A whole new world

A whole new world opened up for my kids when my friend Rutuja and her husband Vipul brought 50 pounds of books and $200 donation all the way from the US. Rutuja shares her experience....






Nanhe Munhe bacche teri mutthi mein kya hai
Mutthi mein hai takadir hamari. -An old Hindi song


Little kid whats in your fist?
Closed fist contains my destiny.


And the destiny for the 40 little sweethearts in Milinds class at AkanshaShindewadi municipal class is looking bright!


It was a regular Municipal school, where the government provided aid doesn’t necessarily reach, teachers don’t care if kids show up or not, parents are too busy to earn a living and no positive role model to make a difference– not an atmosphere of love, care or hope.
That’s when Teach for India stepped in, adopting the school and turning it around.


As I walked up the stairs, with my husband and cousin in tow, and waited outside Milind’s class; I could see smiling faces calling out “BhaiyyaBhaiyaa”.My first brush with TFI teaching was right then – Where are RutuDidi and VipulBhaiyya from? Darlings, do you know where USA is? And, how do you think they came here? Walk..naah, bus…maybe plane or rocket? There was excitement in the air as the class had visitors.


The class is divided into several teams – Respect, teamwork, etc. The goal every day is to get most points for the team and get accolades from the class. These are not empty words. When a kid pushes another, the team’s points are deducted. The other kids in the team ensure that it doesn’t happen again…well, almost. And one emotion was strongly missing – Fear. They didn’t do this out of fear of getting beat up, but out of respect and love for what they are learning.


For the hour we were there, we participated in their ‘morning meeting’ where one team presents their ‘random act of kindness’ (from helping mother to cook to helping a stray dog), heard their goal to get 80/100, to become super stars (and how they would do it by learning English and Maths), ‘rounds of applause’ when a group activity was completed successfully, collecting batteries for the deaf school kids hearing aids (its OK if they didn’t have any)…simple little tasks that build character – not a small feat considering the kids background and lack of positive influence. Are these really the same kids prattling in English when a mere 4 months ago, their teachers spoke to them only in Marathi or Hindi?


When we finally opened the big bag of books, the kids couldn’t restrain themselves. But they waited for their team to be called out. They dug into the bag and were fascinated by the little books, books that have soft toy puppets, books that were bigger than they could hold. When their time was up, Milind asked them to go back to their desk and they did with the same child like reluctance I had when my mom asked me to keep half of that chocolate bar away …only after a Thank You hug to all of us!


I started taking pictures and they boldly came forward with their drawing and collages and maths and writing so I could take their pictures. There were lots of “Didi, see this” and I had a hard time leaving them to meet the principal and visit other classrooms- where the same story resounds! And it was even harder when we left for the day.


On the way back, I started reflecting on how this started for me. Vipul and I have always donated for educational causes- but our contributions were always monetary. We wanted to do more but other things in life were more interesting and this was always on a back burner.


When I read about Milind moving back to India to teach in a school, I was impressed! Along with many others, I followed his blog and regular class updates on Facebook. Inspired by him and his class’s progress I thought the time was right to do something – I just didn’t know what or how. We exchanged several emails on how I could help – collect money, kids books, visit local schools, spread awareness, review variety of teaching aids.I could see how much TFI is vested in this – from the hours spent on Internet researching best ways to teach basic concepts to kids, hours spent on talking to the kid’s parents, hours discussing various strategies with principals and fellow TFI-ers!


Realizing my busy work schedule, I started with small goals- collect $200 for work books and collect as many books as I can carry to India with me on the upcoming trip.


Logos were designed, a few posted printed and put up, emails circulated. A dear friend looped in Boy Scouts for book donation drive and even volunteered to carry books to India on her visit. Other friends poured in with monetary aid. Slowly, friends and colleagues collected books from their social circle and carried bags of books to be taken back. They were used but in great condition.


I was in my thoughts when Vipul, best summed up the experience- “They don’t just provide education, they are building character. That’s much more than one can ever ask for from their school”.


We can stand on the side lines and watch them change one child at a time, or join them. There ain’t a better time to join. Yes indeed! - Rutuja Khanzode