Results, happiness, thank you and more!


“Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.” 
Edward Everett

I had such an exciting day at work today. The first cohort of six children being supported by Food for Education passed in their final examination with flying colors. The eldest of six, Sarswoti and Divya have been promoted to Grade IV, Laxmi has been promoted to Grade III, Sameer has been promoted to Grade I and Sagar and Deepa have been promoted to Grade U.K.G. Deepa scored the highest in her class. It was a moment of sheer pride and happiness. Their parents were exceedingly happy and so were their teachers Rasila Ma’am and Pabitra Ma’am of Teresa Academy.

Children happily posing with their report cards.

When the first batch of eight children graduated from Prayas’s drop-in-center and joined a formal school, we were skeptical about them being consistent in their studies and attendance. Unfortunately, two from the group dropped out of school in the first quarter of the academic session.  

A lot of factors cause children to drop out of school. One of them is their age factor. Sarswoti and Divya are way past their age to be in Grade IV. Understandably, they feel embarrassed to be in a class with the students younger to them. They need constant motivation and encouragement to keep going every day. Other determining factors are physical environment and support system at home. These children come from economically marred families. A small room is shared by six to eight family members. It is unimaginable how they can manage to study in a room which is used as a bedroom, living room and a kitchen too. They have to walk at least twenty minutes to fetch water, many times a day. Their journey from home to school takes excruciating thirty minutes walk in smoke and dust covered crowded roads of Kathmandu. And load shedding has spared no one. The ones to be hit the hardest by power cuts are the ones already hit by poverty.

Food is one of the vital incentives that play a crucial role in keeping the children in school. Other motivating factors are activities that help the children realize their self worth and enjoy the learning process. Our focus has always been on providing needed supplementary to the children which include recreational activities, exposure visits, after school tutorial classes, team building activities, health care, etc. (Any suggestion in this regard will be highly appreciated.)

Despite so many challenges, the children have performed remarkably well in their exam. We can only hope that the children continue to do well in their studies and at the same time, develop a sense of self respect and an ability to make informed choices. May they grow stronger and wiser! These children have set an example in their community. Fifteen children are already getting ready to graduate from Prayas’s drop-in-cente this year and join the school.
To celebrate one year of being “back in school”, we cut cakes and shared it with the children going to school in the new academic session. 
We would like to take a moment to thank Flora Ma’am, my dearest friend and the principal of Teresa Academy, for always being so concerned about the children. You have always been so kind to them and taken care of all their needs. You have become their role model and we hope the girls grow up to be fine women, just like you. (I am sorry to have not saved the cake for you. I shall bring your share tomorrow.)

Also, Prabin Bhai needs a special mention. You have been a part of Food for Education since the day 1.You have been their confidant, brother and their favorite teacher. Thank you bhai for dealing with them with so much patience and love. How do you do that every day? (Get well soon and I shall treat you.)

Last but not the least, a heartfelt gratitude to all our supporters- in cash, in thoughts and in deeds. You have strengthened the children’s faith in humanity. You have made the children realize that just because they come from poor economic background doesn’t imply that they do not deserve happiness. You have made this day possible. Also, thank you for believing in what we do. Some of you believed in us without even knowing us personally.

The purpose of this blog is to thank you and also, so that you all become a part of their happiness and celebration on such a lovely day. 

Does the blog sound like a thank you speech? I am glad if it does. I believe saying thank you is like saying a prayer. THANK YOU!





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bringing transformative changes in my class for deep learning

Image
The first year of teaching online was challenging and there were moments when I felt like a failure but along with it, there were also a lot of opportunities to learn and grow myself personally and professionally. Towards the end of last academic year, I spent some time reflecting on my classroom practices and how I could make a greater impact in this new academic year. While exploring some learning ideas on the internet, I came across this four weeks’ course on edx titled ‘ Deep Learning through Transformative Pedagogy ’. I signed up for it and although it took me more than four weeks to complete the course, not because the course was not planned well but because I had other commitments that sidelined the course, I am so excited to share what I have learned from this course with you all.  While waiting for my final grades, I thought I would write this post because there is no better way to learn than through peer teaching. In this blog post, I will summarize some of the key lear...
Read more

The story of my ectopic pregnancy because that's just what it is!

Image
Almost a year ago, I survived a life threatening medical emergency. Let me just put it out straight. I had an ectopic pregnancy rupture and by the time I checked into the hospital, it was already too late.  So this was last December. Argentina was playing the world cup semi-final that night. I had a lower abdomen pain since 3 in the afternoon with slight spotting and I clearly ignored the symptoms. I went to see a gynaecologist after school who casually remarked that it could have happened because I had taken a pill. She advised me to get an ultrasound done but this wasn't my regular gynaecologist so I wasn't keen on doing an USG and thought that I could wait for one more day until my GYNAEC came back. So I again ignored the symptoms and went home to take some rest. I was a bit alarmed when the pain didn't subside even after I took a painkiller. It was only around 10 at night when I finally decided to go to the hospital again. Just to be 'on a safe side'. 🙄 Even wh...
Read more

Just a kiss!

Image
It was 7p.m. when she reached home. She unlocked the door to her apartment and hung the key on the keyholder above the shoe rack. She carefully put her shoes in the bottom shelf of the rack and took out her indoor slippers from the top. She put her handbag on top of the coffee table and went to the kitchen. She washed her hands before she put a cup of water to boil on the stove. She added a spoon of tea leaves. She opened the door to the verandah and went out to pick some mint leaves from the flower pot. She rinsed the leaves and put it into the water boiling on the stove. She poured the tea into a mug and carried it to the living room. She lay a tea coaster on the table and put the mug on top of it. She unbuttoned her pants and unclipped her bra and sighed as she sat down on the couch. She looked around and closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the taste of mint in her mouth and silence surrounding her. This was a rare moment for her.  Usually, she picked up her son from his schoo...
Read more