Annasophie's Experience
SCEAD
Foundation India
– Experience
Report –
The first week, I was sent to Mandya to
work in the Shahalaya Children’s Care Center adopted by SCEAD . It is an orphanage for HIV-positive children. In the
beginning, it was quite hard due to several reasons. Of course, I know about this
awful disease, but before my stay at the orphanage, I never had any contact with
people who were infected by this virus. It was hard seeing these little, lovely
kids and knowing that they have been critically ill since birth. In addition, the
kids and Mangalamar (mother of one of the kids; she works at the orphanage) speak barely any English. So, it wasn’t easy to communicate. In the beginning, I felt helpless, because I didn’t know what to do or how to help. But then I realized
that it’s not possible to solve all the problems and that it’s just
about giving the kids a nice and comfortable time. They were happy and thankful
to have a visitor who plays and cares about them and who spends a nice time
with them. I helped the kids by doing their homework, we practiced English and
we exchange every kind of games and songs. This time shows me, that
communication is not just about talking. At the end, I was sad leaving the
kids. But it was one of the best experiences I ever had!
After returning back to Bangalore, I
was working three days a week in a governmental and two days a week in a
private school. The private school, the Bangalore International Academy,
supports SCEAD Foundation India. Thereby, it’s necessary to work for them, too.
Working for the governmental school was another great job. It was my first
experience in teaching kids. I taught English, songs and talked about German
culture. A great project was the photo-exhibition ‘Save the girl child’ which
dealed with the problem, that girls still be treated unequal compared to boys.
We wanted to show the kids, that girls have the same rights as boys and that
it’s necessary to support girls and that they are
Another great day was sampling
Independence Day, at the 15th of August. We went to a governmental
school and followed the nice celebrations. The kids did nice performances, like
singing and dancing. Due to the festival, we brought candies and school
materials as presents and gave it to the kids. It was a really lovely day!
In the end, I can say, that working
for SCEAD Foundation India was a unique time full of unforgettable experiences.
I changed my perspective to life. I knew about problems like HIV, orphans, bad
education circumstance, etc. but it’s quite a difference, if you experienced it
by yourself. I realized the necessity about taking responsibility to help people
who are not so lucky, as I am.
Thanks to SCEAD Foundation India
giving me the chance to gain these experiences!
All the best,
Anna
