Monday 24 November 2014

Preparations for the India Trip 2015

For any students and parents considering the India trip the following is a brief survey of the activities that typically take place in preparation for going to India.

This is a log of the various activities that took place between October 2014 and April 2015.

Packing Demonstration
All students went to Nations campus after school on one evening in themonth before the trip. A teacher demonstrated the kind of things that should be packed by opening up her suitcase! 
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Sandra Steiger at Campus des nations writes ...

It is my great pleasure to invite you to the India Evening at Campus des Nations this Friday 27th from 5pm - 8pm. It will be held in the cafeteria on the 3rd floor.

We will have Indian food, music and dance performances and a fashion show. It would be lovely if you could join us! And of course feel free to bring friends and family.

If any India students from the other campuses would like to help, we could always do with more support. Please write me an email and I'll be in touch with what stand you could help with. 

And of course if you (or someone you know) can help with donating some Indian dishes to sell, or would like to sell other items, or would like to perform, please let me know (ideally by Tuesday night).

Looking forward to it!

Day hike on Saturday, 21 February. 

The snow-shoe expedition took place at La Givrine. The weather was a day of heavy snowfall and we had a wonderful 5-km walk up to the La Genolier buvette for a hot chocolate drink. We all enjoyed the deep snow especially following Mr.Harrison 'off-piste' through the forest!


India Meal on Thursday December 11 2014 in Geneva

A very enjoyable evening meal was shared by students from all three campuses at the Bollywood Restaurant in Geneva. The sumptuous meal was followed by distribution of Christmas presents (see image) with a difference!

Justin (right) holds the next Christmas present to be distributed to a lucky student in the Bollywood Restaurant.

Sponsored 10 kilometre walk through the Lavaux vineyards

On Saturday 22nd November, thirty students, seven staff and two dogs set off from St. Saphorin to Lutry following the 'grand tour' itinerary through the vine terraces. The sun managed to break through and we had a very pleasant walk, with a stop for packed lunches overlooking Lac Leman. This was the first time that the students from the three campuses had been together and they were encouraged to introduce themselves to each other.



The 2015 India Team




Saturday 24 May 2014

02 The Geneva International School Year 10 India Trips

The India Projects are located in and around Kodaikanal town in the Western Ghat Mountains of Tamil Nadu state in Southern India. The students who participate take part in a variety of fund raising activities before the trip to support the projects. They pay for their own travel costs and accommodation for the trip which takes place over the Easter vacation. The group usually comprises students from year 10 and is open to all three campuses, la Chataigneraie, Nations and la Grand Boissière, and thus provides a unique opportunity for students from different campuses to work together.

The overall aims of the India Trip is to
  • introduce students to a developing country
  • carry out social service
  • interact with students from a different International School
Staff leading the trip advertise and select students at the start of each academic year in September. The India trip is the climax of over six months of commitment and preparation by the students who initiate fund-raising activities. The students who participate attend regular meetings, go on sponsored walks, an overnight mountain trip, organised bake sales, dances and much more.

The projects

As well as travelling through and experiencing the fascinating Indian culture, the main work of the visiting team is to support several crèches in the Kodaikanal area. The crèche concept means day care, nutritious food and basic education for young children which has a ripple effect through the local community. Crèches enable mothers to go out to work, often as farm labourers, and thus raise precious income for their families. Older children are freed to attend school, rather than being involved in the care of younger siblings. Local teachers together with other school staff gain employment.

Working with crèche children.

The India Projects - a short history

The India Projects were started in 2001 by Kate and Dave Harrison. They were long term teachers of history and sciences at La Chataigneraie and Campus des Nations before their retirement five years ago. They spent a sabbatical year from the Foundation at Kodaikanal International School and, during their time there, they developed connections with people and projects in the local community. One such connection was with a project established by the Betsy Elizabeth Trust, which had been set up in 1990 by an American lady, Betsy Dailey, living in Kodaikanal and was managed by a local Indian lady, Hilda Isaac, overseen by the board of the trust. At the time, there was one creche only, established to provide early education to children from the most impoverished families in a village near Kodai, thus providing the children with education, nutrition and care while at the same time freeing their mothers to work as labourers in local farms and forests. The Harrsions learned about the crèche project in their time in Kodaikanal and they recognised this as an opportunity to develop an educational project based on service learning in line with the international values of the IB and our school. As contributors to the development of the IB programme and having established many service learning projects in international schools over the years, including the Tanzania project at La Chat, it seemed a natural progression to develop such a project between the two international school communities In India and Switzerland upon their return to Geneva.

The Ecolint India project group was started in 2000 and the first trip was led by the Harrisons, in 2001, and from there, Ecolint students helped to set up and fund the establishment of two new creches, Little Lilies in 2002 and Peach Tree in 2003. The project was subsequently led by Tim Gurney, a science teacher at La Chat, and, one of many teachers, I became involved in 2004. The Harrisons, and indeed all of the teachers and students who have worked with the project over the years, have stayed closely involved with the project and, as you know, we were very lucky to have the Harrsions join us on this year's trip to help us lead the project work and to see how the creches have evolved since their last trip in 2005. There are now three creches in the Kodaikanal area, run by the Betsy Elizabeth Trust and supported by the Ecolint community, as well as other donors.

We also support a school in the tribal village of Thamaraikulam run by the Bethania Foundation in Kodaikanal, the cookstove installation project in the villages surrounding Kodai, as well as a sewing project for women, SEW (Sewing Empowers Women), set up with Ecolint students and Janet Welling, also a teacher at La Chat and part of the India team for many years until her retirement a few years ago. The project is now in its fifteenth year and is a credit to all of the students who have contributed to its success.

Ann Peck, advisor to the board of the trust, retired teacher of Kodaikanal International School and founder of Help Kids India, an organisation that raises funds through community groups in Vermont, USA, for the Betsy Elizabeth Trust. Ann is American and she now spends six months a year in the USA and six months in Kodai. She advises the board, supports Hilda in the management of the crèches, oversees the cookstove project, and helps to coordinate our Ecolint project work in India. annpeck.helpkidsindia@gmail.com 

Hilda Isaac, member of the board of the Betsy Elizabeth Trust and manager of the creches. She is an Indian lady who comes from a similar background to that of the creche children and is well established in the village communities where the creches are based. She was a friend of Betsy Dailey and she has managed the creches since the establishment of the first one in 1990. hildaisaacBET@yahoo.com.


The Crèche Projects - a short history

The projects are located in and around Kodaikanal town in the Western Ghat Mountains of Tamil Nadu state in Southern India.

The projects

    Over the past thirteen years the India Projects, which were started in 2001 by Kate and Dave Harrison from La Chataigneraie, have increased to four crèches. The work of the students would not be effective without local contacts. We work with several local people and in particular the Betsy Elizabeth Trust a local non-profit organisation which runs the three of the crèches that we support. We also work with the Bethania Foundation supporting a school in a tribal village.

    Childcare and education

    Children at the crèches are fed three nutritious meals each day including fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs. At home they may have little to eat other than rice.
    Songs, rhymes, dance, stories and group games are taught to the children by a trained teacher. Older children are also taught to read and write.
    The children are instructed in basic hygiene such as bathing, washing hands after toilet use and cleaning their hair. Parent seminars are conducted on health issues such as clean drinking water, treatment for dysentery (the main cause of death for children under 5 in the area), childbirth, nutrition and vaccinations.
    A nurse is also responsible for monitoring the children's health and growth rate. Monthly measurements of the children’s height and weight are made and this information is displayed on a large chart within each crèche.
    Around each crèche, organic gardening of vegetables is carried out – using traditional and natural fertilisers and insecticides used by Indian farmers in the plains of Tamil Nadu state.

    The crèche projects

    Little Lilies Crèche

    This crèche is in the village of Palangi, about 10km from the town of Kodaikanal and now supports 50 children. It was opened after considerable hard work by students from the International School of Geneva in 2002. This image shows our first view; could this old building ever become a crèche? Students named the crèche after the lilies growing on the property.


    The future Little Lilies as we first saw it!

    Over the next five years, a new kitchen was built releasing more classroom space and the number of children increased to fifty children. Students have returned each year to work at Little Lilies and have raised funds which have been used for rent, salaries, children's food, maintenance and the purchase of supplies.


    The crèche ready for the opening ceremony 2002


    Ready for the opening ceremony 2002 with Ann and Hilda.
    At the end of a week of hard labour an incredible transformation both outside and inside. On the last project work-day all the students visit each other's crèche to view the work done and say goodbye to staff and children. On this occasion a special opening ceremony was held to formally start the newly established crèche.


    Cutting the ribbon to officially open the crèche.


    Between 2002 and 2013 work included painting the interior walls with educational murals, adding a tin roof and relaying the roof tiles, constructing a fenced area for chickens to provide eggs and the construction of an additional storage lean-too building to free up classroom space.


    Students relay roof tiles in 2003

    Lunch time for the children.
    Between 2013 and 2014 the old building was taken down and a new brick building comprising a classroom, kitchen and superior toilet was built. When the student group arrived at Easter 2014 the shell of the building was complete and door and window frames installed. During the week of work the students were able to paint the woodwork and help the masons to rebuild the boundary wall. And of course much time was spent with the children including a puppet show and a picnic outing.


    Organising games during the picnic outing.
    Official opening of Little Lilies new building.
    Pooja ceremony to bless the new building
    After the opening ceremony in April 2014

    In 2014 the funds raised by the students were used to buy paint for the woodwork and educational supplies, new sandals and pullovers. Older children who were about to graduate into primary school were also provided with a learning kit comprising a small back-pack with chalk-board, pens etc.

    The new Little Lilies crèche as we said our goodbyes at the end of the week of work by the students and teachers.


    Our students entertain the children as we said our goodbyes.
    Little Lilies is largely funded by a non profit organisation, (managed by Ann, our local contact in Kodaikanal), Help Kids India, www.help-kids-india.org.

    Peach Tree Crèche

    This crèche which is near to Little Lilies is also in the village of Palangi and about 5km from the town of Kodaikanal and was opened in 2003. Funds for rent, staffing and maintenance are raised entirely by Geneva International School students. After the opening of the Peach Tree the local government provided clean piped water to the crèche and the surrounding village houses.


    Starting work on the newly acquired crèche. Note the peach tree above front corner.
    The following year, students constructed an outside covered walkway to protect the children from the monsoon rain when they use the toilet – this is especially important when each child may only have one change of clothes in addition to their school uniform. To encourage the children to exercise more a swing and permanent painted hopscotch grids were painted on the roof of the crèche.


    Saying our good-byes at the end of our time in Kodai.
    One of the problems with renting the crèche building is that the owner may want it back or increase the rent. This indeed did happen and the crèche moved to a nearby building. It was decided to buy a plot of land and after several attempts a site was secured in the middle of the village.


    The new Peach Tree crèche in the centre of the village.

    Work to clear the site started in 2013 and when students arrived in 2014 they found a spacious building with two large rooms and a kitchen. The crèche now supports 50 children. Work is not complete and an interconnecting door and modification to the rear classroom roof need to be addressed.


    The Peach Tree work-team with their educational mural.


    The Peach Tree crèche staff.

    Grace Kids Centre

    This crèche is in the hill station of Kodaikanal. It was the first crèche opened by the Betsy Elizabeth Trust in 1990, and now provides day care for 50 children. The Centre is funded mainly by outside donors. In 2003 the Trust asked us to fund and construct some play equipment for the children – an empty yard does not provide many incentives for children to exercise. The result: construction of two swings, a slide and a sandpit.


    After work at Grace Kids.

    2014 Update

    Thanking the Grace Kids team before our departure


    Grace Kids staff with Ann, Sheena and Hilda.

    Thamaraikulan (tribal village)

    The villagers are supported by a local non-profit organisation called ACT (Action for Communities of Tribals in India), but receive little or no help from local government.
    Fruit trees planted by Ecolint students in 2002 have grown five metres, and are now producing fruit for the village. Students this year donated clothing to the villagers, and agreed to fund the cost of a teacher for the village school for a year – education is essential if levels of health, hygiene and literacy are to rise.


    2014 Update

    Students were involved in a much needed paint-job and helped to plant avocado tree seedlings. The peach trees planted in 2002 looked like producing a good fruit harvest this year.


    First work party before leaving for Kodai. 

    Inside the crèche; four new mothers receive baby clothes donated by the students. Preparations to paint the walls started!


    Painting the school room - outside complete.




    Sheep in a jeep

    Students from the International School of Geneva worked on this centre in 2002. The factory and shop produce and sell textile products to the many tourists in Kodaikanal hill station. The centre provides a safe haven for single women who have been rejected by their families and/or husbands for various reasons, and a way for them to be financially independent.
    No work was carried out on the centre this year, since it is now self sufficient.

    The text has been adapted from an excellent account written by Tim Gurney.



    Grace Kids Center: funded by ASHA, US non profit

    Helping Hearts: funded by Help Kids India
    Good Shepherd:  funded by Good Shepherd Church of USA
    -- Your school has also generously helped with individual work projects for each of the Kodai crèches when the student tour comes to India.

    Ann Peck

    Donations
    Checks payable to Help-Kids-India:
    PO Box 1022, East Corinth, Vermont, USA 05040
    Paypal online:  click DONATIONS on website
    www.help-kids-india.org