Last Sat. we spent great time with our kids at SRMAB. I remember the good time of last year sports day and had a great time this year too. Loved to see their enthusiasm in all sets of game. Total around 12 volunteers were available from our side to help the local admin there.
Today, some of us went SRMAB. Priyanka and Arun reached early to installed JAWS(its a screen reader for Visually impairded students) on some of the computers. I was also planned to reach early, but on the gate I met one of the students who I remembered ever. His name is Amog, when I met him last year he was in 4th class, so should be in 5th class now. Remembering old days, he had cleared the 1st round of eye-check and doctor said that bring him in hospital for next round of checkup, looked like there is a scope of improvement. Like Amog there were 33 kids on the list. Every time I took them to doctor (generally we had taken them into batch of 10-10), I just hope that at least some of them get little vision. Oh, I forgot to mention SRMAB is a blind school for visually impaired kids. Kind doctors at Shekar Netralaya every time explained me the problem, every time it was painful to hear that. I don't want to share that here because blog space is a place to write good things.
That day, I was talking to Amog. He was telling me about his village and his parent. He further added that his father was very much worried about him, I told him not to worry. He told me that some doctor had screwed up his eyes. Finally he told me that a doctor of my knowledge(this all he explained me in English) told me that your eye can be rectified little with sixty thousand Rupees. I was some how enjoying his home story.
In the meanwhile, doctor called for his checkup. After checkup, doctor was explaining me the problem and Amog shouted from back "Madam can you explain it to me as well". She explained to both of us and it was almost the same story that Amog told me. Finally madam told me that under a severe operation, vision can be improved for 5-10 percent. Amog asked her "how much it will cost" and she told me "you need to consult senior doctor but it will cost around 60-70 thousand" and we both started laughing ...
(Amog in picture, one of the brightest and smartest boy of SRMAB)
(Written by Vaibhav, a volunteer of Pankhudi. Working in Bangalore and fan of some such kids. Regarding Pankhudi, its a bunch of Software Engineers and some more .. better I can some freemen who want to do something good)
It was more than a year, I traveled somewhere for fun. Our gang decided to have one. Where, was not a big question because we had our tripping expert Srikanth. Srikanth decided to have Chikamagalore(Hunkal Woods is around 40 minutes more) and hit the highest pick of Karnataka. Final calculation let only 9 people ready for trip. Last trip of Wayanard(an year back), was awesome and I was expecting this to be cool as well. Before this trip, I bought a Canon 1000D. I am still busy in doing the correct settings :).
PS: I am writing this blog for fun and feeling, not for providing information about the place.
7.30 AM : We reached the resort, it was completely awesome. After lot of fun like rope climbing, rather rope breaking :), table tennis and a cup of coffee, everyone got ready for trekking. We did the deadly breakfast and made the move. Trekking started with fun and fear. Fear of leeches ! Soon the trek became tough with steep climbing and sooner tougher because the path was through the water fall. Leeches were coming into picture but we had much bigger things to worry about. Soon we hit the pick. From this picture, you can see the trekking path.
Luckly moving down, it was a different path. I was talking with Srikanth about other trekking experience and he was explaining the team work, which was so true. It was all about patience, team effort and caring. Running fast is immaterial when the slowest person of your team decides your win. It's better to help that person to speed up rather than speeding up your run. We covered the whole path(up and down) in 5 hrs.
4.00 PM: Got ready for lunch. Finishing it, we joined for some game like Badminton, Cricket, Football. None of us were tired or may be so much tired that they didn't want a rest. Soon it was a lovely night with lots of star in sky. We put the bonfire. Care taker of that place started with some ghost stories but all were bogus and boring. Soon, we had finished our dinner and got ready for ...
10.30 PM: For another trek :). Wow, a night trek, sounds interesting ! Luckily all of us was ready for this. We took 2-3 massal, 2 torch and made the move again. It was supposed to be a short trek but how short, we didn't have any clue. I keep on moving with Vivek Anna's jokes. After sometime, we encountered the hunters who were looking for animal and told us to get back which was a reasonable suggestion. Back to home at 12.00 night. Some more talk and everyone went to bed.
Day 1 over.
Day 2: Nothing much to write. I wake up at 7.45 AM. Though we had to leave the place at 8.00, no one was in real hurry. Got some more time to play football and badminton. Finally we decided to move for Belur. It was supposed to be my second trip to Belur. But I enjoyed it second time as well. It took more than 100 years to complete it and why not. Art work is silently speaking about everything of that place.
Finally I am back at home with lot of wounds, cuts and fun ! "The biggest risk is to not take any.... ".
Place rating: 4.5/5 Resort rating[http://www.hunkalwoods.com/]: 5/5
"Nadiya..", it was quite strange, I have never heard a name like "Nadiya...". Thought a bit who had given her this name. Came back from my thoughts and I asked "which class you study". She replied "2nd standard". Sometime back I got to know that they moved to the next standard, so I asked "completed 1st", she smiled and turned her head with a closed eye. It was beginning of our class at a new location, Sheva Shishu Ashram(orphanage home of 60 kids), with new excitement. She came near me and crossed her fingers with my palm and smiled. I asked "what is your name" ...
Don't remember the date, I asked one student "tell me about your best day" in an interview and he said "yet to come, Sir". 4 weeks back, our gang started computer class in Shishu Seva Ashram, Wilson Garden. It was a great excitement in kids. Before starting the class, Subhash(a bright student of Sheva Shishu) came to whiteboard and made the diagram "Parts of computer". I told him to add speakers and CD drive into the diagram which he had done it in 10 seconds and then labeled it. Class started ... "where we use computer". Abhishek(a bright kid of Shishu Seva) replied "Banking Sir". It was a fascinating answer and I remembered "best day is yet to come".
Please join us to give them what we called "best day" of life.
For more, read Priyanka's blog. For joining : Drop a mail to me or bangalore@pankhudifoundation.org.
It was betting going in some of Pankhudi Volunteers( including me) about the Winners. Fortunately some of us had taken computer class for almost all the standard in SRMAB. My bet was on Harsha and Kaushik(2 bright kids of Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind). Off course everyone of them has a potential. Last Saturday we organized a typing competition in SRMAB ...
After first Computer class which we took at 10.00-11.20 AM, we left the school and went for Shopping. What to buy, what to buy ? Just close your eyes and feel how many gifts in your room are worth... hmm ! Maybe you left with some cloths but we don't know the winners, size were different + I have never seen them in any other dress than their typical red Shirt with black stripe. Finally the call has been made, we bought some bags and a cricket bat. Initial desicion was to buy a gift for all the participant but Deeptangan(one of us) said let it be a competition, why you are making them different from us... worth, nothing wrong !! Anyway, we have finished so called Shopping till 2.00, ran to our home because it was supposed to begin at 4.00 and this lazy bone need rest after sometime.
Ram called me around 3.00 PM, said that "there is no electricity and some computers are running on UPS(a painful UPS, that sounds more than me). We will wait till 4.10 and see if we get her(electricity) back". 3.50 he called me again saying electricity came back. And ... time to run. I reached there at 4.00 and like always all the volunteers were before me :(. Most of the kids were in hyper state, running here and there. Hitting chairs, hitting tables, hitting us, so happy and so painless... because they know pain can be conquered by more pain.
We had 2 story ready for 2 computer labs. They had taken their position and like all the time some were complaining that JAWS was not working... fine restart, Windows -> U -> R... I have pressed this key combination more than 500 times in last 2.5 yrs. Everything all set, Ram was dictating a story in one lab, in other lab, Srikanth and Priyanka. Rest of us left the place, I went for some more shopping :). Finally when I came back, it was almost over. I had seen the monitor of Harsha and I said he has done it again. Unlike others, he don't see toward his monitor, he see toward monitor to his left, so that his ears will be perfectly sink with Speakers. Puja, a dear student for all of us as she always keep on smiling (seeing this world, its tough to smile always... may be this is the reason she is ... ) was crying. Our queen want everything to be slow... slow dictation of story(saaaar, 1 min saaaar), which was not possible here.
It was finally over, everyone of us examined the work and yes Harsha (there was no fixing from my side, promise) and Sheela came out to be first. Sheela is a genius girl who bored out with things very soon. My second bet Kaushik came out 3rd. Some snaps of Prize distribution and Competition.
Last Sat. we spent great time with our kids at SRMAB. I remember the good time of last year sports day and had a great time this year too. Loved to see their enthusiasm in all sets of game. Total around 12 volunteers were available from our side to help the local admin there.
the resort, it was completely awesome. After lot of fun like rope climbing, rather rope breaking :), table tennis and a cup of coffee, everyone got ready for trekking. We did the deadly breakfast and made the move. Trekking started with fun and fear. Fear of leeches ! Soon the trek became tough with steep climbing and sooner tougher because the path was through the water fall. Leeches were coming into picture but we had much bigger things to worry about. Soon we hit the pick. From this picture, you can see the trekking path.
her trek :). Wow, a night trek, sounds interesting ! Luckily all of us was ready for this. We took 2-3 massal, 2 torch and made the move again. It was supposed to be a short trek but how short, we didn't have any clue. I keep on moving with Vivek Anna's jokes. After sometime, we encountered the hunters who were looking for animal and told us to get back which was a reasonable suggestion. Back to home at 12.00 night. Some more talk and everyone went to bed.
much to write. I wake up at 7.45 AM. Though we had to leave the place at 8.00, no one was in real hurry. Got some more time to play football and badminton. Finally we decided to move for Belur. It was supposed to be my second trip to Belur. But I enjoyed it second time as well. It took more than 100 years to complete it and why not. Art work is silently speaking about everything of that place.
