Stomy

In September 2014, KHEL started a new program to foster good relationships between the younger and older students at LDA. Once a week, our 5-8th grade students meet with a 1-4th grade student to work on a project together, share a snack, help with homework or just chat about their lives and their families. Recently the Buddies got together to make thank you cards for KHEL’s friends and donors. Shalini, a long time KHEL volunteer, designed this program by drawing on her experience as a mentor to under served middle school students in New Orleans when she was a college student at Tulane University. The program has been running for several months and the kids look forward to the days when they get to hang out with their Buddies. LDA is more than just a school. It is a gathering space that fosters good relationships among diverse groups in a small and densely populated community. Programs like the Buddy Project help the kids to develop empathy for each other from a young age and teach them much needed mentoring skills for adulthood. They learn that, no matter how poor they are, they have something of value to share with someone else.

At Lakshmi Devi Academy (LDA), KHEL’s school for under served children, we’ve been running the ARC Program for a few months. The kids look forward to the days when they get to stay after school to take part. The program is designed to be fun so they have a great time with their friends while learning about health, hygiene, relationships and other topics relevant to 7th and 8th graders. There weren’t any sessions in January since classes didn’t resume after the winter break until January 14. Then the weather became challenging and the state government mandated that schools close for a short period. Many people, including one of the ARC trainers, were sick with seasonal colds and flu. More than one organisation made ARC at LDA possible. RDI - HIHT (Rural Development Institute - Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust) provided the staff to survey LDA’s students as well as two trainers who work directly with the children. Bhola Shankar Dabral, representing Dhyana Mandiram Trust (DMT), worked hard with other DMT members and donors to raise the necessary funds, while also liaising with KHEL staff to get the program up and running at LDA. Without the dedicated people who run RDI and DMT, ARC at LDA wouldn’t be possible.Before the ARC inauguration two young women, Karishma and Ankita, came to LDA to talk to the kids. They asked what problems the kids had, what sort of programmes would be helpful to them, what did they know about health and hygiene, what their living conditions were at home, and many other questions. This information was then evaluated by the two trainers so that the sessions are tailored to the needs of LDA’s children. For Karishma and Ankita this [...]

An initiative of Dhyana Mandiram Trust, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Rishikesh, an Adolescent Resource Centre has been established at Lakshmi Devi Academy (LDA), KHEL’s school for underserved youth in Dehradun. Initially, programming will focus on LDA’s 6-8th class students, with plans to expand services to more children at the school and in the community. The ages of 12-19 are a crucial developmental period in a child’s life. About 10% of the population of Uttarakhand, where Dehradun is located, is in this age group. In recent years has India has recognised the tremendous impact of good physical, mental and emotional health on its youth. This 800 hour programme offered by ARC to LDA and its community addresses many of the challenges faced by our youth. Two wonderful young women, Ankita and Karishma, came to LDA to ask the students questions about their lives. This information will be used to tailor the programme to address the specific needs of this community. The ARC programme will cover the overall development of adolescents and will focus on health concerns – but not just physical health. The emotional health of a growing young person is equally important. ARC’s aims are to convey critical information needed at this time of life, reinforce healthy attitudes and behaviours regarding health, hygiene and interpersonal relationships, address a range of questions from reproductive health to career planning, and enhance the emotional health and internal development of adolescents. The tools used for this programme appeal to today’s youth – interactive games, participative activities, videos and other formats to hold their interest. ARC’s overarching goal is to prepare tomorrow’s leaders for the challenges they will face. An integrated, holistic model of change will be implemented that focuses [...]

The Right to Education (RTE) law has, at its roots, a wonderful philosophy to help alleviate the daunting issue in India of access to a decent education. RTE mandates that every private school reserve 25% of its 1st grade seats, or 7 seats (whichever is more), for children from marginalized and minority communities. The government gives each child rs2 (US$0.033) per day of school attended and provides uniforms, books and other essentials directly to the students. When KHEL started educating kids 30 years ago, we often paid parents to send their kids to us for education because many of the families were dependent on the few rupees a day that those kids were bringing home from begging on the streets – so we know that this can work, at least on a small scale. In addition to the rs2/day given to the parents, the government promises to pay the school whatever tuition fees would have been collected from the parents. KHEL charges a minimal amount anyway, and many of our kids are in school completely free of charge. We’ve been doing this for decades, so it would seem that nothing has changed at Lakshmi Devi Academy (LDA), KHEL’s school for under served children in Dehradun, India. If only that were the case! New regulations inevitably lead to more bureaucracy, more time interacting with that bureaucracy, and of course, more money spent, if only for the numerous trips to the Education Department to sort through all the red tape. There aren’t any other schools like LDA in Dehradun. We’re government recognised, secular, private, funded by donations, offering a free or heavily subsidised Hindi curriculum education taught by a well trained, dedicated and qualified faculty. Our support [...]

It’s been a challenging year at KHEL. We couldn’t save the life of one of our students, the monsoons were financially and emotionally devastating, our volunteers were threatened by an online stalker (who lived a little too close to ignore) and one volunteer/family member suffered a traumatic brain injury. Swami Veda, our spiritual preceptor, ardent KHEL supporter and former family member to some of us was extremely ill. Mrs. Lalita Arya (fondly known as Ammaji) co-founded KHEL with Swami Veda when he was Dr. Arya; she spent a great deal of time away from KHEL this year, caring for him. Challenges can be a blessing in disguise; we learned that we have faith in each other and that our team of volunteers and employees which runs KHEL is incredibly strong. We communicate and collaborate across great geographical and cultural distances and in the end this is what makes us resilient so we can continue serving the community in the face of often daunting circumstances. Whether the challenges we face are of a professional or personal nature and whether we are volunteers or employees, the kids still turn up to school expecting us to do our job of teaching them and keeping them well; that’s what we’ve done for the past 30 years and will continue to do in the future. The cost of doing business – and of doing good – continues to rise as India shifts from a third world country to a developing nation. KHEL must remain in good standing with the government; we use chartered accountants for our yearly audited reports and by maintain several types of government registrations. Lakshmi Devi Academy (LDA), KHEL’s school for underserved children in Dehradun, India, is [...]

I arrived back in India not too long ago and it’s been a fun and crazy carousel ride, even more so than usual since my two sisters, Sharada and Shanta, and my brother, Sat, were with me. We attended a family wedding in a village a couple of days travel from Dehradun and then continued on to visit several cities.We checked in at the Ramada Inn in Varanasi, one of the oldest inhabited cities of the world, also known as the City of Light. I was with my siblings having a wonderful time, not really thinking about KHEL or the work that was most likely piling up back home. Hotels in India are working hard to cater to tourists, so the employees usually dressed in Western style clothes, speak English and tend to greet the guests with ‘Welcome’ or ‘Good afternoon’. I wasn’t surprised to see a professional young woman approaching me, dressed in a Ramada Inn blazer and pants. But I was surprised when, with a big smile on her face, she folded her hands in the traditional way of greeting and said, ‘Namaste, Mataji’. I realised that I recognised this young woman – after all, I’ve known her since she was a five year old little girl at KHEL’s school in Dehradun. I was overcome with emotion.Sarita, fondly known as Ruchi, told me a little of the journey that brought her to the Ramada Inn in Varanasi. As a child at Lakshmi Devi Academy (LDA), KHEL’s school for underserved children in Dehradun, she would listen with wonder to the guests who came to visit her and her friends. She told herself that someday she’d be able to speak English, which is one of [...]

The October 2nd birthday of the ‘Father of the Indian Nation’, Mahatma Gandhi, is a national holiday and celebrated with great vigor and prayers. Since schools are closed on Gandhiji’s birthday, the students at Lakshmi Devi Academy (LDA) KHEL’s school for underserved children in Dehradun, India, observe and celebrate the day before; the teachers speak to the students about Gandhiji’s life, his dedication to non-violence and what it means in practical terms to lead a nonviolent life. At KHEL, we practice the spirit of this every day; for example, in most Indian schools corporal punishment is still the norm for disciplining students. At LDA, our faculty and staff treat the kids with respect, and violence of any kind is unheard of. In yoga philosophy and the Himalayan Tradition one of the first lessons in Yamas and Niyamas include the practice of non-violence in thought, word and deed...indeed difficult to practice unless inculcated from childhood and later by deliberate action in adulthood. It took Gandhiji several years, lots of persistence and discipline to make this his life’s philosophy, but in the end his perseverance and that of his followers won and India gained independence from the British in 1947.I watched the interview of Jon Stewart, an American comedian and political commentator, with the now famous 16 year old Swat Valley teenager, Malala, and was amazed at her equanimity, wit, precise language and most of all her lilting laughter. What was most incredible was her statement about what she would do if one of her attackers came to harm her. Among other things, she said that she was only 14 years old when she was threatened and warned by the terrorists to stay away from school and [...]

At Lakshmi Devi Academy (LDA), KHEL’s school for underserved children in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Teachers’ Day has a special significance – our teachers are so much more to our kids; they are the first line of defense in KHEL’s continuing struggle against poverty and lack of education. Without them, KHEL’s administrative staff wouldn’t know when a child or their family is having a particularly difficult time and need more than the usual amount of assistance. The teachers that have stayed with KHEL for many years have an extraordinary commitment to our mission and often go above and beyond the call of duty. In addition to their regular teaching duties, this year they have supported our kids through the death of a classmate, kept us informed on medical issues that could adversely affect some of our kids and they even cleaned two feet of mud and dirt out of the school building so that the kids could come back to a clean, safe environment. Beni, KHEL’s General Manager, sent this report:‘For Teachers’ Day, our older students enjoy planning a program of dances and songs for their teachers. They do this on their own, with one or two of the teachers monitoring that the presentation is appropriate for all the kids, as sometimes older students aren’t aware that the younger ones shouldn’t be exposed to certain songs or music. This year, the kids were happy to share with us songs and dances from the Garhwal region of the mountains where many of our families come from. Of course, they also presented some of the popular movie dances and songs from Bollywood!It’s customary to invite local guests to this event. This year we were pleased to welcome our MLA [...]

Manju is the Headmistress at Lakshmi Devi Academy (LDA), KHEL’s school for underserved children in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Her duties include hiring and managing faculty and other school staff, keeping accurate student and financial records, dealing with student related challenges and working with Beni, KHEL’s General Manager, on regulatory and educational compliance issues. But that’s not all she does; Manju is deeply committed to KHEL’s mission to provide educational opportunities to underprivileged children. She has bathed filthy children under the School’s outside tap, cooked meals for hungry kids and comforted families who have lost a child. Most important, Manju keeps us informed about the kids’ home lives so we know when a family needs extra help, which often has meant the difference between a child staying in school or dropping out. The last couple of months have been hard on the whole community. But the kids are back at school and Manju is determined to maintain a sense of normalcy at LDA so that the children have some stability, regardless of what else is going on in their lives. Here’s what she has to say about the past two months:‘July was a very bad month for LDA. There was very heavy rainfall and the school filled with two feet of mud when the Rispana River broke its banks and flooded the neighborhood; this mud isn’t clean, it’s full of garbage from the overflowing river, and with water borne diseases. We waited until the water had receded and then all KHEL’s staff got together and with some additional cleaning help, cleaned very thoroughly so it would be a safe environment for the children to come back to. It was a big mess, but we finally were able [...]

Mukesh, our Art and Music Teacher, lost so much during the recent disaster. A photo of the devastation in his village was in the local Dehradun paper. We asked permission from that publication to use the photo on our website and Facebook page and promised to give them a photo credit. At the height of this horrible disaster, they thought only of themselves and said no. Beni, KHEL’s General Manager, decided to lend Mukesh KHEL’s camera and gave him paid time off to go back to his village to document the disaster. Mukesh traveled through dangerous areas to bring us this report:‘My name is Mukesh Singh. I am the son of Mr. Gyan Singh of Village Ganga Nagar, local area Patwari Pshalidhar, Sub division Ukhimath and District Rudra Prayag. My family lives in the village of August Muni. I am a teacher at Lakshmi Devi Academy (LDA), KHEL’s school for underserved children in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.People from my area in the mountains need more basic living help, and basic food. It is about 180km (111 miles) from Dehradun, and about 20 km (12 miles) from Rudra Prayag to August Muni. It might not seem like a far distance, but with broken roads and mudslides, it is very dangerous.It was 16-17 June when we lost our home in Mandakini River, which comes from Kedarnath. In this flood my family’s home and shops were all washed away, along with more than 30 other homes. Before this disaster we had 4 shops and a 6 room home; now we don’t have even a single room. All the families who lost their homes are living in tents, renting rooms from some people who didn’t lose their homes, or have been [...]