At Kalypso Adventures we are veteran adventure organizers and have just started facilitating schools from abroad to come down, have an adventure and do some volunteer work as well. This past month we brought down six schools from the UK to participate in what we call a Student Challenge.What happens is these groups have about 4 days to work in a local school to do simple projects that help these schools. So we sent 3 groups to a small village called Germalam near Satyamangalam to help out in the local government schools and I was sent along to “coordinate’ the whole thing. My task was to make sure that everything went smoothly acting as the middle man/translator between the schools and the groups.
At Germalam we had a campsite run by Mr. Daniel who had been in the area for the last 25 years. Originally a farmer, Daniel had for the last five years set up a campsite on his property and ran it with the help of his wife and daughter. The campsite was beautiful with the hills in the foreground and forests on either side and the sound of elephants to keep you company at night. I was told that we had three layers of fences two of which were electrified to keep out the elephants that were apparently known to stroll by. I arrived two days earlier to make preparations for the groups coming.
'Wild' Valley Farm
The first 2 groups were from a school called Kingsley. They would both work in the same local school, group 2 finishing the project that group one started.
The first group consisted of 13 girls, 1 teacher and 1 expedition leader. They arrived on the 20th of July after a long bus journey and were relived to find that the campsite had bathrooms equipped with WC toilets and lots of toilet paper. After the long queue to the bathroom diminished and the girls settled down we had a cosy dinner in Daniel’s dining hall and I briefed the girls about what they would be doing for the next 4 days.
Dining Hall
These girls would be working in a local school half a km away. It was a government school with only three teachers and way too many kids. The school had only one tap which was used for 130 students, their bathroom, kitchen and teachers. So the group would build them a pipeline that would give them more taps and a connection to their bathroom and kitchen. Also a new building was being constructed and the group would paint the front façade. The local school had just received 5 laptops but unfortunately no one at the school knew how to work them so the group would have to try and teach the teachers some computer basics. Finally they would have to interact with the students teaching them some English and playing games and other activities.
The Germalam School
With this long list of tasks to be accomplished the girls looked worried but also excited as they went to bed to get a good night sleep before their early start the next day.
The first day started at seven with a short walk to the school to meet the teachers and to take the measurements for their project. The students of the school would not arrive till nine and this would give the girls some peace to take measurements and talk to the teachers. The teachers were very happy to meet the group and wasted no time listing out the long list of maladies that the school suffered from. Unfortunately it had to be explained that they were only here for 4 days and they would do as much as they could. After taking the measurements for pipeline and painting projects, the girls returned to the farm for breakfast and a surprise. It was one of the girl’s birthdays and Kalypso had bought a cake and Mrs. Daniel had decorated the dining hall with balloons and streamers. Breakfast and cake boosted morale and the girls were eager to start their projects.
Walk through farms to school
Breakfast birthday Cake
Materials for the project had to be bought in the next town 15 km away and so the group hired 3 sumo taxis for the ride. There was a Tibetan colony near the town and so the group decided to visit the monastery and use the tranquility there to plan for how much material they required. After some hard bargaining the pipes and paints were bought and by two in the afternoon the group was back at the farm for lunch. After a quick bite the group decided to go back to the school to begin work on their projects.
Zen planning at Tibetan Monastery
Haggling in different languages
They reached the school a little wary not knowing what to expect and were greeted by a mob of smiling children who stared at them in awe. For most of the students these were the first fair skin-blond hair people they had seen. After the teachers managed to get kids in order, the girls got down to the tasks at hand.
Digging and Painting
The next 2 days were a little more relaxed with work staring at ten. By now the students had become friendly and ran to greet the girls as they walked up to the school. The group divided themselves into 3 teams-- digging, painting and teaching. More trenches had to be dug and the digging girls took turns getting their hands dirty. Even I gave it a hand and trust me it is not easy. The girls were digging along the back of the school connecting taps along the way as well as digging a trench to the main line along one side of the building and a line to the kitchen. Trench digging was slow and tiresome but the girls didn’t give up. The painting girls had to apply a coat of white oil paint as a base coat before they could paint more. Every time I checked on them though, they seemed to be getting most of the paint on themselves. The teaching team made the most noise surprisingly, with loud action songs and lots of fun games.
Putting their backs into it
The hokey-pokey
After digging the trenches the girls had to measure, cut and lay the pipes. Daniel showed them how to do one and then it was all up to the girls. The painting girls had decided to paint some alphabets and pictures of fruits and vegetables and spent some time trying to decide which fruits and veggys( The ones chosen were the easiest to draw) would make it on to the wall. Everyday after 4 when the school children went home the teachers were free for their ‘introduction to computer’ class. Hard work and two days later most of the work was done.
Daniel showing how its done
A for Apple
Even i want to play Pinball
The finished wall
The final day, and the girls had a few feet of pipeline to complete and some finishing touches to the painting. With some determined effort they finished their work by twelve and went back to the farm for a quick lunch and to prepare for a sports day they were organizing for the school children. The school kids arrived at the farm at one thirty and it took all the groups energy to try and maintain some order. They split the children into different groups and organized different events like a sack race, tug of war, dodge ball, cricket, football and just random running around. The kids enjoyed themselves and when it was time to go there were tears in both the girls as well as the student’s eyes.
Sports day
Saying goodbye
Kinsley Group 1 ended their time at the farm with a BBQ dinner, a bonfire and lot of stories about their time here. They were all sad to leave but were looking forward to their next project in Kollam. In the beginning I was afraid that there would be too much work for these teenage girls from the U.K, but at the end of four days I was afraid that the next group would not have enough to do…
Skinning the Chicken
BBQ!!
The second group from arrived on the 26th of July a lot earlier than the previous group and this time there was no beeline for the bathroom as they had a pleasanter journey. It was another all girl group with one teacher . This group was going to complete the pipeline started by group 1 and paint the other half of the front façade.
Their schedule was similar to that of the previous group with half of day 1 spent purchasing the materials. This group had to connect 2 overhead tanks on one building, connect one tap assembly on the back of the school, and complete the connection to the bathroom. I was told that this group had more artists among them so the painters were encouraged to do a more elaborate job.
The school kids by now were also familiar with the routine and wasted no time, this time around being shy. They ran to the group as soon as they saw them; climbing, hanging and hugging these girls who were quite taken aback by the welcome. The second group again got down to business from day one as soon as the materials showed up.
A warm welcome
Accurate measurements
Day 1 Digging
The Man and his Mountain
An inside job
Trench Warfare
The painters decided to paint an “Under the Sea” mural on the wall. This was a big job and the girls got down to it from day 1. It was really interesting to watch how the mural took form. From just a coat of white to little fishes and dolphins popping out I was impressed and the kids loved it.
Evolution of the Dolphin
Looking for treasure
Computer Basics 101
Granny Crocodiles
The last day for the second group was again similar to the previous group. Half a day’s work to finish the project and then return to the farm for another sports day. The painters put on the finishing touches. The diggers had got the tank in place, the connection to main line complete and taps connected but….. No Water!! There was no electricity for the pump. With a shrug and hopeful that they would see water out of the taps before they left, the group returned to the farm for a quick lunch and to prepare for the sports event.
The children from the school arrived post lunch at one thirty and were quickly divided into seven teams, each with its own color. One of the events was a relay race where the girls tried to explain the rules. Unfortunately with the blow of the whistle all the kids in the line ran from start to finish. Once the chaos was controlled and the hysterical laughter subsided the other events like tug of war, balloon race, wheel barrow race were conducted. At the end of the event we were told that the electricity had come back at the school so we could go check if the pipeline worked. The kids were so excited and determined to not let this second group of girls leave that they clung to each one of them on the walk back to school. We all waited with baited breath as the first tap was slowly turned on and Splash!! We had flowing water. The kids went berserk starting an immediate water fight. Unfortunately it was getting late and it was time to go. Once again faces were wet not just with water from the taps but also tears as the girls realized that they had to leave.
I'm guessing Orange team?
Relay Rules not Relayed
"Sports"
Water!!
Under the Sea
The last night was spent with the girls turning hosts and cooking dinner for everyone on the farm. Stir fried noodles, baked potatoes and lots of Sprite filled us up nicely with the girls talking excitedly of their next week of relaxation.
Young Chefs
The third group was a large group of 22 from a school called Charters in the
The Charters group was larger, here for longer and had a bigger budget than the previous groups so we decided that they could do a lot more for a school. They would be working in a school 10km away and would have to be bussed there and back everyday. The next day being Sunday there would not be any kids at the school but just the Principal, so they could visit the school and find out what the Principal wanted them to do.
Drive to School
It was a scenic drive in the morning to the school and the kids were quiet in anticipation of what they were in for the next week. Andy, the expedition leader, quickly took charge identifying projects other than the pipeline and painting that the group could undertake. It was decided that they would level and landscape the playground, paint the nearby health centre and nursery, wire a classroom and pay for a few upgrades for the school. The group was divided into different teams and each task had a leader who was in charge of getting it done. They measured lengths of trenches to be dug, area of wall surfaces to be painted and determined other materials that they would need.
The next day was “shopping day”, and a delegation went to the next town to buy all the materials required. The group had also decided to buy benches for the school as well shoes and sock for each kid. The materials would only arrive the next day so the group used the remaining afternoon to do some much needed laundry.
The materials were delivered to the school the next day and the group got cracking. This school had a similar water problem as the previous one with only one tap for the entire school. Thus 2 tanks were going to be installed and a pipeline was going to be dug to connect the bathrooms, the nursery next door and a separate line to the kitchen. Since the task was bigger than the previous group a plumber was hired to help out.
Babu the Plumber
Lift with your knees
The painters had many different tasks this time. They had decided to paint the local health centre with some informative pictures, the nursery, the playground equipment, a new gate and a sign post. Andy being supervisor would keep checking on the different groups to make sure things were going according to plan.
The health center
The nursery
Boss man Andy
Heavy Lifting
Team work
Lunch tree
Steps to knowledge
Colorful swing
Head, shoulders, knees and toes..
Picture card learning
For six days the group worked hard from nine to five everyday bringing the projects closer to completion. The last day that the students would see the group was Friday so they decided to organize a small activity for the children. They got the kids to play Frisbee, tried teaching them how to skip and taught them the Macarena. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and even the teacher joined in the fun. To end it on a high note the group then distributed the shoes that they had bought for the children. Most of the students didn’t know how to put on socks and needed help with laces. It was wonderful to watch the sheer happiness in their eyes as they received their gifts. Unfortunately it was time for the children to leave and so once again I had to watch the sad goodbyes as the kids left.
Jump and catch
Macarena
Next teach her how to tie laces
Kodak moment
The last day was a Saturday and the group came to school to finish up their projects and to clean up. The pipeline was ready and we had water in the taps. The paintings looked good and the teachers were very happy. The playground was ready and the group inaugurated it by sliding down the slides and swinging on the swings. The principal was thrilled and couldn’t thank the group enough. The group proud of what they had accomplished left the school for their last night at the farm.
Simple pleasures
It's my turn!!
Quality control
Leaving after a job well done
Once again the group turned hosts. They decided to do a BBQ with some noodles and chips. After dinner everyone sat around a big bonfire reminiscing of the week spent and looking forward to the week ahead. They were pooped from their week of labor and it was with (I’m guessing) contentment and exhaustion that they collapsed in to their tents for their last night at Wild Valley Farm.
Almost four weeks and three pipelines later my work was done and it was time for me to return to Kochi. Leaving the tranquility of the forest for the hustle of the city was difficult but i was looking forward to my bed. My time here taught me many things--- plumbing, never underestimate the ability of 16 year old girls, Tamil(the language i was supposed to be translating) but more importantly how just a few people and some hard work can make a difference to this world. So if you are reading this, stop what you are doing and Take The Challenge.
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