Toward the first part of the video, check out the smaller girl on far left and how excited she is to say "I like mice." Haha! So cute.)

This week, I took all 65 of the girls some little goody-packets that I had put together in the US prior to leaving. These packets included: pen, pencil, eraser, two small notebooks, glue stick, scissors, small pack of crayons, bandaids, toothpaste, a "Maine" sticker, 1 Hershey's kiss, 2 mini-candy-canes, and 1 packet of fruit gummies. The girls were allowed by program leaders to take home the candy, bandaids, and toothpaste, but everything else was to stay there in a box, to use when they needed them. (They each labeled their own.) The girls were SO EXCITED to have the packets! 😊 😊 😊 Here are photos, and also a very sweet video. The girl in the video asked the program teacher how to say thank you to me, and then she came to me and recited what she had learned. Oh my heart. 💖

And with that, I'll add my own note of THANKS to all of you -- for reading my posts (that take some time to pull together), and for supporting me in my adventures! Much love to you all!