Heather Schultz 

I spent 3 days volunteering at a slum school in Baljaat Nagar, New Delhi. The school is run by the Wahoe Commune, a Delhi-based NGO which runs tours to fund various community building projects. The school is actually an after-school program that serves to encourage and improve academic achievement among slum youth with the hope that these youth will thus be empowered to rise above the economic standards of their parents.

It has been a very interesting experience for me to see the slum and interact with the children, particularly as our class recently read Behind the Beautiful Forevers, a book about life in an Indian slum. In fact, the slum was not as bad as I expected; the staff at Wahoe explained to me that over the last 10 years there have been vast improvements. Originally people were living in tents, now many of the houses are brick and some have more than one room. However, this is still a slum and conditions are not good, sanitation in particular is an issue. Many homes don’t have toilets and sewage ends up running down the street in places. 

I hope that these people can continue to find ways to improve their conditions and that the efforts of various organizations also serve to facilitate positive changes in New Delhi and across India.  

Heather Schultz 

I spent about two and a half weeks teaching at Shree Machhapuchhre Higher Secondary School in Bhujrungkhola, Nepal.  It was an amazing experience. To begin with, the landscape is beautiful. The village is actually located within the Annapurna Conservation Area. Every morning as I walked to school, I was greeted by the sight of Machhapuchhre. The peak dominants the village and provides the school with its name. 

Machhapuchhre

The school itself is somewhat unique in Nepal as it is an English medium government school. As the headmaster explained to me, English provides many opportunities, so why should this be only for those who can afford private school? I  really admired how passionate the headmaster was about providing a quality education for every child in the community. I additionally found the teachers to be friendly, and had some good conversations with them, on everything from teaching to geography to agricultural. The students were curious and eager to learn – which really made them a joy to teach. Any question they knew how to ask in English, they would. Even on the walk to school,  I would often be asked by one student or another, ‘what is your name?’ and ‘where are you from?’ The students also loved teaching me, and I often received impromptu lessons in Nepali. 

Shree Machhapuchhre Higher Secondary School

Finally, there was such an amazing sense of community in Bhujrungkhola. Between my kindhearted host family, and the staff and students at the school, I felt incredibly welcomed and included. In fact during my short stay, I attended a party, a religious celebration, a picnic and a wedding. All in all, my time in Bhujrungkhola proved to be an incredible experience.