Two blog posts in one week, I must be procrastinating on something....
No, but I really just wanted to tell you all about one of the field visits I went on last weekend since it was probably one of my favorites so far! About an hour and a half away from Manipal University is a campus called Namma Bhoomi. It’s essentially a residential school for children in grade school who community workers recognize as needing an extra hand. The point of the school is not just to assist them with their normal grade school education but to also equip them with life skills and vocational training. They make the most beautiful clothes, rugs, handbags, wallets and other crafts and sell them through the sister organization called Namma Angadi. They can also choose to learn carpentry, computer technology or even cosmetology as a way to support themselves and help their family after graduation. Most of these children would have been working in harsher conditions and schooling might not have been a priority had it not been for Namma Bhoomi.
The larger non-profit organization that owns the Namma Bhoomi campus is The Concerned for the Working Child. The CWC has been working for over 30 years I believe on advocating for children's labor rights and is using some really cool methods to try and increase the voice of children in the community. For instance, one of the teachers we met with at Namma Bhoomi told us about the local Makkala panchayats where children are formed into a kind of mock-democracy and are encouraged to discuss real and prevalent issues that are also being discussed in higher levels of government. The benefits of empowering the children in this way are too many to list here but use your imagination!
One of the best parts about Namma Bhoomi that, to be frank, I wasn't expecting was the eco-friendly aspect. Not only was it one of the best run and truly effective non-profits I've seen but it also took the concept of sustainability very seriously on their campus. The kitchen ran on bio-gas from the dung of the farm animals that made the milk and eggs. The once barren land now is shaded by thousands of trees and is covered in beautiful, pesticide and fertilizer free gardens (which the kids keep up themselves). Even the homes are made by the carpenters using low cost materials.
Oh and did I mention that they are trying to minimize the effects of gender bias and caste discrimination too? No wonder they're up for a Nobel Peace Prize!!! Hopefully I'll be able to work with them again in the future because it really was an awesome place (plus the food was by far the freshest meal I've had in India)!
If you want to learn more here is the link to their website, and I put my name on the mailing list so if any new information comes up I'll post it so you can all see it too. http://workingchild.org/
No, but I really just wanted to tell you all about one of the field visits I went on last weekend since it was probably one of my favorites so far! About an hour and a half away from Manipal University is a campus called Namma Bhoomi. It’s essentially a residential school for children in grade school who community workers recognize as needing an extra hand. The point of the school is not just to assist them with their normal grade school education but to also equip them with life skills and vocational training. They make the most beautiful clothes, rugs, handbags, wallets and other crafts and sell them through the sister organization called Namma Angadi. They can also choose to learn carpentry, computer technology or even cosmetology as a way to support themselves and help their family after graduation. Most of these children would have been working in harsher conditions and schooling might not have been a priority had it not been for Namma Bhoomi.
The larger non-profit organization that owns the Namma Bhoomi campus is The Concerned for the Working Child. The CWC has been working for over 30 years I believe on advocating for children's labor rights and is using some really cool methods to try and increase the voice of children in the community. For instance, one of the teachers we met with at Namma Bhoomi told us about the local Makkala panchayats where children are formed into a kind of mock-democracy and are encouraged to discuss real and prevalent issues that are also being discussed in higher levels of government. The benefits of empowering the children in this way are too many to list here but use your imagination!
One of the best parts about Namma Bhoomi that, to be frank, I wasn't expecting was the eco-friendly aspect. Not only was it one of the best run and truly effective non-profits I've seen but it also took the concept of sustainability very seriously on their campus. The kitchen ran on bio-gas from the dung of the farm animals that made the milk and eggs. The once barren land now is shaded by thousands of trees and is covered in beautiful, pesticide and fertilizer free gardens (which the kids keep up themselves). Even the homes are made by the carpenters using low cost materials.
Oh and did I mention that they are trying to minimize the effects of gender bias and caste discrimination too? No wonder they're up for a Nobel Peace Prize!!! Hopefully I'll be able to work with them again in the future because it really was an awesome place (plus the food was by far the freshest meal I've had in India)!
If you want to learn more here is the link to their website, and I put my name on the mailing list so if any new information comes up I'll post it so you can all see it too. http://workingchild.org/
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