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Sharon International Ministries School in |
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Trip to
India – February 2011 2 years had elapsed since Sheila and I had been to We were met in Hyderabad by Dr. Sam Karra, who
lived and worked in Beaconsfield in 2006 and through his vision and his
registered charity, Sharon International Ministries (SIM), got us involved in
a project for helping some of the poor in India – which was to help build a
school providing free education for children of the lowest caste families in
a rural area. After spending a couple of days in Hyderabad,
acclimatising ourselves to chaotic driving, honking horns, traffic jams,
colourful saris, friendly smiling faces, white teeth, beautiful weather,
dosas for breakfast, curry smells and the inevitable poverty, we began our
trip to rural India. Dr. Sam drove us
to our hotel in
Later in the afternoon we were given a display of
PT and various exercises performed by the 5 oldest (7 to 12) classes with the
rest of the children looking on. At the end all the children marched quietly
back to their class rooms before the end of school was sounded and then the
turmoil and noise erupted as they left for home, either walking to local
villages or being taken by school buses to villages further away. We returned to the school on Monday and Tuesday, so
that we could spend more time with the teachers and children, to find out
more about how the school was doing and more about the children. The school is classed as an ‘English Medium’
school, by which is meant that the main subjects are taught in English. And
although they found speaking and understanding spoken English quite
difficult, it was very evident from their written work that they had a good
understanding, especially from those who were now in their third year of
attendance at the school. Also in addition to English they had to learn to
read, write and speak 2 other languages – Telagu, the local language for
those living in Andhra Pradesh state and Hindi, the national language. The majority
of children came from very poor families who were rice farm labourers and the
parents had little or no education. What surprised me was that most pupils
had only one and at the most 2 siblings, although when you see how small
their single roomed mud huts are, then perhaps it is not so surprising. We
asked quite a number of the older children what they would like to be when
they grew up and the most popular professions We didn’t ask the same questions to the younger
children, but even 4 year olds could say some English phrases and all could
recite or sing some English nursery rhymes doing the appropriate actions.
Also, music to my ears, 5 and 6 year olds were able to say and know their
times tables up to 12. The overall impression was that it was a happy
school albeit, somewhat cramped, and that all were so keen to learn. We were
pleasantly surprised to see that work had started on building 5 more
classrooms on the upper floor which should be completed by the start of the
next school academic year. The main
donor for this project has been Sam’s wife, Jyothi, who is a government
scientist. We returned to www.simindianruralschool.org.uk or contact Sheila and Tom Holyer
(01494-676373) If you would like to help or would like more
information please telephone Tom or Sheila on 01494 676373 or click
to email The School that was built in 2007/08 in a state in S.E India.
The school offers free education and uniforms to children of the poorest and lowest castes. The School needs ongoing HELP towards : Teachers’
Salaries, School Furniture, Paying for the School Bus, Petrol, Books and
Basic Equipment |
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