Yesterday, I traveled to Shahpur Mission Primary School to visit for the first time. The school was built in 1937 and the village children attend. They speak Gondi, the tribal language, so they are learning Hindi and English. I will bring their requests before the Board when I return.
Then we took to trip to Shahpur to visit the Ebenezer Hindi and English Medium Schools. The journey led us through the mountainous areas where monkeys lined the road. The children offered a wonderful program and it was good to connect with the director and the founder of the school.
There are 25 students now registered at the English Medium school, with classes from Nursery - Grade 8 and 132 students at the Hindi Medium School, with students from grade 6-grade 10. The Hindi Medium School receives some funding from a Swedish Foundation but the English Medium School has really suffered during the pandemic. We are pleased to support the English Medium School to provide teacher support, as well as supplies and equipment.
I was privileged to visit Padhar Mission Primary School. With 75 students from grades 1-5, they have 3 teachers but only one is paid. One teacher's salary pays the salaries for three teachers and one school helper. The children gave me flowers and garlands and the teachers gave me a beautiful sari!
This year, our budget includes the salaries of two teachers and some money for supplies, uniforms and equipment. We are grateful to be able to help in a tangible way, to provide schooling to these children in Padhar.
On March 23, 2020, the Indian government imposed the COVID-19 lockdown. Everything stopped. No food for sale, no transportation available, no services provided and no one was supposed to drive. It was a total shutdown. At that time, the school was at capacity with 179 students staying at the facility. The staff quickly realized the problem was how to provide food for almost 200 people with no businesses open and no one allowed on the roads. The parents who lived out of town could not drive to Padhar to pick their children up! Only emergency vehicles were allowed on the roads. So for 3 months the school was at capacity, trying to work within the system to get permission to travel to supply food for the children.
Now, it just so happened that the school had acquired an old broken-down ambulance from the hospital that they fixed and were using to transport the kids, so they finally got permission to get supplies and food, but only if they used the old ambulance! Thankfully someone with some car repair skills had rescued the old ambulance many years ago. Who knew it would be so helpful?
I have a lot to write about when it comes to the School and Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind (SRCB). But first some facts: They have 85 students enrolled, but expect more to join this month after the Hindu holidays next week. I say “students” because they are a school, but also a live-in facility for those with hearing and sight impairments, physical and cognitive disabilities. They also have opened their home to 10 orphaned children from a local children’s home that closed recently. They have 24 staff - administrative officers, teachers and teachers assistants, plus household staff, cooks, etc. During the COVID-19 pandemic they lost 3 staff members: 1 cook, 1 house mother and 1 teacher. Although the director and his wife tested positive, they both recovered well.
Today, I had the pleasure of visiting the Mission Higher Secondary School. The 85 children registered come from a variety of backgrounds, with the majority being kids in grades 9-12 who are deaf and partially deaf, blind and partially blind, with physical and/or mental impairments. We had a wonderful presentation and I received a gift from one of the artists, Rabin, who drew this pencil sketch of. me and Po! What a joy!
The journey to Padhar went smoothly - the flight to Nagpur ran a little late, but the driver from Padhar picked me up at the airport and drove me the 3 hours to Padhar with ease. I arrived to the warm smiles of my friends Deepa and Rajiv and a delicious dinner. The WIFI was down so I slept, determined to figure it out in the morning.
The next morning, I visited Happy Valley English School and had a wonderful discussion with their new principal, Mrs. Daniel. What a joy to see my teacher friends and all the students back after the pandemic. Happy Valley has about 400 students, grades Nursery through grade 12 and Friends of Padhar Schools is supporting scholarships and equipment for the upcoming school year.
For two years and seven months, the memories of India sustained me: through the COVID pandemic and the restrictions on travel, through the deaths of friends and partners in the work of Friends of Padhar Schools, through the waves of “Will I be able to travel?” And “I’ll have to cancel my ticket.” The sights, sounds and smells sustained me.
When I moved to Spain, one of the reasons was that it would allow me to be closer to India, on this side of the world. This trip to India is really a milestone, an experiment and a test to determine future trips. After completing the first three legs of the trip, I can say I’ve learned some things to do and not do, some good decisions I made and some I’ll need to rethink.
First, the legs: the first was to fly from Alicante to Madrid and then stay the night in Madrid. It was a fine plan and I was grateful for the extra sleep in Madrid. The hotel was okay, nothing special but not bad and they did arrange for a ride to the airport the next early morning.
The second leg was an early morning flight from Madrid to Frankfurt and this is where I learned some lessons. It all went fine - flight was on time, all went smoothly, but once at the Frankfurt airport I learned some lessons. When I was booking a flight from Alicante to Mumbai I realized although I am geographically closer to India, it is not “easier” or cheaper to to get here. Flights were expensive and so I decided to try to save a little money, I would book an Air Europa flight to Frankfurt (through Madrid) and then catch a Lufthansa flight down to Mumbai. But I hit a snag when collecting my bag from one company and trying to recheck it. Not a big snag. It all worked out in time, but there were some tense moments of wondering if my bag would make it to Mumbai. Thankfully, it did, but I will rethink my switching airlines next trip.
I completed the third leg (Frankfurt to Mumbai) with no issues: almost 8 hours on a plane seemed quick compared to my previous trips (12 hours from LAX to Frankfurt + 8 hours to Mumbai). For a few years I did the preliminary 4 hour flight from Hawaii to LAX, before the 12 to Germany and the 8 to Mumbai…. I am grateful for the single 8 hour flight.
When I lived in Hawaii, I contemplated going the other way to get to India - over Asia - but those flights are infrequent and much more expensive. I am learning that unless you are right next to a major airport (LAX, Atlanta, Munich, etc) it is a bit contrived and more expensive to get where you want to go.
My plane landed about 1:30 AM and after immigration, collecting my bag, changing money and the taxi ride to Colaba, I arrived at the hotel around 3AM. I had a deep sleep for 5 hours and then ate breakfast and went back to bed for a while, having no plans for today. I do not have jet lag since Spain is only 3 hours and 30 minutes behind India time, so I do not have to worry about adjusting my internal clock. That is good. I leave tomorrow to complete the final legs of the trip: a short flight to Nagpur then a longer drive to Padhar. Tomorrow evening I will be where I am going.
Krista S. Givens is the Executive Director of Friends of Padhar Schools and is traveling to visit our partners in India. Her journey is recorded here.
We are approaching the end of our fundraising year and we are running a bit short to meet our goals. We've sent almost $30,000 to Padhar and Panchsheel this year, but we have about $4500 we'd still like to raise to help our students and teachers in rural India.
One of the best fundraisers we have seen are our Facebook fundraisers, usually for birthdays or other celebrations. Do you have a celebration upcoming that you could donate to Friends of Padhar Schools? A birthday/anniversary or celebration in May or June? If you need ideas or help, please message me and we can work together on how your celebration can also help students in need.
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Thanks to our fundraisers and donors, Friends of Padhar Schools raised $4000 on #GivingTuesday2021! Many thanks to Carolyne Givens, Erika Gara, Krista S Givens, Ks Gee, Lea Appleton, Loreen Brown and Stephanie Slater Blay for hosting Fundraisers on your Facebook pages and all those who gave through the platform!
Happy Thanksgiving from the Friends of Padhar Schools!
A glimpse inside the Padhar Mission Higher Secondary School and the amazing work they are doing with Inter-abled children.
A two-year project realized! Felix Convent School in Paratwada now has a Science Lab! Materials, tables and benches, infrastructure and supplies were provided by the generous donation of Friends of Padhar Schools and some private donors. Many thanks!
We are honored to announce The Forouzandeh Firoozi Memorial Fund, created to celebrate the life of an amazing woman. Born in the city of Rasht in Iran, Forouz was bright and hardworking from an early age. As a young girl she loved to draw and dance, and dreamed of following in the footsteps of Marie Curie. At 21, Forouz immigrated to Sweden to study electrical engineering and earned a Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Science from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. After graduating, she moved to the United States, where she helped build the country’s early cellphone network. Forouz later earned an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business while raising her son, Daniel. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Forouz pivoted to a career in financial services and went on to work at Bank of America and finally Wells Fargo as a Senior Vice President.
She was a loving wife, a caring mother, and a fierce friend. She loved all things Disney and was a patron of the arts. Graceful, passionate, and thoughtful, Forouz was a ray of sunshine with an infectious smile and a large presence in any space she entered.
On May 27, 2021, Forouz passed away from cancer. She was 58 years old. While she will be greatly missed, her spirit lives on in the hearts of the many people whose lives she touched. Forouz is survived by Fabian, Daniel, and her mother, Zarin.
The Forouzandeh Firoozi Memorial Fund will provide funding and support for girls and young women to attend school in rural India. To honor Forouz’s impact and interests, funding will be used to promote female empowerment in the fields of chemistry, engineering and the sciences.
To donate, please visit our website: www.friendsofpadharschools.org or send a check to Friends of Padhar Schools, 112 Harvard Avenue #101, Claremont CA 91711.
Our Student Sponsorship Program is coming in July - revamped for a brand new year!
Many thanks to all who participated in our online fundraiser, our Summer Arts and Craft Sale. We raised $1970.42 to support our schools as they prepare for reopening. Many thanks to those artists and artisans who donated items to our sale:
Betty Baker of Hawaii Soap Company
KC Wilkerson and Robert Hahn of Apothika Candle Co.
Risa Vargas of PartCactus
Author Kristin A. Sherry
Terry M. Givens with Pelekinesis
Molly Vetter
Nancy Taylor
Carol A. Coy
Lily Villamin
Emily Yu
Alicia Jackson
Stephanie Rice
Karen Clark Ristine
Our Summer Arts and Craft Sale begins on Thursday! Do you need some handmade artisan soap from Hawaii Soap Company or a small-batch soy candle from Apothika Candle Co? Do you need some art for that new place you're moving into? Check out our 90 items up for sale by clicking on the button below.
