 |
| Dr Hilary Laver (far right) with members of Goodwill orpanage |
Each year, a group of Canfordians and staff members make the long
journey by plane, train, jeep and bus to the Goodwill Orphanage in
India. Canford has forged a strong relationship with Goodwill over the
years through the Canford Partnership - a community service programme
aimed to educate and get pupils involved with those less fortunate than
themselves. Through their own fundraisiing efforts, the pupils are
able to raise much needed cash for a variety of projects and see first
hand the difference their input can make.
At Goodwill, Canfordians spend time with the children, teaching and assisting with classes, helping with practical
DIY projects within the orphanage and become involved with a Tribal
Outreach Programme (TORP) which serves to benefit some of the poorest
local communities.
This year, one of the staff members accompanying the trip was our new
Deputy Head (pastoral), Dr Hilary Laver, who has written her
impressions of her first Goodwill visit.
India 2009
“Sister……Sister.” The grinning boy taps my leg. “My name?” he enquires. It’s a test, of course. Huge brown eyes, expectant, his hand hovers ready to tap again lest I overlook him.
Such is the normal routine on meeting any one of the 120 or so orphans at the Goodwill home in Thandigudi. David Neill, Gary Shaw, Lara Kent (from Dumpton School) and myself plus fourteen Canford Sixth Formers enjoyed this daily ritual as part of the Partnership trip to Tamil Nadu, in India over the Easter break.
Goodwill bursts with energy. Children chatter as they run up, down and all around the steeply inclined site from the early hours to dusk. There are chores to be done of course, skipping to be perfected and Canfordians to be quizzed. Classes (“standards”) begin promptly each morning – the children neatly remove their new socks and shoes before entering the teaching rooms (they all looked identical sizes but, somehow, were reunited appropriately). Canfordians added and subtracted, acted out, sang, crafted and generally led magnificently throughout the teaching activities under the watchful gaze of Gary and Lara.
At both Goodwill and Awake Mercy, a second, smaller orphanage in Dindigul, we were treated to Tamil entertainment, in the form of highly energetic dancing and acrobatics. Canfordians responded admirably with some well-rehearsed numbers and a peppering of gender competitiveness. With visits to the trade trading and accommodation buildings for the older children also made, it was not difficult to see how funds raised by Canford pupils can continue to be put to good use in raising life skills and aspirations in these young Indians.
In addition to the orphanages, we were given a taste of the valuable work covered by the Tribal Out Reach Programme (‘TORP’). Tribal villagers were welcoming although rather more circumspect initially. They had been told we would mend roofs and fit mud stoves but wanted to see it to believe it. A chance for some of us to spend time with Dr Rajkumar who does miraculous work in a remote primary care centre on fairly meagre funds was fascinating and humbling in equal measure. These sorts of activities, along with the plantation walks and cultural exchange atop Dindigul rock as the sun went down meant the trip was an experience of India rather than a visit to it.
Dr Neill’s meticulous organisation meant that wherever we went, transport was waiting or soon arrived (no mean feat in India). Transport by road was an assault on every one of our senses while train journeys were adventures in themselves; Dave Freeman even celebrated a birthday while sharing a 6-berth couchette crossing into Kerala. “Brother…. your name?” I pause……“Navim” I say. Then the beautifully hypnotic sideways nod as he gently takes my free hand.
|
