My First entry:
by Amanda Humphries


I did feel I needed to write a little about my impressions so far, kind of a rough draft.

I agree entirely with the motivations of the Sambhali project and can see it as a positive thing already. The team seems to take a ‘lifestyle’, ‘cultural’ approach as opposed to simply strictly schooling. This creates more of a social atmosphere. This, in the light of the project’s ethos, is much more effective than the latter mentioned.

For example, positive observations are that the girls are smiling, laughing. They all seem to get along well together as a group, and outwardly, they project a confident image. smiles all around, good posture, (Pooja looks down and shrugs her shoulders quite a lot however, although that may be because she is self conscious of being taller than the others). Sonyia, Chandani, Sarika, and Reena seem the most confident. I am looking forward to getting to know them all so well. Sarooj is adorable, she laughs a lot, also self conscious, but she won’t take long I’m sure… Meera is so warm and has a very infectious smile! I’m sure my role towards them all will develop and unfold within the next few days, I will share with them what I know and I will be there as a person to witness who they are. It is all about them, about them being interesting and important individuals that others take notice of!!!

In regards to teaching. I have so much anticipation for when I start my own class. I am enjoying sitting in and observing, but I’d like to be more interactive. Patience is a virtue, I know. I know they have plenty of potential. If they are willing to learn and believe in what they are doing, then they will be fine, if not fantastic!! The girls seem a lot more confident then what the earlier volunteers had described. This is evidence that progress has been made.

This is where the relaxed atmosphere and more social side of it has its benefits I think. The girls mostly are just ‘hanging out’, so there is not much pressure, and therefore it’s not a competitive environment. The hanging out aspect is fun and they also learn many things like dance, singing, they share food, the chores of setting up the classroom, cleaning up the chai tea cups etc. All activities encourage sharing and interacting. I have so many ideas, and I hope my approach that I am familiar with, with teaching, is not too intense, too pushy! At home I am used to setting a task and completing it the same day. I often interweave topics and themes across classes. Often the real value of the lesson is not the content/subject, but more so the combination of subjects chosen. So I think in regards to teaching I will look at themes of identity, self expression, wider world around them etc, across all disciplines, whether it be vocab, art, fundraising activities. Just ideas I guess. Too late for me to think cohesively!!!

I look forward to the times I am in the classroom with the girls, more than any other aspect of being here. Their warm personalities and friendliness makes me feel very welcome. Observing and getting to know each girls’ unique personality is one of my other favourite aspects of being here.

The funny and affectionate Usha, who at times seems unsure of things uses humour to engage with the world, Sarika with her beautiful voice sings loudly and confidently every morning during prayer. I of ten hear her singing tunes throughout the day while she is working or when the girls are doing dance. She has such a beautiful smile. Pammi is shy but seems very confident underneath that first impression. I know she is good at drawing and her writing is very neat also. Saraswati can do the activities, but I have noticed she often doesn’t want to do them. It is not that she is stubborn, I think more so that she is afraid of getting it wrong, or getting in trouble. I don’t believe any of the girls get into trouble for trying, but I am not sure how other volunteers have been teaching. I was always surprised, how, if I help her she pretends not to know how to do the simplest tasks, but sometimes when I prompt her and leave her alone she flawlessly copies what is written on the board and interprets the activity.

Reena is an incredibly good drawer and should be encouraged. Deepika is an all rounder, very smart and quite advanced in comparison to the others. She lets everyone else copy her work though, which does not help the girls at all. Seema jokes around a lot also, a very positive quality, I’m still not sure what level of English she is up to yet. Bhati, particularly is very promising. Already at such a young age she is one of the better writers and drawers of the class. She is also willing to learn, which is reflected in her diligent and quiet nature. I think she is too shy to practice speaking in English at this stage.

Soniya is very advanced. Her confidence shines through with her always volunteering to do the example on the board. She and Monica are often the first to put their hand up for answers. I have only recently learnt that the two girls are the only students who have been to school.

As Soniya and Monica put their hands up to answer, Lajwanti and Deepika often shout out the answer as soon as they know it. This is great showing they know a lot, but often the others who are quieter and may know the answer don’t get a chance to shae that knowledge with us. And the others who are still struggling don’t get a chance to process their thinking. Therefore they will end up staying behind.

Pooja is smart, but she is not confident and often doesn’t try. I see her copying the answers quite a lot and when I get her on her own she is fine at completing the task on herown.

I simply was going to add that Chandani’s lovely name means “moonlight’, as Mukta mentioned to me yesterday. It is interesting how many Indian names have a spiritual/symbolic meaning attatched to them. For example Seema also means ‘The Line” etc!. If this is so, for the majority, we could maybe ask them about it, adopt it as another way they can build the facets of their personalities. And for the girls who don’t have a symbolic meaning for their name, perhaps we could make it up for them as a group… just an idea! Appreciating peoples good points is such a simple way to build happiness confidence and a healthy group dynamic. We always did positive word associations for leadership camps when I was in school, much like this!