June

This June, the students participated in a number of creative activities including pottery, singing, and an introduction to Bhangra dance. Radhika’s sister assisted as the class was taught to paint delicate pottery. As a hired musician played the Dhol, Ms. Prableen Singh taught Bhangra, giving the students a chance to communicate with a teacher close to them in age. At the end of the month, students received recognition at an awards distribution ceremony hosted by Society Chairperson Amrit Kaur and husband Gurbachan Singh. Extra-curriculars are being balanced with core curriculum to foster an interest in those subjects not easily available in primary schools, and yet infinitely beneficial to the creativity of our youth.

Also this month, Ajay Chaudhry sent me the Memorandum of Association for Gyaan Society, to which I made some changes to prepare the documents to be signed by society members in order to finalize official registration and apply for tax exemption. This slow process of formal registration has shown me how difficult such matters can be in developing countries, and strengthened my belief in education as a tool to empower citizens and provide them with resources which would be otherwise unattainable.