My Experiences from Shanti Bhavan !!

On 1st of Dec, i had an amazing opportunity to visit Shanti Bhavan, a residential school dedicated to the education and development of children from underprivileged homes.

A Brief of Shanti Bhavan

Shanti Bhavan a residential school dedicated to education and development of children from underprivileged homes. 95% of children at Shanti Bhavan are from lower castes of India and 60% of them are from rural India and 40% of them from urban slums. Team of Shanti Bhavan is making a great effort in changing the lives of not only these children but also the lives of their family members.

For more details, you can read on their website :http://www.shantibhavanchildren.org/about/

My Experience at Shanti Bhavan

On Dec 1st as part of CSR activity, we visited Shanti Bhavan which is located near Krishnagiri.

Address : 
Shanti Bhavan Residential School
Baliganapalli 
Hosur Taluk Bagalur Krishnagiri 
Baliganapalli Tamil Nadu 635103 

We reached the place in morning and we were welcomed by Ms.Shanti who  is Director of Development and Public Relations. We were first taken to the board room where Ms.Shanti briefed us on the history of Shanti Bhavan. It was more than 20 years since this school was set up and has been delivering to the society. The founder of Shanti Bhavan Dr.Abhraham George who had also worked in Indian Army had a vision of alleviating poverty and social injustice which he had witnessed across various parts of India and therefore the birth of The George Foundation (TGF) which resulted in Shanti Bhavan. The children from Shanti Bhavan have received various awards and appreciations including that from Michelle Obama.

It was only few mins that i had stepped into Shanti Bhavan and i was already awestruck by the brilliance of the kids and effort this school was making to these kids.  It re-emphasized on my belief that every kid is equally talented, it is the opportunities which every kid needs and that is what Shanti Bhavan was doing. They were helping these kids realize their potential.

We were next taken on school tour, the entire campus is spread across 32 acres and it was tiring to see even 5% of the school campus. We met kids who were now in kinder garten and they had a nice way of welcoming us.

We then walked to prayer hall, the hall didn't have any particular god statue or photo in prayer hall. It had religious books of each religion and that was very interesting happy to see the encouragement and open minded they were building in children's mind.

We were next taken to the dormitaries where the kids used to sleep. The one we visited was of 5th grade children. Each children were given a toy. What even more amazed me was that it was children's responsibility to brush their teeth and place it back each day. You could see how organized each kid was and that was same with everyone.

After the school tour we got along with the kids and cleaned the garden area, we were there in garden area for almost more than a hour, but with kids around and even under hot sun we never felt that we had worked for over an hour under hot sun. That was the influence of such kids. 

The street smartness and confidence level of these kids are amazing, one small incident as we were walking back to the assembly hall, i introduced myself to a new kid who was accompanying us to the hall. 

Me : Hi my name is Prasad

Him : Hi, my name is Prasad. 

Prasad was a common name in South and i was happy to meet another Prasad. A few meters down the lane, i called him by name and he didnt respond. I called again a bit louder and still no response. I walked faster and stood in front of him. 

Me : Hey i am calling you.

Him : No you didn't. 

Me : I called you twice. Hey Prasad. 

Him : Who is Prasad. My name is Velu. 

Now i was surprised, a few mins back he had introduced to me by name Prasad. 

Me : Hey but you introduced yourself as Prasad a few mins back. 

Him : I was just joking with you, sorry. Hope it was ok with you. 

I was surprised for his street smartness and the way he carried himself. Usually i had never come across any kid from underprivileged who carried themselves with such confidence. It was not just Velu, but the entire students of Shanti bhavan who were carrying themselves with such confidence. 

When we reached the assembly hall, children of Shanti Bhavan were waiting for us and we settled down. We stood with them for the prayer 

Next came group of 4 students who updated the children with the latest news. It had the latest news from India and abroad. Children asked questions for more clarification and the students were well prepared. Later I asked the students how they we're updated with latest news and they told me that everyday evening the 11th or 12th std students watch CNN, Russia today or BBC news channels and that's how they get news. 

The Choir Group singing a french song came on stage and the song was sung very professionally and with great accent. I wondered, when kids of their age struggle to speak English which is taught everyday, these kids are professionally signing French song. 

It was next time for them to display their talent in sports. A game of football proved their potential. For a spectator it definitely did not look like team was playing against team with 15 year olds. After a tough fight, the game was drawn with 1-1 score. 

Final photo with the kids at Shanti Bhavan 

My Final Thoughts:

“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” 
― Albert Einstein

Having witnessed their confidence, talent and the way they carry themselves is a benchmark to every kid and reinforced above quote how important it is to provide best conditions to kids to learn and become better personalities.