Day 10, 11, 12:Bindal Bridge & Gandhi’s Teachings

As the 11th grade girls were leaving Welham for their trip, we bid them a heartfelt goodbye before setting off for our day. We headed to a different Aasraa location, where the trust had set up mobile school buses to help support underprivileged kids in their earliest years of learning. These children came from slums in the area, one of which we later visited. We had the opportunity to join in the sing-a-long activity with the children, and sounds of joyful children filled the bus. Shaila, the director of the trust, met us once again to take us through the project and explained to us more in depth about the work put into the mobile buses in terms of bringing kids and their families into the program. She spoke passionately about expanding Aasraa through skill building for children. Next, we took a quick bus ride to a second Aasraa trust location. This was a more formal school for elementry age children. We walked through different classrooms to see what the kids were learning, and spent time coloring drawings and making origami figures with them. They were happy to spend time with us and we were excited to see progress in our interactions with the children. It was also interesting to see the computer lab of the school, an example of how technology was part of the children’s education.

 

We had a quick lunch at the Doon school, followed by a music program by the teachers of Indian Classical Music.  Following the program, we visited a slum under the Bindal Bridge, a place where many children in the Aasraa program lived with their families. It was an eye-opening experience for many of us, to see the unfortunate living conditions of the children we had just come to know. After this experiences we visited an Aasraa location for education of an age group more similar to our own. In the school there was a sewing  opportunity  for women in the community to build their skills and work for the trust in exchange for support. The school also taught carpentry to the boys, in order to further develop their skills. It was clear to us that Aasraa not only aimed to educate the children but provide them with useful and meaningful tools for their futures. 

 

The day ended with a lovely dinner at Shantum Ji’s home, where we shared deep and introspective conversation as a group. We had the opportunity to met monks, nuns, and other special guests who we would interact with more the next day.

 

After a routine breakfast the next morning, we took the bus to Shantum’s Buddhist retreat, Plum Village. The retreat had been in session for the past three days, and we were lucky to catch the last day of the program. We listened to the Lazy Monk, who we had been introduced to us the night before, give a talk about what lead him to Buddhism. He explained the pain and dissatisfaction he had experienced in his life despite his apparent success. He realised that his unhappiness could be overcome by the teachings of the Buddha. After we enjoyed a quiet and reflective lunch with the community, we prepared a performance to share with the group. The community had been divided up into ‘families’ each of which had to give a  poem song or dance relevant to their experiences. We observed the transformation ceremony for the young people who desired to commit to the teaching of the Buddah. After the transformation, we celebrated with song and dance, and gave our performance: a rendition of Amazing Grace. After the festivities full of chai and cake, we went back the Welham and enjoyed of final dinner with the girls. 

 

The next day we woke up for our last morning at Welham. We said our final goodbyes to the girls who had been such wonderful hosts, and set off for our six hour drive back to Delhi. On the way we stopped for lunch at our favourite Indian fast food place, Haldiram. Our arrival in Delhi was perfect timing, we had just made it to visit the Gandhi Smriti Museum. It was the place Gandhi spent his final days, and we  quite literally followed his footsteps to the place where he was assassinated. As a group, we took in the atmosphere and discussed what Gandhi meant to each of us. The museum also displayed beautiful dioramas depicting Gandhi’s life. We concluded the day with dinner at the hotel.