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The end of the
school year came around and so did the memory of many shared experiences with
my 7th grade students: the cards sent to the children from
Yashodhara, Asha-Kiran’s Shelter in India, Uttam and Hansa’s picture (the founders of
Asha-Kiran) receiving the envelope containing the cards, the picture of Hansa
and Asha-Kiran’s children published in the blog, Yashodhara children writing
back on cards made by them with care, the excitement of my
students before Uttam’s visit to our high school (which finally could not take
place), the big surprise Uttam and his son Uilhas gave them by holding a videoconference, their conversations with me, their
questions about my sponsored child Ravi, exams, nervousness. In my heart I felt a pang of pain
for not being able to go on teaching my students from IES Celia Viñas.
Three days before
the end of the course, my 7th grade students told me, “Ma’am,
tomorrow we’ll have a surprise for you”, and I said: “And I will wear a sari”
(I knew how excited they were about seeing me in one).
Their surprise made
me cry, I got the best thank-you and end-of-school
year gift they could have given me: two envelopes with letters and money for the
children of Asha-Kiran. They had agreed to bring their own pocket money and, after
counting it, it added up to 46€.
Four students came with me to the bank to transfer the money to Fundación
Asha-Kiran. They had also made bookmarks on the occasion of Peace Day (with messages in Hindi, Marathi, Moroccan,
Spanish, English and French),
and a group photo with their signatures for the children of Yashodhara.
In their letters,
their love for Asha-Kiran and the children was evident - messages from their
sincere, loving, noble, caring hearts; "hearts of gold" for me too
(IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO CRY).
I thanked them for
their surprise present and for their moving words. I truly felt that in the past
nine months they had grasped and learned more than the English I had
taught them. I was surprised because when they chose the “perfect gift” for me, they
showed a deep knowledge of my heart and feelings, which is not so easy
to do nowadays. And, wearing my sari, I told them that since I had been in India, I
felt my heart was torn up between Spain and India. They had undoubtedly sensed
something of the sort.
The next day, I
reciprocated with a small tasting of flavors from India. I brought papadums
(Indian pancakes) with mango chutney and raita sauce. I taught them how to make
lassi (an Indian drink made with yoghurt), and we tried to learn Bollywood
steps. Our last day of school and course farewell party was undoubtedly devoted to
INDIA.
The day school
marks were handed out, each student received a DVD that I had made with photos
of all the above events and the audio version of the videoconference with Uttam
and Uilhas.
Thanks to my dear Hearts of Gold for remembering the
hearts at YASHODHARA.
I also wish to thank my colleagues for their work and
enthusiasm for my dear A-K, for their contribution, for brainstorming future
possible fundraising activities, for purchasing Indian items at our bazaar, not
only for themselves, but as gifts for Xmas and other occasions. Thank you
for being available and for your generosity. Many grains of sand can make up a
sizeable hill.
A new school year is about to begin. I would love to
write a lot of articles like this one - articles featuring actions of solidarity from
students and teachers.
I also wish to encourage many teachers who, upon
reading this article, may carry out awareness-raising activities in their schools and commit to working for an NGO like Asha-Kiran. As a teacher, I can say
that all of the activities undertaken in the past years at different schools
(such as HUELÍN HIGH SCHOOL in MÁLAGA, “the pioneering one”, the Solidarity
Bazaar at ULYSSEA HIGH SCHOOL in UGIJAR-GRANADA, and the activities of the
students at CELIA VIÑAS HIGH SCHOOL in ALMERÍA) have been unforgettable
experiences for my students and myself.
All of these activities have been invaluable, such as
the one my dear students from 7th grade (or “Hearts of Gold”, as I
call them) played the leading role in, because the donation and the activity
was done of their own accord. As a teacher and collaborator at Asha-Kiran, I
appreciate all the support the Foundation gave to my initiatives, i.e., the videoconference
with Uttam, who managed to set some time aside in his schedule to be with my
students, and the readiness of Hansa and the whole team to make it possible for
values of solidarity to reach young people.
Thanks to ASHA-KIRAN because its work awakens and
invites us to LIVE FROM ESSENCE.
Mª Ángeles Arráez - Collaborator at Asha-Kiran
