Before I start writing about the camp itself and why our girls went there, I want to thank everyone who made this possible. Thanks to all the friends who donated to make this happen – once again, the support came from all over the world! Thank you!
The skatepark has changed a lot in Janwaar. Among many other things it has triggered the appetite for learning. Yet, formal education in Janwaar’s government school is nothing our kids are yearning for. They find any excuse to skip school. BUT: If they have the chance to participate in our Open School Project that we started in January 2019 together with Prakriti School in Noida, they are all for it. They enjoy school and they love to learn – if the environment is right!
Four of our girls – Dilasha (10), Durgha (8), Priyanka (10) and Kalpna (11) – are part of the Open School Project and visit Prakriti School every four weeks. Now they have the big chance to attend the Rainbow Dreams All India Children Camp in the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. It takes place from September 29 – October 7. Asha, one of our older girls, will accompany them and help to facilitate the camp.
The program of the Rainbow Dream Camp is very much in line with our ideas of learning and the four girls would really benefit if they could go! The camp includes everything they won’t get at their government school back home: music & dance, art & craft, games & sports.
This is why I thought, they should go.
So I started to raise the funds. We did an successfull online campaign on Ketto and we received direct funds – so we could cover all the costs for the camp. Lucky us! Lucky girls!
On September 26 their journey started. Three of the girls – Durgha, Dilasha and Kalpna – were in Janwaar and they needed to go to Jhansi to board the train. Jhansi is 200 km away from Janwaar. So our heart & soul, Pappu, picked them up the day before the journey started. He put them all on his motorbike and “transported” them to his house in Madla, where they spent the night. Rajnee, Pappu’s wife, cooked food for them and prepared food boxes for their 36 hours train journey. The nect morning at 6 am a car picked them up and dropped them at Jhansi Railway station – with Pappu on board as well!
In Jhansi they met Asha and Priyanki who have boarded their train from Delhi. They left Delhi on September 27 at 6 am in the morning and reached Jhansi at 11 am – now the team was complete and the long ride to Pondicherry could start.
From the train I received some messages from Asha that the girls were bored on the train … but somehow Asha managed and got them engaged in reading. The next evening – September 28 – after another 3 hours taxi drive, they finally reached Pondicherry. Tired, exhausted, but very happy. They checked into their hotel and were all excited what the following days would have to offer.
It wasn’t their first trip out of Janwaar – still such travels are quite unusual for them. I do thank the parents for their trust in us and that they have the courage to send their girls and give them such an opportunity. This is not at all “normal” behaviour!
After the first day I received some nice photos and I feel they speak for themselves – just have a look:
Let’s see what the rest of the camp will bring. You can follow the news on our Facebook page!
