Renee Berkhout - UK

I would highly recommend getting involved with Dakshinayan to anyone that wants to teach and get a taste of simple rural living in India. I love reminiscing about my time at the project as it really touched me and I had an experience I will never ever forget.

I was only there for a month, which before going seemed like an incredibly daunting prospect, however as time passed I quickly realised that I could easily have stayed longer. I would love to return to the project again one day but will continue to support it from a distance and I enjoy being updated as to what is going on through the blog that Siddarth keeps (http://www.dakshinayan.blogspot.com/).

For me, the best part of the experience was easily the teaching – the children were a true pleasure to work with. They are incredibly well behaved, show you great respect and it is great to see the results of your teaching. I had doubts as to whether I would really make much difference in the short space that I was there, however it becomes more apparent when you observe the difference between the children who are in Nursery (who speak no English) with the children in Class 4 (who can understand everything that you are saying, read challenging texts and can communicated clearly). It is truly amazing! I now miss the daily chorus of ‘Good Morning Miss’ said with a smile and seeing the kids line up for assembly to sing the national anthem in their cute little yellow and navy uniforms.

I have never done any teaching before however you quickly pick it up. You are given textbooks to work from and then you have the autonomy to teach in a way that suits you provided that you cover the necessary areas. I found this very freeing as it allowed me to use my creative side and teaching made me feel so alive.

The way the day is structured is great as you teach for three hours in the morning and then have the afternoon off to enjoy the beautiful scenery, chill out and to help out with chores. I call them chores, but it was fun to help out as whilst I was there as this involved watering plants with buckets of water from the well and painting benches for the classrooms.

You live a very simple lifestyle as the food is basic, there is no electricity and you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere however I found this refreshing and it is part of the adventure. Where else could I watch a herd of goats and buffalo being ushered across the land? To the local villagers this is a part of everyday life yet to me it was an extraordinary site. I found the landscape fascinating, unlike anything I’d ever seen before and I loved learning about how the villagers live.

Dakshinayan also has its little luxuries - there is a Western style toilet, a volunteer phone, the food may be basic but you can eat as much as you like (you do get very hungry after teaching) and Siddarth, the leader and co-ordinator of the project is very kind and does his best to make it comfortable for you. I have immense respect and admiration for the way he runs the project and the amount of time and effort that he has dedicated to the school, he is doing a great job and there is a great to deal to be learnt from him.

Just to reassure anyone that has any qualms, my main fears were:
-Not being able to drink the water (there are huge water containers that have a filter so you can drink this)
-Travelling to the project (sounds scary and yes it is a bit of a bumpy ride, however it’s fine)
-Going to Jharkhand (it has a reputation as one of India’s poorest and most dangerous states and even some Indians are wary of going there however at no point did I feel threatened or scared. As so few outsiders visit Jharkand it makes it an even more interesting and valuable place to visit.)
-Not knowing what to teach (you are given a text book and then left to it so you can explain things in whatever way works for you.)
-Going hungry (you may get sick of rice, but in general I loved the food which was usually rice, veg and daal.)
- Climate (I went during the months of January when the temperature in the day was lovely and it even got cold at night sometimes, by Indian standards that is, but it was not a problem. It is probably a good idea to check out what the weather will be like when you plan to be there)

I could go on with more praise for the project but you get the idea..... I am intrigued to see how the project has changed since I have left seeing that they now have a few laptops which will radically change the way that they learn, exciting times are ahead for the school.

Good luck to anyone that is going, you will have a great time and feel free to email me with any questions on reneeberkhout@gmail.com if you want to know more – I love Dakshinayan!