November 20, 2019 I think will be remembered as a BIG day in Janwaar. Certainly the kids and I will remember – for me, I feel, it was the most important day since I’ve arrived in Janwaar five years ago! The kids broke their silence and spoke up in front of the village community at […]
To act as a team and to support each other is probably one of the toughest things to learn for our open school kids. The quote: the team is only as good as its weakest team member is very hard for them to put into practice. Since January 2019 the five kids – Asha, Arun, […]
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. […]
Last week Ramkesh came to Noida to visit our Open School kids. Arun did an interview with him. On Saturday 21st September I interviewed Ramkesh Adiwashi. Ramkesh lives in my village, Janwaar, in Madhya Pradesh. He was with me when I made a skateboarding tour in Europe. He is a good skateboarder. He came for […]
On July 27, 2019 I conducted a design thinking workshop at Prakriti School in Noida. Prakriti is our partner and supporter of the Open School Project. So naturally our kids were part of the workshop. Not only did they participate in the sessions, they also facilitated two sessions. Important sessions actually. Sessions that kept the […]
We are currently sailing through some stormy waters with our Open School Experiment – not that we didn’t expect any kind of ups and downs, but the ones we are now struggling with could have been easily avoided. Now looking back it’s easy to say – as always 🙂 In my humble opinion it was […]
Anil (15) is Arun’s younger brother. When Arun was first confronted with the idea that his little brother would join the Open School team, he immediately responded: “No, he can’t.” He said, his parents won’t allow him. But in contrary, the parents said immediately yes. They asked Anil, if he wanted to join and that […]
Arun (17) has “earned” his first brownie points during our Janwaar Castle Skateboarding Challenge in November 2016 when he won the “social award” of the tournament. He wasn’t among the best skateboarders back then but this event sparked his interests – in multiple ways. He started to go to school, his social skills improved and […]
Asha was the first person in the village to get a passport and go abroad. This was no easy feat. As an Adivasi (indigenous people) AND a girl – there was nothing like a green card for the entire process. What a bumpy journey we had to overcome all the hurdles laid out on the way. From intrigues in […]
Ajeet is part of our Open School Project which we’ve started on January 10, 2019. Here is a portrat of him. Ajeet (15) is the youngest in his family and slightly spoiled. He enjoys all the benefits of being “male” and the last one in line. His sisters and mother would do anything to please […]