Kaiso ho Chalkboard Readers!
Or… how are you?
School children in Tamil Nadu, the first stop on my trip.
Most of you probably don’t know me too well. My name is Carly, and I’m relatively new to the Our Kids team. After a summer internship last year, I officially joined Our Kids Media late April of this year, immediately after I graduated from Ryerson University in the Journalism program. As Communications Manager I have my hands in a lot of different areas, from social networking to business partnerships to writing original articles for the magazines we publish.
But now I’m about to get my hands dirty in quite a different way.
On Tuesday, July 20th, I will embark on, what I think will be, the biggest challenge I’ve had to face so far in my far-too-comfortable life. I’m spending five weeks traveling and volunteering in India, beginning in the south and eventually working our way up north. During this trip, organized by the non-profit organization Operation Groundswell, I will explore all parts of this mystifying and majestic country, from the bustling metropolis of New Delhi, to the remote depths of the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest, to the heartbreaking slums of Ajmer.
It is this latter village that I predict will be the most difficult to experience. We have a few different volunteer placements throughout our trip – I begin by rebuilding the TDEF forest in the southeast of India at the Sadhana Forest and doing various chores with the completely self-sustainable community there, and in my off-time I’ll be helping with the local theatre group and their upcoming stage production of the Savitri story with a group of 11 Gr. 8 children – which will all be challenging and rewarding in their own way. But in Ajmer, Rajasthan, I’ll be working with the NGO Sudhar Sabha, which operates the local hospital, women’s shelter, orphanage, and schools for the deaf, dumb, and blind, where I’ll come face to face with Indian citizens who are suffering in the slums the country is known for. While poverty is seen in every city in India, in Ajmer I will become a part of it. And it’s a reality check I hope I’m ready for.
Finishing post-secondary education seems like a given right to someone born and raised in Canada. I am incredibly fortunate to come from a supportive family who made my education a priority my whole life, and a country to call my home that is wealthy enough to support young people in their quest for knowledge. I’ve always been aware that not everyone is so lucky, but as I leave my identity as a student behind and enter the world as an adult, I’m ready to see, touch, hear, smell, and taste what it’s like not to have those kind of resources at your fingertips.
My time at Our Kids has taught me the power of a quality education, and learning about the opportunities available to Canadian students have truly blown my mind. The children of Ajmer deserve no less, yet so many barely have a roof over their heads, let alone a mortarboard. I worked hard for my Bachelor of Journalism degree, but if I can spread a fraction of the opportunities I’ve had to the kids involved in the Sudhar Sabha’s projects, I’ll learn more than any university can teach me.
I’ll try to update the Chalkboard Blog as often as I can while I’m in India – so if you’re interested in what I’m up to, please check back!
Until then – Namaste.
