We are a married couple from Sweden, and we have spent November 2011 in Trivandrum, working as volunteers, both in Mutathara and Palkulangara schools. As men can't stay in the schools we have stayed in Sunday B&B, which we can recommend. It's close to the Domestic Airport and the beach and it's quite easy to go to the schools by bus from there. A double room with fan and a good breakfast costs Rs 700. It's a clean and well looked after place. Lunch and dinner we have had at the schools and both Didi Sampriti and Didi Bhavapriya are very good cooks.


  What we have done:


Anders has mainly worked with gardening, like cleaning up in the school yard and flower beds, planting banana trees and flowers, repairing broken stuff, painting the school building, and taking part in lessons.


Teaching has been my main occupation and that has been both interesting and challenging, as we have a very different focus in education. Most of the time the children here read, copy texts, and memorize and this work is followed up by exams three to four times a year. Creative work, co-operation, discussions, reflections etc. are not on the agenda. Most of the time I have been teaching English and then focused on talking experience through songs, rhymes, games and dialogues, which we have acted out with puppets.


We have enjoyed spending afternoons and weekends together with the two orphans in Palkulangara, helping with home work, played and visited the Zoo, the beach and Happyland.


You will surely find things that you can help improving. When we were there we saw that the children had no materials to play with during their lunch breaks, so we got basket ball equipment, footballs and cones, and other balls.


Another day we noticed that they didn't use soap when they washed their hands (and this, in a country where they eat with their hands), so we bought some soap and put it on a string and had a lesson on the importance of hygiene.


Our stay in Trivandrum has been a great experience! Didi Bhavapriya and Didi Sampriti are both very helpful and good hearted. We have appreciated the time we have spent together after school, when we have talked about all different subjects, sharing experiences of life. This has given us a deeper understanding of life in India.


All the best,
Solbritt & Anders