When asked to teach a Summer Art Camp at Profugo’s Center of Development for the kids of the Prashanthagiri village, I was excited, to say the least. At the time, I knew that this opportunity was going to be a complete 180° change for me; although I had lived and worked in India for nearly a year prior to my time in Prashanthagiri, I spent the majority of my time in Calcutta, one of the
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Anticipation is laced into the air and into the tinsel that shoots of flickers of light like sudden lightning bolts. The children file in, glancing curiously at the various arts and crafts that have been distributed, bringing their contribution fee and signing in their names, barely able to contain their excitement. The children continue to come in a steady flow until the entire patio is filled with the chatter of young and carefree minds, a
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It started to rain heavily. Nevertheless, the children came. Big, grey clouds hovered over the beautiful lime green hills overlooking our yard. Despite the rain, the community’s children came happy. They walked up to Profugo’s Center of Development (COD) with big smiles unbothered by the wet mud stuck to their shoes. It was their first Children’s Club meeting after its inauguration and they also knew Jenny, our director had come from the US with her
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She told me that I could fly, that all I had to do was believe and wings would escape from my shoulder blades and I would become a great wild eagle, a stranger to tethers and cages. No, not an eagle, but a beautiful exotic bird from the east, one that the world has never seen or classified or drawn in a science textbook. This bird, without even a name to inhibit her freedom, would
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The past few Spoken English classes have been full of lively discussion and expression. A couple weeks ago we started “Star of the Day.” This gives each student a chance to speak in front of their peers and present something that is special to them. One student brought in a peacock feather that he received while on a holy pilgrimage with his father called Shabarimalah. Another student proudly cradled a trophy he had received in
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