Rajkot

For a few days, the ITSA team is going to Rajkot! We had an intensive two day workshop series at the The Galaxy Education System (TGES). After a very eventful, yet comfortable, sleeper bus ride, we finally made it to Rajkot. We had prepared everything for the days to come. But first it was Isabel’s 21^st birthday! So we had to have a midnight celebration with cake, naturally.

The next day, we were ready to go. We got to the school, and began the workshops with activites and discussions that are now ITSA classics, pointing out power and wealth inequality, as well as the costs of development. It was great to see the same activities that we had been doing for weeks worked just as well with kids from different cities, and ones who hadn’t necessarily chosen to be there. All of the kids were very involved in the discussions we had.

The next day, we took a field trip! It took us a bit to get there, but once we reached it, it was so worth it. Vishvanidam is a place where children from slum communities can go to get help with going to school. It is a warm supportive environment for the children to be in. It also acts as an orphanage to children who don’t have anyone to look after them. I was with the girls, who talked to the girls at the Vishwanigam. Personally, when I was in ninth grade, I would have been really awkward and shy, being thrown into a situation where I had to talk to kids my age that I didn’t know. But the TGES girls had no qualms about anything. They began with singing songs, and dancing with the girls from Vishvanidam. It was a great way to break the ice with them. After that, they got to asking more important questions, like which subjects they thought they needed help in. By the end of the trip, the TGES girls were planning to go back in a couple of weeks for Friendship Day, with Chinese food, music, and speakers. It was great to meet students that are so self-motivated.

It was great to feel like ITSA is spreading outside of the city of Ahmedabad, even if only to a city a few hours drive away.