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Full details on our events page or click here (pdf) for the full itinerary Book your spot now. Contact Jamie Kerslake, Thor Travel on (08) 8232 3071 or jamie@thorworldtravel.com Start your fundraising today Visit to Yatra Schools and dental camps 2012 By Sophie Beaumont
In November 2012 I went to India with Sanjay Jain and Holly Whyatt to finally see the Yatra projects for myself. I was so excited to be going with Holly for her first "Indian experience". My last trip was more than four years ago when we had only the Basti school up and running. The Faria school project was only a dream back then as we were in the early stages of the partnership negotiations. We had so many laughs, probably too many gin and tonics, experienced long car trips with full bladders and road side pit-stops, a majestic wedding in Rajasthan, the most incredibly delicious food and endless masala chai, bazaars, temples, beautiful guest houses, stunning scenery, chaos, noise, smells, annoying tourists and much, much more, but I wanted to share my experiences of the schools and the dental camps. After arriving late into Chennai and then a long drive to Pondicherry, we spent our first day at the Isha Cuddalore school, where Yatra sponsor 150 children. The school has such a positive energy and all the children are so happy, greeting their visitors with infectious smiles and laughter. Holly spent the day reading, drawing and playing volleyball, while I joined two local dentists for a dental camp. Together we managed to see 300 children for a quick screening examination, therefore allowing us to identify those with urgent dental needs. The school staff are arranging for these children to receive treatment at the University.
Yatra co-founder Sanjay Jain met with students and staff at Isha School in Cuaalore where Yatra Foundation sponsor 150 children The following day, we travelled to Mumbai, then on to Udaipur where we were met by teachers from the Seva Mandir organization. We visited the rural training camp, where illiterate children from villages as far away as 200km can spend three periods of eight weeks living-in. The ultimate aim of this camp is to get the children to a level of literacy to enable entry to a mainstream school. The staff are incredibly inspiring and dedicated it is hard not to be completely awe-struck and humbled. We were then taken to two rural Seva-Mandir one-room schools in extremely remote countryside, watched the children of many ages at work, met with the villagers and school council members and witnessed the most beautiful women looking after the village children in the one-roomed mud hut day-care centre. Watching these women singing songs and playing games with the tiniest of children in the most basic of facilities was an inspiration. They have so little to work with yet they are able to keep 20 or more babies and toddlers happy from 9am to 5pm so their parents can work in the fields. Our next stop was Kota, where we spent the day with Meena (Sanjay's cousin) in the Basti and ran another dental camp. I was surprised to find that the incidence of dental caries was lower than for the children in the school in Cuddalore. A local dentist will arrange for the treatment to be carried out at no charge for those children with urgent dental needs. Holly spent the day making some amazing clay figures with the children, including some pretty good kangaroos and lots of cobras. Following the dental camp we sat with the mothers of the children and had a meeting about the best way Yatra can help the community of the Basti. We came up with some good ideas, now to implement them!!!
Finally, we headed to Sawai Madophur near the famous Ranthambore tiger reserve. Following a disappointing safari tour (didn't see any tigers although we did see a sloth bear which apparently are more rare) we then spent the next two days doing dental camps at the Faria school and Bodal school. A local dentist Mithali joined us as her excellent skills and experience enabled us to see all the children and also have some general discussions about oral hygiene, diet, smoking and tobacco usage and also about betel nut chewing. It is disturbing to find that several of the older children aged between 10 and 12 are already chewing tobacco and betel nut which has serious side effects including oral cancers. Maneesh and Minu looked after us exceptionally well and we enjoyed spending the time with them although it went too quickly and left me wanting more!! We spent one night at the Faria guesthouse with Radhayshayam and his wonderful family in the Faria village. It was truly one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced- to be welcomed into the family home and looked after so well was humbling and once again I wished for more time. All of the family, villagers and school children and teachers talk incessantly about Annika and Alice, both of whom have spent quite a lot of time at the Faria school. Our trip ended in Delhi, with a day at Agra and the Taj Mahal- which is as spectacular as the photos, however not a patch on the Faria village!! Thank you for your time and ongoing support of Yatra Foundation. Please remember you can donate anytime on our website |
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Dental camp in the Kota Basti
Holly and students
