Jon Walker - UK

I travelled to the Dakshinayan project in October 2009, which means it’s taken me a year to pen my thoughts for this blog (thanks for your patience Siddharth!). The reason for the delay, aside from my laziness, is the difficulty I’ve found putting the whole Dakshinayan experience into words. Needless to say I had a phenomenal time from start to finish, and I look back on it as one of the most rewarding months of my life.

After getting made redundant in May 2009 I began to plan a stint of travelling in order to ride out the recession and my own disillusionment with working in an office in London. I wanted to combine my time away with some voluntary work so I could do something a bit different, take myself out of my comfort zone and ultimately feel like I was making a small, positive difference to people lives, something the various jobs I’d had in the past had never provided. I chanced upon Dakshinayan online and after emailing Siddharth and reading the various blogs about the project I decided it ticked all the boxes. It more than lived up to expectations. This was and is a proper voluntary experience, where everyone works hard together, eats together and has fun together. There are no boundaries between volunteers and the people who work there full time, and you are made to feel like an integral part of the place from day one. It’s a no frills existence but all the more rewarding for it.

I’d read about the much maligned state of Jharkhand before setting off for India but I didn’t have any concerns about security until I touched down in Mumbai, where the media and the people I met kept warning me of ‘the horrors’ of what was in store. A quick email to Siddharth put my mind at ease, and I can only reiterate what the other volunteers have already said on this blog: the village of Roldih, where the project is based, and the surrounding area is very peaceful, isolated and friendly. The people are fairly used to western volunteers so you will be met with a smile and idle curiosity wherever you go, and will never feel threatened. After a day on the project I wondered why I had ever questioned the safety of the place. The bustling towns of Godda and Jasidih, a few hours drive from Roldih and the transport hubs for the project, were also safe.

There’s no doubt Jharkhand has some serious problems but from what I gathered the Marxist groups who stir up the trouble operate in other parts of the state. Anyway, the opportunity to find out more about this oft-forgotten area of India was fascinating. Siddharth was a wealth of information on the subject, as he was on a number of topics, and I came away suitably educated about the tribes and the land they occupy. If you want to see a slice of India that is far removed from the tourist trail then you can’t go wrong with Dakshinayan. My travels later took me to South East Asia where I undertook treks in Thailand and Vietnam, both of which advertised visits to tribal villages as the main selling point. Needless to say both villages were entirely geared for tourists with big guest houses dotted about, shops selling beer and chocolate and the locals wandering around flogging souvenirs. Dakshinayan is a world away from this and offers ‘the real deal’, an ideal opportunity to witness a way of life so far removed from your own.

I can’t believe I’ve got this far without mentioning the children. They were an absolute joy to be around and so eager to learn. Their enthusiasm was both exhausting and infectious, and you couldn’t help but contrast their attitude to education to that seen in the west. It’s a real privilege for these kids to go to school as there is very little culture of education in the area, and as such they lap up every minute of it. They turn up early, throw their weight into lessons, beg for homework, and occasionally come back after hours to study and play in the grounds. Teaching is daunting, especially when you’re a novice like I was, but these kids make it as easy it can possibly be.

Teaching 6 days a week was easily the most challenging aspect of my stay. Being quite a reserved kind of guy I found it difficult on some days to get up in front of all the expectant faces and put on a performance, which is what teaching is a lot of the time. But as I said at the start one of the reasons for volunteering in the first place was to do something different and test myself so I wasn’t disheartened to have a few obstacles to overcome along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching maths and English to the various classes but found science and social science much tougher. Part of the problem was the language barrier as these subjects were quite wordy and I found it hard to engage the children. The school has ample text books which act as a useful teaching guide but if I had my time again I would be less reliant on them and focus more on practical activities. Since returning to the UK I have undertaken a TEFL course so have gained a bit more insight into teaching methods. This has enabled me to see my lessons were too theory driven- I think I could have made them more fun for the children. Anyway, teaching with Dakshinayan made me realise I had what it takes to teach and gave me the confidence to undertake the TEFL, which I passed in July. I’m off to China to teach English at a university shortly, and I doubt I would be going off on this adventure if it wasn’t for the experience gained in that tiny village in India. Dakshinayan- a life changing place!
I suppose my time at Dakshinayan didn’t live up to my expectations, in that I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy myself. I thought it would be a proper slog and the time would drag, but I ended up having brilliant fun. I had spent three months on the road in polluted, frenzied India before getting to the project so I relished the sense of calm that surrounds the place, and loved the clean air. Maybe if I’d come straight from England it would have been different but as it was the opportunity to put my rucksack down and see the same people day after day was welcome. I did wonder how I would cope with the lack of electricity and running water but I didn’t really miss either. The facilities on the project were far better than I was expecting which helped me settle in quickly. I had a comfortable bed, a good mosquito net and a lamp in my room, and elsewhere there was a flushable western style toilet (filled manually by pump water), solar power to light the kitchen and charge phone batteries, and a water filter. The shortage of toilet roll was the main issue for me but I soon got used to it. I learnt that I’m quite adaptable, but I guess we all are if we have to be.

Some random highlights of my stay:
The glorious sunrises and sunsets. Learning to appreciate the simple pleasures.
Hearing the children sing the national anthem in assembly.
Celebrating Diwali (the Hindu festival of light) with sweets, fireworks and sparklers, and the joy it brought the children.
Watching the cows come home, herded past the school on a nightly basis.
Seeing a sea of hands go up in the classroom after asking a question.
The stars at night, and the brightest moon I’ll ever see. I could almost read a book by it.
Trying (and failing) to teach Suman English, and him trying (and failing) to teach me Hindi.
Getting a child up to the board to solve a maths puzzle, and watching them figure it out and get the answer correct.
Playing cricket everyday with anyone and everyone.
Bhola, one of the project’s helpers (and now one of the big wig’s), a true character and a good source of fun.
Having loads of time to read and think.
Witnessing the last hurrah of the monsoon season in the shape of a spectacular thunderstorm on my third night. I enjoyed it until I had to make a dash to the toilet at 3am through fork lightening and a biblical rain shower!
Eating like a King.
Weird and wonderful wildlife- snakes, spiders, colourful crickets. A local village even had a herd of wild elephants pay a visit one night, which led to mass bonfires and banging of drums to scare them off.
Some intellectual debates with Siddharth, which gradually descended into laddish banter. Fortunately another volunteer, Jemma, arrived to add a bit of refinement to proceedings.
Village visits with Bhola and seeing where the children live and how their families make a living.
Bruni the dog and her mad antics, including disappearing for hours on end and coming back covered in engine oil.
Helping make the dinner and seeing the inside of an Indian kitchen.

There’s tons more, I could carry on for hours about the place I really could. Everyday brought another highlight. There’s lots of downtime on the project but I always found something to do to keep myself occupied, and I can’t really remember being bored once whilst there.

When I left the project in November last year, riding out the gates in Bhola’s van as the music blared, I looked back at the school buildings and thought I’d never see them again. But now, reminiscing a year on, I think I’d like to go back. Having read Siddharth’s recent blogs about how he’s thinking of closing the project by next year I guess I had better make it soon, and so should anyone reading this who is thinking of paying Dakshinayan a visit. Do it!

Email me at jonwalker81@hotmail.com if you have any questions about the project, I’ll be happy to answer them.

Katherine Mary Kelly (Tak) - Australia

I've been to the INCREDIBLE, AMAZING 'Dak' twice - January 2009 and January 2010. Here is a day in the life of Dak, with a few added tangents along the way....

At Dak you live by nature. You rise with the sun, and your day ends not long after its does (sunset). In the morning you can hear the farm animals throughout the valley awakening; roosters crowing, goats bleating, cow bells tinkering. The sun makes its dramatic entrance over the hills to the east, a spectacular sight that in my modern Western city life I rarely do see. I love that Indians structure their day around chai breaks, and Dak is no exception. Chai is the best way to start the day, as both the you and the sun try to beak through the morning haze. Breakfast is a quick affair and before you know it you can hear children, happy excited voices...boisterous babbling... giggles... singing. The kids love school so much that they come early to play - a small indication of their larger than life enthusiasm.

Assembly starts off the day and the national anthem is sang with gusto. The school day is challenging..... but always rewarding. The children are exceptionally respectful, bright little sparks with a colossal desire to learn - a stark contrast to kids in Australia - and as a result they are an absolute pleasure to teach. Some days run smoothly and fly by, other days you find yourself stuck on how to explain something, on how make things clearer, on how to answer the children's questions properly. But that's teaching - it's a mutual learning process shared between the teacher and their students. And if you haven't taught before, like I hadn't, you will without a doubt walk away from your time at Dak with a tangible new found appreciation for teachers and the work they do. It's not that their job is extraordinarily difficult, it's that their job is so important.....
This is the only meaningful education that most of the kids at Dak will ever receive. Due to the corruption in the local government school system the government teachers rarely show up, so the kids are left without an education. Basic education gives people a voice in this world that isn't made for the illiterate......

And that's the crux of it: Dakshinayan gives these children and education so that they may engage with the world around them and with the worlds beyond them. It gives them a voice.

Being a small-scale project, Dak has limited teaching resources - but - with some imagination, the creative potential for classes is endless. You are given a text book, the themes of which should be the basis for class... but the rest is up to YOU. My advice? Embrace it. Being given reign over a class as their teacher may seem daunting initially, but somehow the teaching just happens... it's almost like a natural instinct that you were unaware you had! And it feels fantastic to discover it!

Like to sing (or more aptly make a fool of yourself)? We taught songs like 'Old Mac Donald Had A Farm' and 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'. Art and craft? We took creative inspiration from Franca (an ex volunteer) and made murals with the children from the back of an old blackboard, coloured paper from food wrappings/old books, crayons and leaves. Bhola, one of the project members, was able to get us some glue from a local market, which made this activity possible. Creative writing? We organised for some of the children to write pen pal letters to a friend's primary school class in Australia. The children wrote about themselves and their life, and are now eagerly awaiting a reply from their new friends from the other side of the world.

It's certainly not all fun and games, but it I believe it is very important to be creative - not only does it keep the kids engaged, but it truly underscores what they have learnt.

School days consist of only three hours of classes as the children need to also work for their families on their farms and tend to their animals. Once the school day ends, lunch is eaten and the dishes are washed. In the afternoon there is time to essentially do as you please.... being so removed from the rest of the world there's plenty of time to relax or contemplate life, but there's also plenty to keep you occupied. There's a diverse collection of books that have been left by volunteers that are waiting to be read, there's dinner that you can help prepare - a wonderful opportunity to learn about regional food and cooking, there are fascinating conversations to be had with Siddharth, there's Hindi to be learnt from all of the project members, there are lesson plans that could be made, there's Bruni (the dog) and her brood to play with, there's a field to be walked or ran around, there's yoga and meditation to be practiced at Baba's temple and there are a myriad thoughts and feelings waiting to be written down and explored.

Not to mention there are countless self-designated projects waiting to be undertaken. In 2009 we painted the class benches and desks in bold colours to brighten up the white-washed classrooms, and in 2010 we painted new wooden boards with black paint (to be used as blackboards), and sorted through and organised the materials in each of the classrooms. Everything and anything you can do is a help...

Some of the things which I was lucky to do during my time at Dak include; going on a walk through the farm land, jungle and hills to the school in Cheo which is another project under the Dakshinayan Trust, enjoying weekly bonfires on cool starry evenings (I went during winter both times), being taken on a guided walk by Bhola around the village (Roldih) which enabled us to gain a fascinating insight into the lives of our students, going to the local markets which were always intensely colourful and wonderfully chaotic. I also was lucky to be at Dak on the festival of Saraswati Pooja and on Republic Day in 2009 and 2010. Both days involved celebration through relative speeches, poojas (prayer) and prasad (sweets offered to the Gods), and of course playing, dancing and singing with the kids afterwards.

Coming from Australia where aside from Easter and Christmas, only football is celebrated, I was intrigued by these festivals - in India there are just so many! Moreover, I felt particularly fortunate to be in an area where culture has yet to be transformed or exaggerated for tourism. In Roldih and its surrounds there is a strong tribal culture and tribal festivals are also celebrated. During the week long tribal festival of Shakrat I loved listening to the drumming, singing and dancing echoed throughout the valley day and night. The area is so culturally rich and I couldn't help but be envious of the many meaningful traditions and reasons to celebrate that they have.

Something that really attracted me to Dak was
that cultural sensitivity was emphasized as the prerequisite which was paramount to being a volunteer. It is vital to understand that you are not going to Dak to use your own culture to change or influence these children, you are going to participate in their education in their own cultural setting. And indeed while you do share your culture with them, it is done in a context where they are sharing their own culture with you synonymously.

Development is a big money making industry and in framing the developing world and people as backward, underprivleged and thus in need of help, development/volunteer programs are often designed to tug at the heart strings of those 'privledged' enough to come from developed countries. Accordingly, opportunities to volunteer often cost a fortune and are based upon this culturally imperial notion of a 'Westerner' coming to 'save the downtrodden'. Dak refutes these norms and makes no attempt to exoticise locals or their culture nor glorify or indulge the volunteer - you join as a member of a pre-existing team that quietly and resolutely works to give children a basic education.

Your experience at Dak depends on you coming with an open mind and open heart. Despite having class six days a week, I guarantee that you will learn and gain so much more than you could ever teach or give. What I learnt about is easy (and long) to list; teaching, development, grass roots activism/development, Indian culture and identity, local culture, Hindi, the caste system, Indian festivals, corruption, food, traditional cooking, Indian politics, Indian history, Hindu mythology, cross cultural communication, the physics of water retrieval in a well, yoga, meditation, myself.... the list goes on. What I gained, aside from this new knowledge, is harder to explain. It's more elusive, yet undeinably profound at the same time.

And that is not say that you don't make a difference - you do. One month is not enough, but it is something. I know that things I taught the kids stuck with them, because I've been back and they still remembered a year later. I've seen the difference that a year's worth of contributions from differnt volunteers makes to their education - it's real.

Just before dusk you hear men chatting while riding home from work in groups on their bicycles and shepherds returning to their villages with their herds of noisy animals that they had taken out to graze. I loved listening to one particular shepherd as he walked past Dak every evening - a whistling magician who could whistle with such volume and with such spellbinding Indian melody, talent unlike anything I've ever heard before. Accustomed to the sound of the TV and traffic in my own home in Australia, I was incessantly mesmerized by and appreciative of the little things.

It's dark before dinner and in the evenings the project and the surrounding valley falls blissfully quiet. The moon is so incredibly bright that it casts a moon-shadow behind you as you walk back to your room after dinner. With the new solar panels reading or writing comfortably until you fall asleep is now entirely possible. But I think it's best to go to sleep early so that you can fully appreciate the stunning sunrise in the mornings - the memory of which I treasure.

I CANNOT recommend it enough - Dakshinayan is a very special place, Siddharth is a very special man, the project members Bhola, Suman and Shanku are wonderful, and the children............... well...... you'll just have meet them to understand.

They are why I went, why I returned, and why I will return again.

PLEASE contact me with ANY questions about Dak, I will be happy to answer each and every one of them: k-m-kelly@hotmail.com

Be the change you wish to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi

Joanna (Asha) Sturmilowska - Poland

I volunteered with Dakshinayan in February 2010 and I have to say that this was the most amazing experience of my life! Not only because I was in one of the most remote parts of India where not many foreigners had manage get to, but most of all because I hopefully had a chance to help with bringing education to children who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance for it. My only regret is that I could stay there just for one month and trust me, this is not enough, and my plan is to go back and stay for longer.
Like some of the volunteers before me I had no previous experience with teaching except what I took away from my own school years. But this is really not as difficult as you may imagine. I had been teaching class 3 and 4 so the kids who had previous experience with volunteers and could communicate in English quite well. Two things that I tried to do was to show the kids that I really care and make the teaching as much fun as it was possible. The greatest reward was when I realized that they listen and remember what I was trying to teaching them! So if someone is thinking about coming to Dakshinayan but is afraid that one month will not make any difference than I can tell you otherwise! It makes a great difference! Those kids will listen to your every word because they really want to learn. It was really amusing when in the afternoon when kids were coming to play they sometimes rather play hangman than cricket. :)

The life at the project is simple but it actually felt more comfortable than I was expecting. Everybody wakes up very early at the project and sometimes I was up at 5.30 in the morning but there is nothing more beautiful than the sunrise over the hills and amazing landscape behind the project. You go to sleep very early too so waking up is not a problem after a while. I was given my “own” solar panel so I was able to read comfortably in my room after dark. I found as well that my favour pass time was helping Shonku, one of the workers at the project, with cooking. And I am a person who does not really do any cooking ever! However a food preparation at the project is something so completely different to what we are doing in our kitchens that even I got interestedJ. Going to a village market was something no one should miss either and learning yoga with kids was one of the funniest experiences I had at the project! But one of the best days was without doubt Holi festival. I can’t even describe the joy and energy with which kids were participating in the celebrations, throwing at themselves (and me) colourful powder! And even though I looked later like a pink monster I don’t think I would exchange that day for anything!
Where India completely blows your mind and can make you go mad, coming to the project is like finding yourself on an island where life goes on according to completely different clock than rest of the world. I came across this organisation by accident and it was the volunteer’s blog which persuaded me to go to the project so I hope that whoever reads this will get some inside to the life at the project and it will help you to make up your mind like it happened to me, because it is really worth it. If you have any questions about how it is to volunteer for Dakshinayan you can email me on asia_toja@hotmail.co.uk .
Good luck ;)

Sim McCarter-Ribakoff - December 2008

I just want to start off by saying that working on the Dakshinayan project was one of the most incredible and fulfilling experiences of my life. Because Dakshinayan volunteers are a rather diverse group of people, I figured I may start off by telling you a little about myself so you know where I coming from. I volunteered in December of 2008 at 20 years of age. In my search for a volunteer project to work on, I was in the unfortunate predicament of wanting to participate in a project where I could help out in a meaningful way, yet as a young college student I did not have any professional skills to offer. I also wanted to work on a small project that gave me much more than a superficial experience of the area's lifestyle and culture, and finally I didn't want to spend an extraordinary amount of money to volunteer MY services.

By happenstance I found Dakshinayan, and it turned out to be just what I needed. Because all of the travel to and from the project are the volunteers responsibility (although Siddharth will give you very detailed instructions on where to go), the project fee is small and just basically covers room and board for a month. And the small scale of the project means that not only do you get a intimate feel for the community there, but also you become an integral part of the project. The volunteers are elementary school teachers, and help to provide the only formal education many of these kids will ever receive. Of course support is provided, but you can rest assure that the work of the volunteers not only important, but vital to the project.

Volunteering in Roldih was a bit challenging. Just the trek to the project required a all-night bus ride then an hour taxi ride on the uneven dirt roads of Jharkhand. Then of course there is no electricity or running water on site.But none of that really bothered me much, it was actually really exciting and made for some great stories later. It was kind of a surprise to me that the most challenging part of project life for me was the more relaxed pace of doing things there. It became very apparent to me, that I had been cultured to believe that if I wasn't doing something "productive", I was wasting time. Of course, that's not to say that back in the USA I was always working on something, but I would say that I feel that always something productive to working on. That was a major culture shock for me on the project. I first arrived on the project at about 7am after the all night venture from Kolkata, and I was itching to explore, meet new people, and most of all to meet the children. That is when I encountered my first frustration when Siddharth kindly told me to go rest. The first few days were probably the hardest as I grew increasingly annoyed with the relaxed pace of life. I felt that I had traveled all the way around the world to work on the project, not to rest. I had arrived during the annual final exams so during the morning I was simply proctoring exams, then the afternoons were without any work save a few daily chores. I became restless. Fortunately, I decided to stick it out. Soon enough I was teaching and I learned to love the relaxed atmosphere. Obviously it was a major adjustment from what I was used to, but after thinking about it, that is exactly what I had come to do. I wanted to experience a different culture and lifestyle. I hadn't really realized the full implications of what it meant when I said "I wanted to be immersed in another culture", but after about one week it hit me and I came around. I learned to love the frequent "Chai Breaks", the afternoon strolls with Suman the cook, the long philosophical discussions with Siddharth, stretching out in the sun with a good book, and even the afternoon naps. People in Jharkhand have the nasty stereotype of "being lazy", and sometimes it is a challenge to get things done on the project, if for example the local painter skips out on a day's work without any notification. But on the whole, it's just a different lifestyle. People value the time they spend with one another and value their relaxation time. The different priorities really struck a chord with me and made me questions whether I had my priorities straight. Even though I have returned to the fast-paced world in the USA, I have not forgotten the lesson I learned in Roldih. And besides, in the year that I've been back in the States, I have still yet to find a cup of chai that could even come close to comparing with what I had in Roldih.

Of course I cannot talk about project life without mentioning the children. The students of Dakshinayan are possibly the most motivated and incredible group of kids I've ever meet. Like I said previously, I arrived during final exams and the school would officially be on holiday almost my entire stay. Yet Siddharth told me that I could stay hold class everyday and teach as I pleased in order to prepare them for the official start to the year in January. To my surprise, despite the school being on holiday, I still got almost 100% attendance everyday that month. These kids really want to go to school and they love to learn. I taught math, science, English, and social studies. I taught them songs, read them books, and encourage art, and they devoured everything I could give them. The language barrier was a big challenge at first, as I did not speak Hindi or any of the local languages. However, as I soon learned children are the easiest people to communicate with when there is a language barrier. They pick things up very quickly and I could just use super-animated body language (which I reveled in doing) to convey my message. Even if teaching is not your strong suit, simply playing football and carrom, or sharing your culture (like through pictures) is a wonderful way to connect with the children. They are so open and friendly to all of the volunteers as they really look forward to meeting the foreigners. In fact, come to think of it, everyone from the kids, to coworkers on the project, to villagers and people in the marketplace are so friendly and warm to foreigners. It's incredible.

Well, I've probably rambled on long enough and kudos to anyone who has read this far. Let me just say the volunteering with Dakshinayan was an phenomenal experience for me, and if go in with the right attitude and mindset, I'm sure it could be a powerful experience for you as well. Just a bit of advice, do your research. Both on traveling to India in general and on the happenings of the project as I know just in the past year the project has gone through some big changes. So read the blog, talk to Siddharth, and if you'd like email past volunteers. Please if you have any questions about the project send me an email at mccarterribakoff_sim@berkeley.edu and I'll be happy to respond. Best of luck!