INDIA
The India project was started in 1986. Its aims are:
- to give the participants
the opportunity to visit India , a culture and environment very
different from their own.
- to establish lasting links
with communities and individual in a very different part of the
world.
- to contribute in some small
way to the lives of the individual and the communities to be
visited.
- to select, collect and
assemble study materials for school and college based on return to
this country.
Equal Partnership
The India Project is based on the idea of a
partnership of equals. It is about working together, sharing ideas and
experiences and about supporting one another’s efforts in whatever seems
to be the most appropriate and practical ways.
Partnerships are also about learning – learning
about each other, learning from each other and learning about
ourselves. The process is, of course, a continuous one. A range of
activities and experiences contribute to the whole. All of those
involved with the India project confirm that a great deal has been
learnt, not just about our partners, but also about ourselves and our
relationship with the communities of which we are a part.
The First Eleven Years 1986 – 1997
A partnership was developed with a communitu at a
leprosy hospital in Dattapur in Central India. Students, staff and
members of the community in Chard were welcomed to the centre,
experiencing kindness and hospitality and taking part in practical
activities such as planting trees. Contacts were also made with the
local school and college and the fund enabled India staff from the
school and centre to visit Britain.
1998 – present day
Holyrood now has a thriving partnership with Green
Valley School in Chennai (formerly Madras) in southern India. The
school is part of the work of an India charity called ‘Prepare’ which is
involved with a wide variety of activities including education, health,
environmental issues, women’s rights, housing and village communities.
Since the first visit in 1998, groups of students
from Holyrood’s sixth form have visited the school every 2 years and
spent some time travelling in different parts of India.
While at the school the students take part in
lessons, lead assemblies, play games, interact with students and staff
and generally participate fully in the life of the school. They are
invited into the homes of some of the Indian students, a privilege many
‘tourists’ are not fortunate to be given.
In 2002 and most recently in September 2007 two
teachers from the school visited Holyrood.
The most recent development in Holyrood/Green
Valley’s partnership is the awarding of a Global Curriculum Project
Grant by the Department for International development through the
British Council, enabling joint projects to be set up between the two
schools. The aim is that we use each other’s expertise and learn from
each other. Each project addresses a global issue.
The partnership aims to enrich the lives of all
concerned, furthering understanding of each one’s culture and community
and learning from each other. Without exception, all those who have
the ‘India project experience’ recognise that it is a trip of a life
time and a life-changing experience.
Fund-raising
Before travelling to India, students pledge to
raise funds to support the project and to enable donations to be made to
Green Valley and other projects visited such as orphanages and medical
facilities.
All participants pay for their own flights, food
and accommodation for the trip.
Julia Crichton-Smith
(India Project Coordinator).
