Temoignage Inde - EXIS

Solene écrit…

The pre-departure information with the basics about the culture and things to do or not to do in India before going was very useful. It helped me to know what I was supposed to take with me. I felt very comfortable to be taken care of at arrival in an unknown country.
At first working in a Kannata school where the children didn’t know English scared me. The first days were a bit difficult (communication: zero!) and most of the teachers didn’t understand me either. But I got used to it, found some things to do with them, and it was great. I got in trouble when they started to be wild, and didn’t listen to me. But again, I made it work! The children were lovely, we played a lot (it was the only thing I could do with them) and they had to speak, which is what I wanted). Andrew and I tried to be very imaginative to make them discover all sorts of things, speak, understand English, arts etc…
With more time, I would have tried to teach more. In one month, I wanted them to practice what they already knew. (not much). It was very interesting a great experience.
I loved the children, I loved the project!
When I came I wanted to live with a host family, to live with an Indian people, to learn more about the culture and the people. The Malekar family gave me all this: knowledge about their culture, their habits, and their life. It was really great! And Rubina made good Indian food (not too spicy). She even taught me one recipe.

Julien raconte…

Je n'ai effectivement pas pris le temps de rédiger un rapport de mon séjour en Inde. En revanche, je dispose d'un blog assez détaillé du voyage avec plusieurs photos. Le voici : http://tripindia.uniterre.com/
Je vous autorise à utiliser les photos si vous le souhaitez. Je tiens à vous remercier pour ce projet, cela aura été une formidable expérience pour moi.
Merci encore

Cecile écrit...

Being a volunteer is the most rewarding experience I have ever experimented. I went to India in November and was sent for 2 months to a small school in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, to teach the kids Basic English. I couldn’t expect a better interaction with them: First, as they were eager to get to know me, they couldn’t help asking questions about my country which made me feel comfortable. Then, we moved on grammar rules, vocabulary, games, songs and stories.

On Christmas time, we worked out choreography and they really enjoyed performing it for the school day program. By the end, I think they improved their spoken English and could even manage with a bit of French.

Moreover, my stay in the YWCA hostel was another way to assure a lot of Indian culture as I used to live with the lo-cals and this made the adventure more precious.

Obviously, I can’t omit that I had to face culture shock, misunderstandings, religious issues or health problems. But I knew I could always rely on my coordinator to help me out and felt secure. All in all this experience made me grow, taught me tolerance and opened my mind….I’ll definitely come back one day to work for another project.

Catarina écrit...

My experience here in India has been one that I will never forget. Over the past three weeks I have spent time in one orphanage and two schools. The children have huge smiles on their faces when we come around, but behind the smiles you can see the hurt in their eyes. These children tell us of their dreams for the future, but their future looks bleak from their current situation. Before I came to India I imagined an orphanage with bunk beds, a dining hall, a playground, and a washroom in which the children could bathe. Well, I arrived to an orphanage with facilities that were far from that. These little boys and girls pile into the same beds with each other in rooms that don't even have real doors, let alone heat.

The orphanage only has four rooms. One room for the boys, one for the girls, one for the adults who run the orphanage and one tiny room for the kitchen. Each bedroom is probably no larger than 12 by 12 and the kitchen is no larger than 4 by 6. There is a common area that is not sheltered. Past volunteers have built two toilet stalls that are in the common area. Each child's story is heartbreaking, and makes you only want to help even further. Today while we were at the orphanage, we talked to a lady who is staying there because her husband left her and her four children for a new wife. She hopes to live there and not only improve her life, but the lives of these orphaned children. Today was her first day there, and it was an emotional day for her also. I didn't fully understand what she was saying, but the tears streaming down her face said enough. Something needs to be done.

My experience working with the women’s group has been extremely rewarding. They are so eager to learn and to improve not only their own lives but also the lives of their families. They work very hard on their embroidery and show great attention to details. These sewing sessions also provide a great time to socialize as they form a wonderful bond of sisterhood. They help each other with the embroidery and make sure everyone is included. I am privileged to teach English to these amazing ladies after their sewing session. We have reviewed and continue to build upon – phonetics, spelling and the use and meaning of adjectives. When they don’t quite understand the meaning of the work, my humble attempt at drawing does the trick. They write down the English accompanied by the Hindi. So they can review their work at home. Many of them show what they have learned at school to their children. So not only do the lessons greatly benefit the women, they also benefit their children. We have also continued with maths, addition and subtraction in particular. My only regret is that I have such a short time to spend and to work with women. Thank you for everything!

Julien écrit...

These children face not only poor living conditions, but a lack of healthcare and education as well. Volunteers are essential to the success of these programs. They need people to teach in the new schools and to assist in the various other programs. After just spending one afternoon with the children at the orphanage, I felt like I had really done something good. These programs could use skills from every area. A huge asset would be a volunteer that could speak Hindi, or a nurse that could provide basic healthcare, or a multitude of other things. But even volunteers like me, who have nothing really specific to offer, are great assets. Sometimes these women and children just need a shoulder to lean on and someone to talk to.

Many of these programs focus on building their self-confidence, to give them the momentum that they need to survive on their own. This experience has opened my eyes to many things that I never knew existed. It's hard to imagine the problems that these people face when we can only see them from the television set or the newspaper. I never would have guessed how much one dollar could accomplish, but I now realize that it can accomplish a lot. I urge anybody who is interested to get involved because you won't regret it. An experience like the one that I have had will only make you want to help even more. Sincerely, Julien

Sara écrit...

My time at the project (St. Johns School in Gowridbidnur) was wonderful, not less than that. I learned so many things from teaching, from the children there, from the teachers and also from living in the village. For me it was an amazing experience to see how everyday-life is in rural India. I was never bored! Always someone inviting me to their houses, giving me food and they were always very interested in talking to me.

The school is such a lovely project. I was teaching in pre-nursery, 5.std and 7, std. In pre-nursery it was sometimes a little difficult to keep the children quite while we were teaching. The small children were so much fun. In 5, 6 and 7 std. teaching was easier. My host family has been abso-lutely amazing! They are the loveliest people and they sure will be my friends for the rest of my life. They have helped me much and they have been taken so good care of me. They made me feel like a part of their family. I have always felt that I was very welcome.

All in all, I wouldn’t have missed my stay in India for anything else in the whole world because of the school and family.

Melaine from France, working with organic farming

As soon as I arrived in Aikya, I knew I would like the place. There is such a peaceful atmosphere, that I soon forgot all about the noisy and traffic-jammed Bangalore.”Auntie” Filomina welcomed me warmly an was always there to answer my questions or advise me on books and others. I came here to learn about organic farming and medicine with plants, but I learned much more. It was a true human experience.
I came to Aikya at the beginning of the rainy season, at the time where crops need to be planted. It is a lot of work, but I learned a lot about farming in this way. We had to take out the weeds, plough with the oxes, which is not so easy! Then we fertilized carrying the compost in baskets on our heads and finally plant the beans, chilies and other culture. But from all, the hardest one and probably the most interesting too was the rice paddies. Even if it is exhausting to spend hours in the muddy paddies and back breaking, it gave me a true insight of the life of Indian farmers and I can now appreciate the real taste of rice.
I did not learn as much as I expected about medicinal plants, but the farming did not leave me much time. But I got a very good insight of it, as many of these plants also are used in cooking, because of their aromatic values as well as their properties. I also got to learn a bit of Indian cooking when a conference was hold in Aikya. I truly enjoyed this experience.
One of my favorite things in Aikya would be the library, where I spent hours going through the wide diversity of subjects treated. It is a great source of knowledge! With the advice of Filomina and the books she lent me, I was introduced to yoga and meditation. I started practicing on a daily basis and I believe it helped me dealing with the pain of the hard work.
The main problem I encountered during my stay was the language barrier, as most of the people only speak Karnáta. It was sometimes hard to be understood or to understand, and I could not ask for explanations. It led a few times to misunderstandings.  There is also a great cultural difference and people did not always see that something that might be evident or easy for them might not be to me. But this why I came here and with observation and signs, I learned. I also wished I may have had proper lessons in medicinal plants, but I then I should have had more time.
I have to leave Aikya a few days earlier, as I am starting university earlier then I expected, but this does not change the fact that I had a wonderful experience. I hope that I will be able to come back and lead a little project at Aikya. I will always remember the people and the time I spent here.
I am also really happy with the way I have been welcomed by Dwaraknath, with whom I felt in good hands. He gave me all the information I could ask for and took me to Aikya.