Such a long time since I put pen to paper, so to speak. Truth be told, writer's block hit me bad. I think I began functioning like a machine, doing my daily tasks as they came along, living out my social life as if it were a compulsion and "enjoying the moment" was not part of any of these. I feel bad that I let the last few months go by like that. But all is not lost. One good thing that I did in the last few months was sign myself up for a very interesting project. To give you a bit of background, I have been toying with the idea of signing up with an NGO for a few years now. So many NGOs out there taking up so many worthy causes and while each of them interested me; be it animal welfare or environmental conservation or even education, none of them really called out to me like this particular one.
It is called the Lighthouse Project and it is an initiative that connects educated urban youth with children from under resourced communities through one on one mentoring thus giving both parties an opportunities to explore a world outside their own. This initiative called out to me as it goes beyond just stepping into the class and teaching but works at showing kids the practicality of what they learn and how to use it. We get to share our experiences and all the training we went through with these kids and contribute our bit in their all round development. Look them up - www.lighthouseproject.in
I got a chance to meet my mentee a few days ago and it was better than I expected. I was pulled back into the world of a 9th grader - of cribbing about homework, school teachers and classroom "rivalry". Her stories were non stop - "that girl is my 'enemy', you shouldn't talk to her also didi"; "that boy is my best friend, sometimes he copies from me"; "i hate maths" - and in my mind I do a double back flip and praise the lord, I don't need to help her with that because you know math... yuccckkk.
However, I also saw another side of her; one that wanted to go beyond the school and the studies, one that was so curious of how an office works; how she loves playing football and she is the goal keeper for her school team; her three repetitions of her understanding of what I do for a living; - all these conversations were in whispers while our project coordinators were briefing us. Yep, I wasn't one of those who talked when class was on; it was a flashback to college for me. I saw her get excited to learn about colleges, career options, learn about different countries and learn to speak super English as she put it. She was extremely insistent on me visiting her class as well and as I walked in, she points out to the first bench and says "Didi, I sit here; because I keep on talking na" - big grin!
The past Saturday marked day one of the start of us learning together. I already find myself constantly looking for interesting projects that we could do together; looking up suggestions how best to help her and more than often, thinking of ways of spending time together so she doesn't get bored in the first 10 minutes. Scary to feel the burden of responsibilities of a teacher without actually being one; wonder if our teachers from school & college felt it as much too. I can foresee some interesting incidents in the upcoming months; can't wait!
It is called the Lighthouse Project and it is an initiative that connects educated urban youth with children from under resourced communities through one on one mentoring thus giving both parties an opportunities to explore a world outside their own. This initiative called out to me as it goes beyond just stepping into the class and teaching but works at showing kids the practicality of what they learn and how to use it. We get to share our experiences and all the training we went through with these kids and contribute our bit in their all round development. Look them up - www.lighthouseproject.in
I got a chance to meet my mentee a few days ago and it was better than I expected. I was pulled back into the world of a 9th grader - of cribbing about homework, school teachers and classroom "rivalry". Her stories were non stop - "that girl is my 'enemy', you shouldn't talk to her also didi"; "that boy is my best friend, sometimes he copies from me"; "i hate maths" - and in my mind I do a double back flip and praise the lord, I don't need to help her with that because you know math... yuccckkk.
However, I also saw another side of her; one that wanted to go beyond the school and the studies, one that was so curious of how an office works; how she loves playing football and she is the goal keeper for her school team; her three repetitions of her understanding of what I do for a living; - all these conversations were in whispers while our project coordinators were briefing us. Yep, I wasn't one of those who talked when class was on; it was a flashback to college for me. I saw her get excited to learn about colleges, career options, learn about different countries and learn to speak super English as she put it. She was extremely insistent on me visiting her class as well and as I walked in, she points out to the first bench and says "Didi, I sit here; because I keep on talking na" - big grin!
The past Saturday marked day one of the start of us learning together. I already find myself constantly looking for interesting projects that we could do together; looking up suggestions how best to help her and more than often, thinking of ways of spending time together so she doesn't get bored in the first 10 minutes. Scary to feel the burden of responsibilities of a teacher without actually being one; wonder if our teachers from school & college felt it as much too. I can foresee some interesting incidents in the upcoming months; can't wait!
I walked into the school and I am greeted by her big, big smile - "I was waiting for you only didi" and thus it begins!
