Today
while Karen, Debbie and Sieg held a press conference and met with
the Rotarians, the rest of the team had the opportunity to visit two schools
which were part of last year's distribution. The Rotarians
arranged
a minibus again and Khuzem accompanied us for the
day. We picked up Mr. Pure, District School Commissioner on the way.
The
first school was in a small village about two hours outside of Pune. The village
welcomed us with drums and dabbing the tilaka mark on our forehead by
beautifully dressed young ladies. We joined former bedkit recipients and
teachers in a classroom. A lot of the children were dressed in the items received
in last year's bed kit. Parents and interested community members were
jammed outside looking and listening through the door and windows. Mr.
Pure introduced us and we all received the gift of a coconut and a momento.
Different members of the team asked the students various questions about
the bedkits received last year. A few questions were addressed to the
teachers also. It was apparent both the teachers and children
greatly
appreciated
the items in the bedkit and the items were making a positive difference in
their lives.
After
a brief lunch we headed out to another school. On the way we visited a
large dam giving a great scenic view of the area. The next village had a newer
school. The children waiting for us included some kindergarten
students
as well as bedkit recipients. After asking the questions, one of the students
recited something for us. As it was in the local language, we did
not know what it was but it sounded like a version of Little Red Riding Hood by
her gestures. Both visits gave us excellent feedback to validate the contents
of the bedkit as being good choices for the items. It was a school holiday
for at least one of the schools but the kids still appeared to very happy to
come out to meet us.
On
the way home we stopped at a Hindu bathing ritual site along a river. There were
many cement steps along the banks and a lot of people performing the ritual.
Thank
you Mr. Pure and Khazem .
The
evening was spent with a celebratory dinner hosted by the Rotarians. It
brought together all the major volunteers and their families for a great social
evening. A wonderful way to end our distribution…and, until we meet
again.
Team
Pune, 2014
