Final Impression, April 2009
Ms. Eliane Luthi Poirier


I came to Sambhali Trust not knowing exactly what my responsibilities would be. It was clear, however, that I would be helping with the English classes, and this turned out to be one of my major responsibilities during my three months.

In the beginning, Johanna and I divided the classes up according to ability: one Basic class, and one Advanced class. We would develop lesson plans revolving around the same subject, for instance Food & Health, and simply feed more complex vocabulary and grammar to the Advanced girls.

After about five weeks, I thought it would be a good idea to touch base with the girls and see how they felt about the classes. I conducted individual interviews with each girl and the help of Mukta and Tamannah. This turned out to be a very worthwhile exercise, as we discovered that many of the girls were interested in improving their reading and writing skills. This need was articulated through various requests: the illiterate girls said they would like to learn reading and writing, both in Hindi and in English; the Advanced girls requested more writing exercises in class and more homework assignments, with the ultimate goal of being able to read newspaper articles in English.

We shared these results with Govind and discussed the possibility of hiring a teacher of the Hindi language for the girls. Meanwhile, Johanna and I established a daily Reading and Writing class, in which we used a phonics-based approach to teach the girls English letters and the sounds they are associated with. This class has worked very well, and I am proud to say that after six weeks of study, the girls that were once illiterate are now able to recognize and write a variety of three-letter words such as “ant”, “pin” and “hem”. Finally, I introduced more reading, writing and grammar into the Advanced class. However, in general, the progress and the learning curves of the girls were quite modest, as many of them have not been exposed to much teaching in their lives.

During the first month of teaching and getting my bearings, I began thinking about all the things I’d like to do for the Trust. My main reason for coming here, after all, was really to work on Women’s Empowerment. Govind gave Johanna and I the responsibility for organizing our March 8th celebration, which will remain one of the highlights of my time here (see our report on the subject). Being able to bring all these women together and to speak to them about the issues that affect all of us regardless of our nationalities, religions and cultures, was a very powerful moment for me. I was thrilled to be able to follow up on that special day with our Women’s Health and Awareness Workshops and my Women’s Rights Workshops, both of which were immensely satisfying and rewarding for me as a volunteer.

I have also had numerous other responsibilities, ranging from manning the Market Stalls, to trying to find high-profile visitors to invite to the Trust, to going to Setrawa to present the Setrawa project to visitors, to aiding and advising Govind in preparing his presentations. At times I even felt slightly overloaded, which didn’t necessarily have as much to do with the actual workload as with the way the work was planned. Coming from a relatively strict corporate background, I was used to long-term planning, deadlines and punctuality, all of which I learned were difficult to apply to this particular context. For instance, my attempts to establish a timetable and have the girls actually read and respect it were repeatedly foiled. I ended up learning how to deal with the day-to-day planning that Govind, Tamannah and the girls are all used to, and to make the most of it. This meant, for instance, that instead of getting upset about the Advanced class regularly forgetting that we have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I would begin reminding them gently every time they left on Monday and Wednesday that we were to have class the next day and to be sure to bring their notebooks and their homework.

I also discussed structural and management ideas with Govind, such as what I felt was the need to establish clear working hours for the volunteers at the Jodhpur project. (I personally have felt that living in the same building I work in is quite a challenge). Govind was very receptive to these ideas and has decided among other things that volunteers should now be expected to work from 10 AM to 4 PM.

Finally, in the free time I had, I spent time with the girls. This, I have found, has been quite easy with some of the girls and quite challenging with others. There are girls that have been at Sambhali for quite some time and, I believe, no longer wish to get too close to volunteers they know will be eventually be leaving them. The girls that have been here for six or seven months, however, arrived with good English skills and higher levels of self-confidence, and seem more curious about the volunteers. I will always remember the afternoon the girls were asking me about my wedding, and we were discussing the differences between Western “love marriages” and arranged marriages. One of the girls, Jaya, who had been sullen for a few days, suddenly burst into tears. I went to her and the girls explained to me that she was about to get married and that she was very scared and sad. We spent awhile just hugging each other and at the end we were both laughing and smiling again. The girls here are so strong and never fail to amaze me with their courage.

My whole experience has been so positive that I cannot really find the words to thank Govind and everyone at the Trust enough for making this opportunity a reality for me. Working with them and these wonderful girls has been an eye-opener and an inspiration for me, and Sambhali will remain in a special place in my heart for a long time!