Richard Galletly - UK

I travelled to Dakshinayan in June 2009 during the height of a blisteringly hot summer and before a monsoon that never really came. To be completely honest, cooler weather would have been nice but, that’s the only thing I would change. Travelling from the train station across beautiful landscapes and potholed roads a small voice in my head did question what could happen to me in the middle of rural India. Particularly as almost every Indian I’d spoke to before arriving seemed shocked and genuinely worried for me that I was going to Jharkhand. I never once felt in any danger though, and didn’t meet anyone who wasn’t anything but friendly and helpful.

From the start I got involved with teaching the kids and playing with them in the afternoon. I wondered how I’d manage to teach at first, but with a textbook and the enthusiasm of the kids, despite no prior teaching experience I found a way that worked for me and, more importantly I think the kids found it OK too. I was aware when organising my trip to India that teaching was the reason I was going. Obviously I’d been to school in England and had heard how important education was millions of times. Actually teaching here brought that home in such a strong way though.

Visiting the children’s homes was a good way to get to know them better, as well as gaining an appreciation of how they lived, a huge eye opener for someone from the UK. I never felt awkward visiting the homes. The families were very genuine, interested in where I was from, found my attempts at Hindi very humorous (in the best possible way) and were always trying to give me food or offering to let me stay in their homes for the night.

I visited a market twice a week to help buy some of the food for the project - a real social event for the local area, which most people dress up for. There were always lots of people there who wanted to talk to me about where I was from and why I was in Jharkhand. Eventually I took photos to show them and spent time explaining what was in the various photos.

I couldn’t recommend the project enough. You get to know a community, not as someone observing from a distance but, as someone living and interacting with them. Teaching the kids is its own reward and the whole experience will teach you as much about yourself as it will about the communities there. There are periods of time with little to do but, if you’re aware of this before you go and don’t mind using your initiative to get involved it’s not something that detracts from the overall experience.

I initially found Dakshinayan due to an interest in development economics, and it certainly helped me in this area. If you’re in a similar situation or just wish to ask about Dakshinayan feel free to contact me through Facebook (I’m in the Dakshinayan group).