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Ek Koshish, Indian Culture

Celebrating a Traditional Indian Birthday!

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Today, I am celebrating my birthday through the traditions of Indian culture here with “Ek Koshish, One Attempt!” When I woke up, I practiced a sacred Hindu tradition, where young men bend down and touch the feet of the elders for whom he has the utmost respect. Usually, my elders in India, with whom I practice this custom, stop me before I reach their feet, which they practice out of respect for me, saying “Khush raho, beta” (“Stay happy, my child” in Hindi). After a special mug of chai, in the “birthday mug” (an especially large mug for the birthday boy, as my host family described), the family has been showering me with little gifts and treats. Everybody, even including our students from our school, has been wishing me a “Happy Birthday,” or “Janam Din Mubarak,” as we say in Hindi!

The family I have been staying with has made many preparations for this special day for me: Apart from the surprises unbeknownst to me, today we will be going to a Hindu temple, for “Darshan,” which translates to “Visit/View” in Hindi, specifically for visiting a temple, God’s home, in this case. During the day, I will go with my “bhaiya” (Hindi word for “brother,” but used among friends as well) to the markets in India, where we will buy some food and a cake for the evening. When our students can arrive to the “davat” (the word for “party” in Hindi) at dusk, we will host a special meal for all of our students, in honor of my birthday. In India, charitable acts, especially involving feeding the hungry, are highly venerated, which is why the host family with Ek Koshish would like to celebrate my birthday by giving back to the community! Otherwise, I have posted this picture above, which was taken during my favorite Indian holiday, “Holi,” in Mathura (a city a couple of hours south of Faridabad by car). This is another example of a “davat!” I am excited and looking forward to these unique birthday festivities!

Ek Koshish, Example of Poverty in India

Donating Clothes to the Needy in India

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Yesterday, the team at “Ek Koshish, One Attempt” donated various clothes, toys, and other contributions to a very needy family in a nearby slum in Delhi NCR. Four days ago, a baby boy in the slum was born: His aunt, Nancy, one of our students that we have been educating at our school for teaching the poor and illiterate to read and write (see picture above), told us about her sister’s birth, so the Ek Koshish team decided to purchase all of the items that we donated to him and his family. This newborn has not been named yet, but his mother was elated to see that, from the beginning of her son’s life, he is surrounded by people who care about him. The family is so poor, that they did not have any clothes for the child. About the size of an adult hand, the baby was very cute, but very thin, fragile, and weak. We are optimistic that this child, like his aunt and neighbors, will be able to come out of a life of living in the slums, once they obtain proper education and support from our NGO. It was a very happy Father’s Day for everyone here at Ek Koshish, One Attempt!
Indian Culture

“Gullak,” Hindi for “Tzedakah”

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Being here in India for this holiday, I learned the following phrase today: “Father’s Day par haardik shubh kaamnaayein!” (“We sincerely wish you a Happy Father’s Day!” in Hindi). I have been learning so much Hindi and about Indian culture in general since I started volunteering with “Ek Koshish One Attempt,” and I wanted to take the time to discuss one topic I found very interesting. Seeing Indian people’s utmost respect for other life forms, especially cows, has been a touching experience for me. People are always conscientious about feeding plants and taking care of one another: As I mentioned earlier, we feed cows every morning, and we feed stray dogs every night. Another tradition that some people follow here is similar to what we call “Tzedakah” in my culture, Judaism. This picture shows the equivalent of a “Tzedakah box,” a collection in a home, which will be given to a charitable cause. This charitable cause is specific to taking care of cows in India. Every day the team at Ek Koshish and I have been filling some money into this box, which will be sent to the charity on a subsequent visit. The bottom of the box has a lock, to which only the charity itself has a key. When I spoke to the teacher from our new program, where we teach illiterate children to read and write, she told me that one of our students (Mohini), a poor maid in Faridabad, believes in the cause too, donating what little she can. It is a real inspiration to see the care and love all people have here for one another, whether human or otherwise. I hope more people will come and volunteer here with Ek Koshish, as this has been the best way for me to learn Hindi and give back to a community in need! Happy Father’s day everyone, and especially Happy Father’s Day to the fathers in my family: Papi, Zayde, Tío Roberto, Tío Albert, Tío Ramon, Tío Alberto, David, Mario, Isaac, Freddy, Tío Charlie, Alan, Phily, Sal, Israel, Gil, and Uncle ji!

Ek Koshish, English Teaching in India, Indian Children from Slum Areas, Teaching to the Illiterate in India

Children from Slums in India Memorize English Counting!

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Two days ago, Ek Koshish continued with its classes for children from slum areas in Delhi NCR! The classes went very well, as we noticed that the children, mostly, remembered how to count from one to five in English! Watch the video to see Badal, the youngest child, practicing his numbers! We are very happy to see that our work has had sticking power with even the youngest of the children, as they are still a bit too young to memorize and differentiate the symbols for “1,” “2,” etc. Vicky, the eldest of the boys, can now write the symbols for one, two, and three, from memory, always producing the correct symbol upon request! Badal is unable to write any of the numbers besides one, and he still struggles while holding the chalk for his chalkboard. Ajay is a bit stubborn, and when he has had enough of the work we give him, we have to find other ways to interest him in his studies: For example, we had all of the children count their numbers in English aloud, which encouraged Ajay to join in the group as well. With the younger children, we have to stick to a very slow pace, as they are not accustomed to reading or processing information from written symbols. Nancy’s work is very inspiring for the Ek Koshish team to witness, as she has memorized counting, one through ten, along with the corresponding symbols, in just three short lessons. We also began teaching her some English vocabulary, along with the first four letters in the alphabet, which she practiced well on her first few attempts. Her progress, aptitude, and attitude have all been very promising. Mohini had some work to do for her family, so she was unable to come with the other new students. Also, we purchased more equipment for the children, including books to help the children practice stenciling their numbers and English and Hindi letters! Finally, at the end of the class, we treated the children to a classic Bugs Bunny episode, to which they roared with laughter! Sharing these pictures of the children enjoying the cartoon is our way of thanking you for reading our blog!

Ek Koshish, English Teaching in India, Indian Children from Slum Areas, Teaching to the Illiterate in India

Illiterate Children Write for the First Time!

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Yesterday evening we had our second day of classes for the women and children from slum areas in Faridabad! The children arrived a little late, but they got to work right away. First, our teacher distributed some personal-sized chalkboards to each of our students, which they enjoyed very much! The smaller children practiced counting English numbers and writing the number “1” on their boards. Vicky was a natural with his chalk, and he even moved on to drawing the number “2.” I have never seen a child take more interest in drawing the same number, repeatedly, at any angle, as I have seen Vicky! Badal was just getting the hang of how to hold the chalk and write properly, so we could only have him practice the number “1.” Ajay was pretty good at drawing, like Vicky, but he has less patience, so we moved on to listening exercises with him, while the rest continued practicing writing with chalk. Nancy was very good at learning numbers, as she practiced writing each number for the first time, while saying each number’s English translation while she wrote. Mohini already knew how to write numbers, but she did not know any symbols from the English or Hindi alphabets: so, we taught her ten symbols, and practiced each of them one by one with her. After mixing up each of the symbols, she was still able to distinguish the correct characters and their appropriate pronunciation.

Otherwise, most of the children came dressed in better clothing, which was a nice surprise to see that they have some emotional support from their family to acquire education. When the children first arrived, I took some pictures of them with my camera, and then showed them the photos: Ajay erupted in laughter, his only reaction to seeing a photo of himself for the first time! Every photo we showed the children resulted in Ajay’s bursts of laughter, which rang like music to Mohini’s (his mother’s) ears. At the end of the day, we played for them a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon, which they relished! They had never once seen a cartoon or computer in their lives, and it was a special moment for the Ek Koshish team and I to witness their bliss. I wish we could do more to give these children, and all children living in shambles, back their childhood, which too many of us take for granted!