RSIS Update (March 2013)

Page 1

RSIS UPDATE Issue 5 - March 2013

Liz Gray, RSIS Projects Manager

December 2012 Projects Review In December 2012 we had

93 students and 22 adults from 36 Global Member Schools taking part in

5 different Projects Here are some highlights from each of their trips!

INDIA The team returned to Katapathar community again this year, to continue work that the Doon School, and the other schools in the South Asia and Gulf Region are doing there. Our team spent their time getting involved in a number of tasks including restoring chairs, brightening up the classrooms, building a new toilet block for the school, restoring a playground, painting murals, building a Zen garden and doing lots of teaching and games with the children. At the end of the project, they put on a show with music, and some manic dancing to impress the villagers! The team was staying at an Ashram near to the Project site, and had their own yoga instructor called Joseph. Joseph is a man full of magical powers as he managed to convince some of the students to rise at 5.30am to do several hours of meditation and yoga before breakfast, and imbued a sense of peace and calm amongst the team with his teachings as well as stories of the culture and history of his home country. During the mid-project break the group travelled to Mussourie for a trek (10km) through the Himalayan foothills, and the following day had a chilly rafting session on the Ganges at Rishikesh! The group also witnessed the “Aarti” held on the edge of the Ganges that evening which is where people pray and sing holy songs to show gratitude to the river. Towards the end of the Project, the team went to visit the Paonta Sahib Sikh temple near the project site. The Indian team members patiently explained what the Sikh religion is about, and the group went to honed their skills at making chapattis to be given out to the local people who come in to receive meals at the temple

www.roundsquareprojects.org

+44 (0) 1225 320 854

each day! At the end of the Project work, the team travelled to Agra and Jaipur to see the Taj Mahal, take elephant rides on Christmas Day and had a truly family and having some beautiful henna tattoos done! The team wrote a great blog about their experience, and it has some wonderful writing, as well as some great photos. transporting yourselves to a far-off exotic land….

http://india2012blog.wordpress.com “Thank you so much for the opportunity given to Julian. She had the most wonderful time and really appreciated being able to experience a world so unlike her own. She landed with a broader view of the world and her place in it. Thank you for all the hard work that made her journey possible.” Parent The team consisted of a team of international students from St Philips College, Westminster School, Ivanhoe Grammar School, Markham College, Radford College and Brookhouse School. They were joined by a team of Indian students from Vivek High School, Punjab Public School and Mayo College. Sarah Gibb (formerly of Collingwood School) was the Project Leader, the Deputy Leader was Michael Thomas (Regents, Pattaya) and Beth Girvan from Radford was an Manager was Ambikesh Shukla from Doon School, the medic was Dr Amar Lanka from Doon School and they were joined by a fantastic team of drivers, cooks and yoga teachers also from Doon.

projects@roundsquare.org

Registered Charity No. 327117


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.